Watcharaphol Kamnerdsiri, France

Watcharaphol Alexandre Kamnerdsiri, MD, Dip Mil Med, MS, PhDc

Dear ISSM Members,

It may appear audacious for such a junior member to compete for this position, but does not audacity belong to the young? Despite my junior status, I firmly believe that my cross-cultural education and professional experience would bring a fresh perspective to an international society such as ISSM.

The purpose of my project is to expand the presence of ISSM on two fronts: in Asia and within the military field. Asia is rich in the practice of holistic, traditional medicine, but it also defined by its contrasted views toward sexuality. The military population is equivalent to that of a continent and is still constrained by strictly enforced rules and, for some, very traumatic life experiences, both of which impact sexuality in harsh ways. In these two domains, there is much to learn and share.

I was born and educated in Thailand. I moved to Greece for my medical studies on a scholarship from the Hellenic Ministry of National Defense. After earning my medical degree and a diploma in military medicine, I pursued training in general and forensic psychiatry in France. I then moved to England, where I received a postgraduate degree with merit in war psychiatry at King's College London. It was during this period that I focused my professional interests on military sexuality. The completion of a sexual medicine program at Oxford leaded by ESSM Director of Education Dr. John Dean only confirmed this interest. I am presently a PhD candidate at the Institute of Sexology at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. I fluently speak English, French, Greek, and Thai, as well as conversational Czech and Laotian.

Some positions that I have held and projects that I have been a part of include the following: Senior medical adviser for an international research team on sexual tourism in Thailand; Translator of the Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality (CAPP), Thai edition; interventions at conferences around the world, presenting on military sexual trauma (MST) and the criminal consequences of extreme sexual practices; and author of a book published in Thailand on psycho-social aspects of engagement in the French Foreign Legion.

I have also participated in several media events, such as a program on AIDS prevention on Greek National Television and a series of short programs on sexuality and a long interview on a prime-time talk show on Thai TV. In 1997, I was responsible for organizing the visit of 343 Royal Thai Navy crews in Greece; in 2009, I oversaw the official visit of a group of 97 Royal Thai Armed Forces commanding officers to Germany, NATO headquarters in Brussels, and France. I wrote a post-conference report on the 22nd Asia Pacific Military Medicine Conference (APMMC XXII) which will be published in the second quarter issue of the 2012 (02/2012) Medical Corps International (MCI) Forum.

These are samples of my work in 2012:
Link to my interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3-b0UK_vEg&feature=youtu.be
Link to my report: http://www.mci-forum.com/category/new_developments/317-conference_report_apmmc_xxii_in_bangkok_thailand.html
Link to my book: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0WZX3FLzxU

If you are looking for a young and dynamic individual who is familiar with international activities, gifted in media presentation, and able to contribute a sufficient amount of time to the interest of ISSM management, then I'm your candidate of choice.

Thank you and Greetings from Paris.