Meas Sophea (born 9 April 1955) is a senior

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

in the

Royal Cambodian Armed Forces The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF; km, កងយោធពលខេមរភូមិន្ទ ) is Cambodia's national military force. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief is King Norodom Sihamoni. Since 2018, General Vong Pisen has been ...

(RCAF). He is a former Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the RCAF and chief of the

Royal Cambodian Army The Royal Cambodian Army ( km, កងទ័ពជើងគោក, ) is a part of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. It has ground forces which numbered 85,000 divided into eleven divisions of infantry, with integrated armour and artillery supp ...

Early life and education

General Sophea was born in Banieve village, Banieve Commune, Chhouk district,

Kampot Province Kampot ( km, កំពត ) is a province in southwestern Cambodia. It borders the provinces of Koh Kong and Kampong Speu to the north, Takéo to the east, Kep and the country of Vietnam ( Kiên Giang) to the south, and Sihanoukville to the ...

on 9 April 1955. Due to the civil war that ravaged the country (followed by U.S. and South Vietnamese invasion of

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

1970), he joined the Cambodian Nation Front Movement Liberation as a private at age 16. Meas studied at the local elementary school in Banieve. From 1969 to 1970, he was a student at the Chhouk ''High-School''. Due to the civil war in Cambodia, Meas Sophea went to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

to complete his studies between 1975 and 1977, receiving a diploma. He earned his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

, and completed his

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

Military Science Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior, along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized coercive force. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of producing mil ...

at the Military Academy Institute of

Da Lat Da Lat (also written as Dalat, vi, Đà Lạt; ), is the capital of Lâm Đồng Province and the largest city of the Central Highlands region in Vietnam. The city is located above sea level on the Langbian Plateau. Da Lat is one of the mos ...

, Vietnam in 2010.

Family

In 1980, Sophea married Chhor Borey (born on 9 September 1957 in Vealvong village, Kampong Siem district, Kampong Cham province). The couple have three daughters and a son.

Military experience

Meas Sophea led many battles during the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

between the pro-government army and the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...

guerrillas. Battles in which Sophea was a commander include those at:

Pailin Pailin ( km, ប៉ៃលិន, ) is a province in western Cambodia at the northern edge of the Cardamom Mountains near the border of Thailand. This province is surrounded by Battambang province, and was officially carved out of Battambang ...

, Preah Vihear, O'Smach, Koh Kong and

Battambang Battambang ( km, បាត់ដំបង, UNGEGN: ) is the capital of Battambang Province and the third largest city in Cambodia. Founded in the 11th century by the Khmer Empire, Battambang is the leading rice-producing province of the coun ...

. During the July 1997 coup, Meas Sophea was one of the commanders who successfully pushed back the Khmer Rouge guerrillas, and 500 fighters loyal to Prince Norodom Ranariddh, into the borders. In 1998 he successfully commanded the last counter-attack in

Anlong Veng Anlong Veng ( km, អន្លង់វែង, ) is a district (''srok'') in Oddar Meanchey Province, Oddar Meanchey province in Cambodia. The main town in the district is also called Anlong Veng. The population of the district could not be count ...

, the last stronghold of the

forces. This led to the capture of

Ta Mok Ta Mok ( km, តាម៉ុក; born Chhit Choeun (); 1924 – 21 July 2006) also known as Nguon Kang, was a Cambodian military chief and soldier who was a senior figure in the Khmer Rouge and the leader of the national army of Democratic Kamp ...

, a top

Khmer rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...

leader. He is an honorary member of the TNI special forces

Kopassus The Kopassus ( id, Komando Pasukan Khusus, Special Forces Command) is an Indonesian Army (TNI-AD) special forces group that conducts special operations missions for the Indonesian government, such as direct action, unconventional warfare, sa ...

unit, where he received a

Red beret The red beret is a military beret worn by many military, paramilitary, commando, and police forces and should not be confused with the maroon beret worn by airborne troops all around the world. Military police Red berets are worn by the military p ...

in 2005.

Sources

: The Royal Cambodian Army"CNN: "King Sihanouk returns to Cambodia from China"CNN: "Last Khmer Rouge fighters surrender in Cambodia"BBC News: "Asia-Pacific Khmer Rouge 'Butcher' captured"
*
Vietnam News Agency (VNA): Indonesia, Cambodia agree to increase military cooperation"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meas, Sophea Cambodian military personnel 1955 births Living people People from Kampot province

Early life and education

Family

Military experience

See also

Sources