Apirat Kongsompong is the Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army, effective 1 October 2018. He previously served as Assistant Commander in Chief from October 2017 to September 2018 and the Commanding General of the 1st Army Area from October 2016 to September 2017. General Apirat Kongsompong also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Government Lottery Office, and was formerly an Independent Director at Bangchak Petroleum Public Co., and a member of the National Legislative Assembly.
General Apirat received a commission as an army officer upon graduation from Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy in 1985. He served as a pilot at the Army Aviation Centerat the beginning of his military career. He completed UH-1H Maintenance/Test Pilot Training at Fort Eustis, Virginia, USA. He also completed the AH-1H Pilot Training Course at Fort Rucker, Alabama, USA. Apirat is also a graduate of Infantry Officer Advanced Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, USA. In October 1990, Apirat was appointed Assistant Logistics Officer at the Royal Thai Army Defense Attache Office in Washington D.C. General Apirat commanded 2nd Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment, King's Guard in Bangkok. He went on to command 11th Infantry Regiment King's Guard. He served as the Commanding General of 11th Infantry Division in Chachoengsao Province. He went on to serve as the Commanding General of 15th Military Circle in Petchaburi Province. Apirat commanded 1st Division, King's Guard in Bangkok. He was later appointed the Commanding General of 1st Corps in 2015. In 2016, General Apirat was appointed the Commanding General of the 1st Army Area. Apirat's key staff assignments include Combat Intelligence Assistant Staff Officer, 1st Division, King's Guard; Assistant Director of Planning Section, 1st Corps; Civil Affairs Staff Officer, 1st Division, King's Guard; Chief of Staff, 11th Infantry Regiment, King's Guard; Executive Officer, 11th Infantry Regiment, King's Guard; Division Chief of Staff, 1st Division, King's Guard; Deputy Commanding General, 1st Division, King's Guard; and Deputy Commanding General, 1st Army Area. Apirat's deployment experience includes anti-communist operations in 1986. He served as the Commander of Task Force 14 which conducted counter-insurgency operations in Yala Province in 2004. Apirat is associated with the military clique Wong Thewan, in turn associated with the 1st Division, the King's Guard. While Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his deputy, Prawit Wongsuwon are members of the rival 2nd Division clique, Burapha Phayak, Apirat is known to have close ties with them.
Army chief
Barely a month into his tenure as army chief, Apirat created a media firestorm with his comments on the necessity for military intervention in Thai politics should turmoil surface. In October 2019, Gen. Apirat host the special sermon about propaganda in Thailand. As the National security officer, Gen. Apirat heavily concern on digital propaganda via social media because of the hasty widespread the idea of communist or extreme left which is hard to identify. Unfortunately, this mentioned idea is lead to overthrow the monarchy which trend to influenced by riot in Hong Kong and define this operation as a “Hybrid Warfare” for destroy the foundation of the state. In October 2019, Apriat warned in a speech to military officers, policemen, and uniformed students that, "Propaganda in Thailand is severe and worrying. There is a group of communists who still have ideas to overthrow the monarchy, to turn Thailand to communism..." His performance prompted the Bangkok Post to remark, "It was 'a lecture' that should never have been given by any army chief, for its combination of accusations against 'the left' and young people, and sensational and biased political messages." The speech prompted one analyst to urge that rival factions end the "enemy mindset". His comments sparked criticism online for being a partisan bureaucrat. Gen. Apirat provide the urgent policy for detect and solve the difficulty on the welfare for the officer of Royal Thai Army. Gen. Apirat found the direct call centre for officer who has obstacle to provide confidential information to Commander in chief directly. Moreover, Due to Nakhon Ratchasima shootings in 2020 cause by the welfare housing system, Gen. Apirat establish the investigation committee for examine the source of obstacle and find the solution include provide remedy for the victim. The hot line provide valuable evidence lead to the undercover problem in Royal Thai Army and sent it to the specialist organization such as office of the national Anti-corruption commission. After Nakhon Ratchasima shootings in 2020, in which the perpetrator cited corruption in the army as motives, he as the army chief created an anonymous complaint hotline program on 17 February 2020. However, some media reported no concrete achievements. Later in April, an army sergeant filed a complaint about another corruption in the army via the program, but he was retaliated. In July 2020, Sereepisuth Temeeyaves, a former police chief and leader of an opposition party Seree Ruam Thai, condemned Apirat’s intervention in politics.
