David Neo Chin Wee is a Singaporean

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

who has been serving as Chief of Army since 2022. Prior to his appointment as Chief of Army, he was serving as Deputy Secretary (Technology) at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. Neo is also the first

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to serve as Chief of Army.

Education

Neo attended

Victoria School Victoria School (VS) is a government autonomous boys' secondary school in Siglap, Singapore. Established in 1876, it is Singapore's second oldest state secondary school. It offers a six-year Integrated Programme, which allows students to skip t ...

before graduating from the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

with a

Bachelor of Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an academic undergraduate degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at an accredited college or university. In the UK, a Bache ...

degree with honours in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree with distinction in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

. He subsequently went on to complete a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

degree in business administration, management and operations at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

, and a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degree in operations research at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

under the Lee Kuan Kew Scholarship conferred by the Public Service Commission, and the Singapore Armed Forces Postgraduate Scholarship in 2012. He also attended the Indonesian Army Command and Staff College (SESKOAD) in 2007 and attained the Top Foreign Student – Best Thesis.

Military career

Neo enlisted in the

Singapore Armed Forces The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military services of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A military component of the Ministry of Defence (MINDE ...

(SAF) in 1996 and served in the

Singapore Army The Singapore Army is the land service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). The largest of the four branches of the SAF, the Singapore Army traces its origins to the 1st Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (1 SIR), which was formed i ...

as a

officer. Throughout his military career, he has held many appointments and roles, from command tours to staff appointments. The staff appointments include: Training Development Officer from April 2001 to December 2002; Staff Officer (Plans)/Joint Operations Department from November 2004 to August 2006; Chairman, SICUS Committee NDP 2008 from August 2007 to August 2008; Deputy Director (Planning)/Head of Strategic Plans from January 2010 to June 2012; Chairman, Show Committee NDP 2014; Head of Joint Plans and Transformation Department from October 2014 to July 2016; Director of Joint Operations from May 2019 to March 2021; and Deputy Secretary (Technology) on March 2021. As Head of Joint Plans and Transformation Department and Director of Joint Operations, he had overseen the SAF's contributions to the national fight against COVID-19. His command appointments include: Company Commander, 5th Company, 1st Commando Battalion from May 2003 to November 2004; Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion,

Singapore Guards Guards, also referred to as Guardsmen, is a rapid deployment infantry formation of the Singapore Army responsible for conducting air assault, expeditionary, and amphibious operations. History The Guards formation was created on 1 January 1975 ...

from January 2008 to December 2009; Commander, 2nd Singapore Infantry Brigade from August 2013 to October 2014; Commander, 3rd Division from July 2018 to June 2019. On 10 March 2022, he succeeded Goh Si Hou as the Chief of Army. On 1 July 2022, Neo was promoted to the rank of

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Non-military career

Outside of the SAF, Neo holds several other appointments. Currently he is a board member of Temasek Defense Systems Institute since March 2021 and a

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

in DSTA since April 2021. In the past, Neo was the programme director of the Pioneer Generation Office and the founding group chief of the Silver Generation Office under the Agency for Integrated Care. He was also a member of the board of governors of

Singapore Polytechnic Singapore Polytechnic (SP) is a post-secondary education institution and statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Education in Singapore. Established in 1954, the institution is the first and oldest polytechnic in Singapore and is ...

from April 2015 to April 2018 and alternate director in advanced material engineering from June 2013 to June 2016.

Awards and decorations

Pingat Pentadbiran Awam (Gangsa) (Tentera)

Public Administration Medal (Military) (Bronze) in 2014 *

Long Service Medal (Military) ribbon (from 2006)

Long Service Medal (Military), in 2021 *

Singapore Armed Forces Long Service and Good Conduct (20 Years) Medal ribbon

Singapore Armed Forces Long Service and Good Conduct (20 Years) Medal The Singapore Armed Forces Long Service and Good Conduct (20 Years) Medal is a decoration awarded to a member of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) (regardless of regular or NSmen status) who has completed 20 years of continuous service. A clasp ...

Singapore Armed Forces Long Service and Good Conduct (10 Years) Medal ribbon with clasp

Singapore Armed Forces Long Service and Good Conduct (10 Years) Medal The Singapore Armed Forces Long Service and Good Conduct (10 Years) Medal is a decoration awarded to a member of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) who has completed 10 years of continuous service. For NSmen, reservists qualify for the equivalen ...

with 15 year clasp *

Singapore Armed Forces Good Service Medal ribbon

Singapore Armed Forces Good Service Medal The Singapore Armed Forces Good Service Medal is awarded to a regular career soldier of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) who has satisfactorily completed 5 years of dedicated service. The medal may be awarded to NSmen who have served 2 years of ...

Master Parachutist Badge * SAF Freefall (Advanced)

Advanced Freefall Badge * SAF Combat Skills Badge Advanced

Advanced Combat Skills Badge * SAF Basic Diver Badge

Basic Diver Badge *

US Ranger Tab * US Army Airborne basic parachutist badge

US Airborne Badge * US Army Infantry School DUI

US Army Infantry School The United States Army Infantry School is a school located at Fort Benning, Georgia that is dedicated to training infantrymen for service in the United States Army. Organization The school is made up of the following components: * 197th Infantr ...

DUI Badge *

Indonesian Army The Indonesian Army ( id, Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD), ) is the land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,000 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its ...

Freefall In Newtonian physics, free fall is any motion of a body where gravity is the only force acting upon it. In the context of general relativity, where gravitation is reduced to a space-time curvature, a body in free fall has no force acting on it. ...

Badge *

Jumpmaster Jumpmasters are the expert paratroopers in an airborne unit who train and teach the military techniques for jumping from airplanes. They are responsible for training soldiers who enter Army Airborne School into paratroopers and managing airborne ju ...

Badge *

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

Parachutist Badge * Thailand Master Airborne Badge

Thai Army The Royal Thai Army or RTA ( th, กองทัพบกไทย; ) is the army of Thailand and the oldest and largest branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. History Origin The Royal Thai Army is responsible for protecting the kingdom's so ...

Airborne Badge

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neo, David Living people Singaporean military leaders Place of birth missing (living people) Victoria School, Singapore alumni Chiefs of the Singapore Army 1977 births