Photo By Staff Sgt. Tamie Norris | U.S. Army 1st Lt. Khunsig Redmon, a maintenance control officer with the 5-20 Infantry Regiment, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, poses in front of a monument in Lopburi, Thailand, that was modeled after his father for his contributions to the U.S. and Thai Special Forces alliances, March 11, 2026.
1st Lt. Redmon is supporting Hanuman Guardian, the bilateral training exercise between the U.S. Army and the Royal Thai Army in the Kingdom of Thailand. Now in its 17th year, the exercise enhances readiness through realistic training while reinforcing the enduring U.S.–Thailand alliance, one of America’s oldest partnerships, dating back to 1833, and a shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Staff Sgt. Tamie Norris) see less
| View Image Page
Hanuman Guardian | A family history of U.S.-Thai military partnership brings another generation to Hanuman Guardian
Lopburi, THAILAND - Many service members join the military following in the footsteps of previous generations. When that footprint is football field sized, the expectations can feel daunting. But not for U.S. Army 1st Lieutenant Khunsig Redmon.
Redmon's father is U.S. Army Colonel (Ret.) Larry Redmon, a 43-year Army Special Forces veteran with numerous accolades and awards marking his substantial contribution to the United States Army and the partnership with the Royal Thai Army Special Forces. Col. Redmon spent nearly 30 years in Thailand and Southeast Asia furthering the relationship and capabilities of the two armies.
"I’ve definitely learned a lot from him growing up," said his son, 1st Lt. Redmon, a maintenance control officer with the 5-20 Infantry Regiment, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team. “It’s all very inspiring to me as a young, growing individual. He would always talk about how it was such a blast to be teaching Soldiers their craft.”
“One of the biggest things that he taught me was to trust your NCO’s [noncommissioned officers], and I take that to heart every single day.”
Col. Redmon is highly regarded by the entire Royal Thai Army Special Forces division and to honor his contributions to their community and missions, they used his likeness in a statue honoring that bond in the Thai-U.S. Special Forces Brotherhood Monument in Thailand.
And if that footprint wasn’t big enough, 1st Lt. Redmon’s mother also served proudly for the Royal Thai Army for 10 years. Nuntalux Redmon started as an emergency room nurse in the Royal Thai Army and completed a four-year nursing degree. She then became a military public affairs officer and a civil affairs school instructor. She retired from the Royal Thai Army as a Captain and went on to work for a Thailand television station. She was both a news anchor and reporter for Channel 5; ironically the same news station that will be covering the closing ceremony for Hanuman Guardian, the exercise that 1st Lt. Redmon is currently participating in.
“There was a lot of motivating factors for joining the military,” Redmon explains. “I grew up here in Thailand. My father worked in the U.S. military, and I was able to see a little bit of the positive impacts that he’s tried to make throughout his time here.”
The lieutenant grew up with the Army in his blood and commissioned into the Ordnance Corps after graduating from the Virginia Military Institute. One of his main goals was to attend Cobra Gold and Hanuman Guardian in Thailand, two exercises that highlight the capabilities of both armies and their shared alliance.
"One of the big things that was on my bucket list for being in the Army as I joined, I wanted to go to the Pacific to get the opportunity to do specifically Cobra Gold and Hanuman Guardian,” explained Redmon. “And I was very fortunate, very privileged, to have gone to a unit that got tasked with both.”
While growing up in Thailand he watched his dad help strategically plan and participate in Cobra Gold and Hanuman Guardian and that it was a huge source of pride and accomplishment for him. Col. Redmon was very active in getting resources for the event and helping the soldiers of both armies.
“Seeing just how much joy the success of Cobra Gold brought him, and just how involved that he was with the exercise. I thought, ‘this is pretty cool. I want to do it’,” Redmon said.
The bilateral exercises focus on readiness through realistic training, utilizing ground and air capabilities, allowing 1st Lt. Redmon to train his Soldiers in a real-life, field environment, which adds substantial benefit to their careers.
"The value in conducting these exercises with our partner forces, especially with the acquisition of the Strykers, is to really reinforce that we're committed to you,” explained Redmon. “We're able to help them build a more robust sustainment architecture here that will serve them well into the future.”
If that wasn’t full circle enough, it seemed only fitting that 1st Lt. Redmon received his recent promotion in front of his dad's statue in Thailand earlier this month, adding special meaning to his event. It honored both of his parents’ commitment and paves the way for his own contributions for years to come.
NEWS INFO
Date Taken:
03.11.2026
Date Posted:
03.18.2026 03:32
Story ID:
560780
Location:
LOP BURI, TH
Web Views:
50
Downloads:
0
PUBLIC DOMAIN
This work, Hanuman Guardian | A family history of U.S.-Thai military partnership brings another generation to Hanuman Guardian, by SSG Tamie Norris, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
