Saluting Thailand's Coolest Colonel - Colonel Sansern

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HEADLINE MAKER

Saluting the kingdom's coolest colonel

By The Nation

BANGKOK: -- CRES spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd tells The Nation's trainee reporter, Onravee Tangmeesang, about life in the hot seat during the recent troubles, and the importance of laughter

He's been on primetime television every other day recently. He's that guy in uniform who catches every woman's eye. He makes viewers giggle despite the tension, and has a smile to melt the coldest heart. With his winning personality, he has to be a strong contender for Man of the Year award.

The man we're talking about is Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd - spokesman for the Centre of the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES).

The colonel, who is 47 but looks closer to 30, graduated with a Civil Engineering degree, but is currently deputy director at the Army's Directorate of Civil Affairs. Kai Ou, as he is affectionately known, has two siblings - Kai Rose and Kai Nguang. He spent most of his childhood close to his grandmother and aunt, who taught him the importance of humour. He loves folk music and even wanted to become a singer, though his mum managed to talk him out of it. Now, he's a married man, but not a dad yet.

Not many people remember Sansern from his previous role as spokesman for the National Security Council, probably because he had to maintain such a serious demeanour at the time. However, since the red-shirt protests began in March, he has become a favourite across the whole country - and many women's secret crush. Right now, he's even beating big-screen heartthrob Theeradej "Ken" Wongpuapan in the popularity stakes.

As one of his avid supporters, I've joined every fan club for Sansern on Facebook, watched every video clip of him posted on YouTube and even looked up his profile through Google. And yes, when I met him, I was star-struck!

The chance to meet my hero came when a senior reporter I am shadowing at The Nation said she was going to interview the colonel. I begged to tag along.

When we got there, we waited a short while before we were ushered into his office. Sansern looked tired, yet greeted us with a warm smile and indulged us when we started asking endless questions about his popularity. He politely responded: yes, his staff kept him updated about the latest news because he doesn't have Internet access in his office; and yes, he has seen the photographs, the fan clubs and the music videos.

While speaking to us, he kept using the word lamm - Thai slang popular among youngsters these days. For some reason, though, he is behind the trend when it comes to technological speak: he kept saying he was being "paged" when his mobile beeped with a text message.

He explained that he was unaware he was live on TV when he started cracking jokes about the M79-grenade launcher, or joking about the clips of red-shirt protesters stripping a 7-Eleven store of everything but books.

The colonel has no less than three cellphones vying for his attention, so he can be excused for occasional lapses of attention. One was handed down by his predecessor; one is his private number; and the last is a direct line to his commander.

Recently, the phones have been ringing off the hook. Some people call to express their support, some to voice their displeasure, while some call to ask him out on a date. That's explains why, nowadays, he answers every call with: "Would you like to compliment or condemn, sir or ma'am?"

One call lasted for half an hour, with nothing but complaints from the other side. He listened patiently, and when the caller stopped, he asked politely: "Are you tired of complaining, sir? If not, feel free to call back. I will be here to listen."

He also receives hundreds of letters each day from fans. And not just letters - the postman has even delivered a pillow and eye creams. Apparently, the creams were sent by admirers who had noticed the dark circles under his eyes, made even more prominent by the lights for TV. He duly promised to try them out.

As for his personal favourites - his ideal celebrity is former beauty queen and actress Panadda "Boom" Wongphudee. He describes her as lovely, energetic and very self-confident.

He loves watching war movies, but can sit through a comedy just as easily. His favourite sport is takraw, though he says he can no longer deliver high kicks because he's getting older.

While bidding us goodbye, Sansern gave us two pieces of advice: "Never think you are better than anyone else, because the world will carry on even after you're dead", and "if you're given an opportunity, grasp it with both hands".

As for the question that is on everyone's lips: "Will we see you again now that the protest has ended?", his response was: "I'm there when the country needs me."

-- The Nation 2010-05-30

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[Briggsy]

Hagiographic pieces about senior army officers deeply involved in politics who has just overseen the deaths of many civilians tells me Thailand is still very much a banana republic.

I mean read the article, who wrote it? A 12-year-old girl?

What government/military ruler needs censorship when you have "reporting" like this? A complete waste of column space. The only thing it doesn't say is that he has lovely fair [white, if you must] skin.

Come on, TV, hardly a news clipping.

[mazeltov]

I had to regain my confidence

So I got into camouflage

The girls they love to see you shoot

I love a man in a uniform

I love a man in a uniform

I love a man in a uniform

I love a man in a uniform

To have ambition

Was my ambition

Time with my girl I spent it well

(you must be joking, o man you must be joking)

I need an order

(shoot, shoot)

I need an order

(shoot, shoot)

I need an order

(shoot, shoot)

I need an order

(shoot, shoot)

The girls they love to see you shoot

The girls they love to see you shoot

I love a man in a uniform

I love a man in a uniform

(they love to see you shoot)

I love a man in a uniform

The girls they love to see you shoot

I love a man in a uniform

(they love to see you shoot)

The girls they love to see you shoot

(bang bang you're dead)

I love a man in a uniform

(they love a... they love a... they love a... bang bang)

(they love to see you shoot)

[SomTumTiger]

I had to regain my confidence

So I got into camouflage

The girls they love to see you shoot

I love a man in a uniform

I love a man in a uniform

I love a man in a uniform

I love a man in a uniform

To have ambition

Was my ambition

Time with my girl I spent it well

(you must be joking, o man you must be joking)

I need an order

(shoot, shoot)

I need an order

(shoot, shoot)

I need an order

(shoot, shoot)

I need an order

(shoot, shoot)

The girls they love to see you shoot

The girls they love to see you shoot

I love a man in a uniform

I love a man in a uniform

(they love to see you shoot)

I love a man in a uniform

The girls they love to see you shoot

I love a man in a uniform

(they love to see you shoot)

The girls they love to see you shoot

(bang bang you're dead)

I love a man in a uniform

(they love a... they love a... they love a... bang bang)

(they love to see you shoot)

Wow - you're quite a poet. I almost read past the first line - almost.

[jackdawson]

this guy's the bomb ; literally

[moe666]

The world will carry on without you. He passes the bucket test fill a bucket with water stick your hand in and pull out fast if you leave a hole you are really important.

[Hardback]

Hagiographic pieces about senior army officers deeply involved in politics who has just overseen the deaths of many civilians tells me Thailand is still very much a banana republic.

I mean read the article, who wrote it? A 12-year-old girl?

What government/military ruler needs censorship when you have "reporting" like this? A complete waste of column space. The only thing it doesn't say is that he has lovely fair [white, if you must] skin.

Come on, TV, hardly a news clipping.

That's exactly what my thoughts were when I got the headline SMS this morning..just read the article and had them confirmed.

[animatic]

I see the bile is rising early in Bangkok.

As if I or you should really care if a cub reporter gets a Puff Piece on a slow news day.

Yes the man is handsome and just the type that women would love.

Not enough reason to weng on about this article.

[citizen49a]

Hagiographic pieces about senior army officers deeply involved in politics who has just overseen the deaths of many civilians tells me Thailand is still very much a banana republic.

I mean read the article, who wrote it? A 12-year-old girl?

What government/military ruler needs censorship when you have "reporting" like this? A complete waste of column space. The only thing it doesn't say is that he has lovely fair [white, if you must] skin.

Come on, TV, hardly a news clipping.

Since the crowds were dispersed from Bangkok, I've noticed an increasing tendency in the Thai press towards these sort of sappy, maudlin "salute" type articles, celebrating the virtue of the institutions and personalities prominent in the current regime. It's as if the regime is conducting a PR campaign to try to buff up it's image a little for the foreign press.

Well, who can argue with the author? The colonel does look like a cool customer, and I'm sure that the ladies fairly swoon over his boyish good looks. Those qualities aren't likely to be a hindrance in his career, but I'm not really impressed, especially when he's stacked up against men like the recently slain Saeh Dang, a man of power and privilege who put it all on the line for what he thought was right.

It didn't turn out so well for him, but I think he'll be remembered long after this colonel is forgotten.

[DocHolliday]

IMO this is a forum for a broad audience with a wide range of content. I found this article interesting to read. BTW you may know that every journalist starts as a trainee. I didnt know that everyone who posted a comment was already a senior journalist at the start of his career. Please excuse my inability to realize that...

You should give a starter a chance.

Edited May 30, 2010 by DocHolliday

[Changian]

No doubt Sanserm's fans are hoping that they'll be a few more demonstrations, States of Emergency etc soon so he'll be back on television again.

Wonder why the army doesn't have a budget for an internet connection in the Director of Civil Affairs office? Or are all the Army's crack IT staff trying to figure out how to fax a tweet?

[mazeltov]

I had to regain my confidence

So I got into camouflage

The girls they love to see you shoot

I love a man in a uniform

I love a man in a uniform

I love a man in a uniform

I love a man in a uniform

To have ambition

Was my ambition

Time with my girl I spent it well

(you must be joking, o man you must be joking)

I need an order

(shoot, shoot)

I need an order

(shoot, shoot)

I need an order

(shoot, shoot)

I need an order

(shoot, shoot)

The girls they love to see you shoot

The girls they love to see you shoot

I love a man in a uniform

I love a man in a uniform

(they love to see you shoot)

I love a man in a uniform

The girls they love to see you shoot

I love a man in a uniform

(they love to see you shoot)

The girls they love to see you shoot

(bang bang you're dead)

I love a man in a uniform

(they love a... they love a... they love a... bang bang)

(they love to see you shoot)

Wow - you're quite a poet. I almost read past the first line - almost.

credit and respect goes to the Gang of Four

comes in a remix by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, that is what the kids at your lawn listen too.

[tomahawk]

Yes citizen. I am sure you are correct. Seh Daeng will be remembered long time. Americans never forget General Benedict Arnold.

[FarangKenStein]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!

[gl9999]

Hagiographic pieces about senior army officers deeply involved in politics who has just overseen the deaths of many civilians tells me Thailand is still very much a banana republic.

I mean read the article, who wrote it? A 12-year-old girl?

What government/military ruler needs censorship when you have "reporting" like this? A complete waste of column space. The only thing it doesn't say is that he has lovely fair [white, if you must] skin.

Come on, TV, hardly a news clipping.

The article sounded like it was written by a giggly teenage girl.

That being said, the man did an excellent job during the crisis. And 'civilians' who take up arms against the government aren't civilians anymore. They got what was coming.

[noahvail]

Yes citizen. I am sure you are correct. Seh Daeng will be remembered long time. Americans never forget General Benedict Arnold.

Wow - an out of the (Lupini) park home run!!

[slapout]

The article is credited to a trainee, who hints at her admiration for the man. He is relatively young, apparently good looking in the females eye and has a way with words. He beats he.. out of a Chavilit type any day, spokesman= pr man, looks like a little govt success can be credited. Maybe a wee bit of jealously is showing from some of our members who are long past this stage of their life. Yes, I would like to be 47 again, even though 37 would probably be considered a slam dunk.

[doggie888888]

Does the good colonel have an original recipe for fried chicken?

[lilkitty]

My watch tells me it's May 30th, but this article has a date of April 1st. Why is that?

I didn't know TheNation employed teenage high-school girls.

[animatic]

Yes citizen. I am sure you are correct. Seh Daeng will be remembered long time. Americans never forget General Benedict Arnold.

No we don't. He was both a great general and our synonym for traitor.

If he had just left for England no one would care, but he also gave

away the plans for West Point's defenses, which he and Koschuscko had designed,

and that earns him a infinite history of scorn.

Oddly enough I have, here in Thailand, the mourning ring his wife wore

for a year to mourn her mothers death.

[bangkokrick]

Yes citizen. I am sure you are correct. Seh Daeng will be remembered long time. Americans never forget General Benedict Arnold.

How is Benedict Arnold relevant to an article on a dashing Thai colonel. How is the USA relevant to this story?

Just wondering.

Cheers, Rick

[tomahawk]

I do not really know much about internet and do not know how to work the quote thing, but this refers to a former posting here from citizen which says Seh Daeng should be remembered. if you read this whole thread you will see. As for what does it have to do with US, if you read this forum for a while you will see that no matter what topic is, somehow someone will find a way that it relates to US. Usually people doing this are from Europe.

[bangkokrick]

I do not really know much about internet and do not know how to work the quote thing, but this refers to a former posting here from citizen which says Seh Daeng should be remembered. if you read this whole thread you will see. As for what does it have to do with US, if you read this forum for a while you will see that no matter what topic is, somehow someone will find a way that it relates to US. Usually people doing this are from Europe.

That is my point. Why are people continuously comparing things in Thailand with the US. It's annoying and as I mentioned not relevant to the situation here in Thailand. Not having a go at you by the way just curious.

Cheers, Rick

[tomahawk]

Sorry Rick I misunderstood. I did not mean really to compare Thailand and US. More to compare Benedict Arnold and Seh Daeng. Both generals, both traitors and both will be remembered for these things. On top of this they both went over to the other side who wore red shirts.

[bangkokrick]

Sorry Rick I misunderstood. I did not mean really to compare Thailand and US. More to compare Benedict Arnold and Seh Daeng. Both generals, both traitors and both will be remembered for these things. On top of this they both went over to the other side who wore red shirts.

Now that is relevant thanks for the explanation. By the way I think that the Colonel did a great job during the protests and came across as a very calm person in a crisis. Good luck to him and his fan club!

Cheers, Rick

[lilkitty]

I wonder if the FaceBook fanclub helped him get laid.

[Phatcharanan]

Seh Daeng will be remembered long time. Americans never forget General Benedict Arnold.

Who?

[keepsamuiclean]

I like the report and while reading it put a smile on my face. A young trainee who writes how he/she feels about this colonel who did a great job during very difficult times. He/she can be proud that the report of the visit made it to the headlines - with a very good last sentence.

[JohnLeech]

Sounds a bit like the NATO spokesman Jamie Shea - I doubt if many people remember him now, either.

[brahmburgers]

It's not difficult for me to get past the crush of a female writer for a dashing man in uniform. Ok, got it, but let's not lose sight of recent history.

Some have brought up Seh Daeng in this topic about Sansern. Two men, similar in many ways, yet quite different in others.

One disobeyed orders continually, was paid and advised by a fugitive billionaire living overseas, became a rogue element, and mobilized armed men to try to overthrow the government.

The other took over operations from a meek General Anupong, and was assigned to do what the overly cautious General wasn't able to do. Sanserm was the right man for the job. He followed orders and got the job done - did quite well considering the circumstances.

One military leader lost, one won - and now Thailand and Bangkokians are picking up the pieces and trying to get their lives and livelihoods back on track. Unfortunately, the paymaster of the anarchists is still active, and so are the residual Red/Black Shirts - minus Seh Saeng.