Neo Kian Hong

Neo Kian Hong
180px Neo on board the USS McCampbell on 18 May 2011
Born	Singapore
Allegiance	Singapore
Service/branch	Singapore Armed Forces
Years of service	1983–2013
Rank	Lieutenant-General
Commands held	Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion Singapore Guards Commander, 7th Singapore Infantry Brigade Assistant Chief of the General Staff (Operations) Commander, 9th Division Commander, Army Training and Doctrine Command Chief of Staff, Joint Staff Chief of Army (2007–2010) Chief of Defence Force (2010–2013)
Awards	see #Awards
Other work	see #Civil career

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Neo.

Neo Kian Hong
Traditional Chinese	梁建鴻
Simplified Chinese	梁建鸿
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Liáng Jiànhóng

Neo Kian Hong is a Singaporean civil servant and former army general. He was the seventh Chief of Defence Force of the Singapore Armed Forces from 2010–2013 and held the rank of Lieutenant-General. Before that, he served as the Chief of the Singapore Army from 2007–2010. After retiring from active military service in 2013, Neo joined the civil service and became the Permanent Secretary (Education Development) in the Ministry of Education.

Education

Neo received his secondary education in Victoria School, where he was also a National Cadet Corps cadet, and his pre-university education in Nanyang Junior College. He was awarded the Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship in 1985 and graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Upper Second Class Honours) degree in electrical and electronic engineering from King's College London. He subsequently completed a Master of Science degree in management of technology from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He also completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 2013.

Military career

Neo joined the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1983. Throughout his career in the SAF, he has held various appointments, including: Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion Singapore Guards; Commander, 7th Singapore Infantry Brigade; Assistant Chief of the General Staff (Operations); Commander, 9th Division; Commander, Army Training and Doctrine Command; Chief of Staff, Joint Staff; Chief of Army (2007–2010). He attended the Indonesian Army Command and Staff Course (SESKOAD) in 1994. He also served as the SAF's contingent commander for the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) in 1999 and was involved in establishing the national contact and tracing system in Singapore during the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak.

Neo succeeded Desmond Kuek as the Chief of Defence Force (CDF) of the SAF on 31 March 2010 and relinquished his previous appointment as the Chief of Army to Chan Chun Sing on 26 March. He was promoted from the rank of Major-General to Lieutenant-General on 1 July 2010.

Neo retired from the SAF on 27 March 2013 and was succeeded by Ng Chee Meng as the CDF.

Civil career

After leaving the SAF, Neo joined the civil service and was appointed as the Permanent Secretary (Education Development) in the Ministry of Education on 1 July 2013.

Awards

• SAF Overseas Service Medal, in 2000.
• Public Administration Medal (Military) (Silver), in 2003.
• Public Administration Medal (Military) (Gold), in 2007.
• Long Service Medal (Military), in 2008.
• Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander), in 2008.
• Bintang Kartika Eka Paksi Utama, in 2009.
• Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand, in 2010.
• Darjah Panglima Gagah Angkatan Tentera (Honorary Malaysian Armed Forces Order for Valour (First Degree)), in 2011.
• Bintang Yudha Dharma Utama (Grand Meritorious Military Order), in 2012.

Unverified:

• SAF Good Service Medal
• International Force East Timor Medal

References

Military offices
Preceded by Lieutenant-General Desmond Kuek	7th Chief of Defence Force 31 March 2010 – 26 March 2013	Succeeded by Major-General Ng Chee Meng
Preceded by Major-General Desmond Kuek	Chief of the Singapore Army 20 March 2007 – 26 March 2010	Succeeded by Brigadier-General Chan Chun Sing