Newly appointed army chief Gen Narongphan Jitkaewtae has insisted the army will stay away from politics and reiterated his pledge to protect the monarchy. On Thursday, upon assuming the office of army chief, Gen Narongphan led a group of 232 army generals in a ceremony paying homage to the kingdom and vowed to safeguard the monarchy before the statue of King Chulalongkorn, Rama V, at the Royal Army Headquarters on Ratchadamnoen Nok Avenue in Bangkok. Gen Narongphan previously served as assistant army chief before being promoted to the top spot during the annual military reshuffle this year, replacing Gen Apirat Kongsompong, who retired. Gen Narongphan is the second red-rim soldier to take command of the army. They also hail from a major army faction named Wongthewan (Divine Lineage), a reference to those from the King's Guard 1st Division in Bangkok, army sources said.

Source: Bangkok Post October 02, 2020 23:26 UTC