Cai Dexian

Singaporean army general From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Cai Dexian^[a] (born 1984) is a Singaporean Major General who has been serving as Chief of Army since 2025.^[3]^[2]^[1]

Quick facts Chief of Army, Preceded by ...

Cai Dexian
蔡德贤


Chief of Army
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 March 2025
Preceded by	David Neo

Personal details
Born	1984 (age 40–41)^[1] Singapore
Alma mater	Stanford University (BA)^[2] INSEAD (MBA)
Military service
Allegiance	Singapore
Branch/service	Singapore Army
Years of service	2003–present
Rank	Major-General
Commands	Chief of Army (2025–present) Commander, 3rd Division (2022-2025)

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Education

Cai was awarded the Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship to study at Stanford University, where he graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and International Relations.^[2] Cai was also awarded the Lee Kuan Yew scholarship in 2018 to study at INSEAD^[2], where he graduated in 2019 with a Master of Business Administration with distinction.

He also attended the Indonesian Army Command and Staff College (SESKOAD) in 2014 and attained the Top International Student.^{[citation needed]}

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Military career

Cai enlisted into the SAF in 2003 and is an armour officer by vocation.^[2] He was Commanding Officer of the 48th Battalion Singapore Armoured Regiment and subsequently Commanding Officer of the 8th Singapore Armoured Brigade.^[1] He was also a board member of ST Engineering Ltd and D’Crypt Pte Ltd.^[2]

Cai was deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. He is the first Singaporean to be awarded with the Bronze Star Medal.^[4]^[2]

Prior to his appointment as Chief of Army, Cai held the appointment of Commander, 3rd Singapore Division.^[2]

Cai was promoted from the rank of Brigadier-General to Major-General on 1 July 2025.^[5]

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