The government has submitted the names of the 808 military officers who will be transferred to new posts in this year annual military reshuffle, including the names of the new chiefs of the Royal Thai Army and the Royal Thai Navy, whose leaders will retire at the end of this month.
According to an announcement by the Prime Minister's Office published on the Royal Gazette's website on Saturday, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has submitted the list for royal endorsement. Once it is endorsed, the appointments will be effective on Oct 1.
One appointment which grabbed public attention is the appointment of Gen Pana Klaewplodthuk as the new commander-in-chief of the army. Gen Pana was nominated by the outgoing army chief, Gen Charoenchai Hintao.
Gen Pana is currently the army's chief-of-staff and a member of the so-called red-rim soldier fraternity, who are specially trained to serve as Royal Guards. He will stay in the top post until 2027.
Another highlight is the appointment Adm Jirapol Wongwit as the navy's commander-in-chief, as nominated by outgoing navy chief Adm Adoong Pan-iam. The appointment of Adm Jirapol as the new commander-in-chief is notable, because he graduated from a naval academy overseas and has never held the key positions typically expected of a navy chief.
Air Force Chief ACM Panpakdee Pattanakul will appoint Air Force senior expert ACM Chainat Pholkit as his deputy and promote ACM Manat Chavanaprayoon as the Air Force advisory board's chairman.
