Ghwang L'ei
Dr. Geoffrey Res-lrai Ghwang L′ei PhD OA SoST | |
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| Native name | 王欷 |
| Other name(s) | 邐弛 |
| Born | September 8, 1957 |
| Allegiance | Themiclesia |
| Service/ | Themiclesian Marines |
| Years of service | 1986 – 2020 |
| Rank | colonel-general |
| Spouse(s) | Sally Prah |
| Other work | Manual of Wetland Archaeology (1992) |
Dr. Geoffrey Ghwang L′ei PhD OA SST (Shinasthana: 王欷, ghwang-l′ei; Sept. 8, 1957 – ) is a Themiclesian archaeologist, antiquarian, and military officer.
Early life
Ghwang L′ei was born on September 8, 1957, in Tubh County, Inner Region, Themiclesia. His father was a local construction worker, and his mother, a housewife. He grew up from a modest background but excelled in school and showed remarkable interest in history from a young age. He graduated from university as with a bachelor's degree in arts in 1980 and began work as a field archaeologist, to obtain income and pursue further research. He followed the renowned Dr. Ku of the Pond University and participated in several excavations in the Great Lake. In 1985, he obtained his doctorate working on prehistoric cultures in southern Themiclesia. The same year, he was made a research fellow in the Southern Antiquarian Society.
Military service
Themiclesian archaeologists of the 70s criticized the armed forces for not giving sufficient attention to preserving the cultural sites that predate Meng settlement, which was sometimes described as a colonial hubris. In 1972, the Ministry of Defence ordered several units to consult antiquarian authorities about the impact of future military installations in this wise. Ghwang was approached by the Themiclesian Marines as he supervised archaeological digs in Prjin Prefecture, where they were active. Initially, he was retained on a board of consultants, but later the government decided that non-binding consultancy was not sufficient supervision to prevent damage to fragile archaeological sites. The Marines decided to offer him a commission. His current position being financially unrewarding, he accepted a captain's commission in 1986. His primary tasks were surveying the land required for various developments and then reporting to both headquarters and the Cabinet Office if they would threaten the integrity of archaeological sites.
In 1993, he volunteered to attend a programme hosted by the Foreign Office on international development, where he was approached by various diplomats and defence analysts. Through the several months in residency, he acquired additional qualifications and began working in this field. He was made major in 1991 and colonel in 1998. In 2000, he headed the military mission to Dayashina, which greatly boosted his reputation, both domestic and abroad, and made him a contender for higher office. Recalled to Themiclesia in 2004, he directed international strategy, after which he represented Themiclesia to Septentrion League's peacekeeping forces; since 2009, he also held the title of Master of the Exchequer, which entailed no duty but placed him in line as Captain-general. Though Margaret Skur was expected to become captain-general first, she was pushed back due to a corruption scandal in the Department of Digital Technology, which she led. He was made Captain-general in 2015.
His appointment was not without disputation. Some internal voices were critical of the appointment of an officer who not only had no combat experience, but also never led a field unit of any kind. However, the Government was satisfied that, according to the rules of seniority, he was next in line to be appointed. Ghwang dealt with internal problems largely by ignoring them wholesale, not altering any of his predecessor's policies. According to several other accounts, his captaincy-general was remarkably inactive and not as full of disputes as some expected. He did, however, order a thorough and arms-length internal investigation for personnel abuse, analyzed to have the effect of holding subordinates in check; previously, many commanders feared such investigations would ultimately implicate themselves, though Ghwang did not. In 2017, he doubled the archaeology panel's membership from 6 to 12; he was voted Honourary President of the Southern Antiquarian Society.
2019 scandal and dismissal
During the Themiclesian Marines' deployment to suppress drug cartels in Idacua, Ghwang was implicated in a tweet sent late in November that called the Freedom Warriors, the mercenary force they were fighting, "perverts". Some members of them were held prisoner by the Themiclesians, and FW's headquarters sent out a tweet asserting that no abuse of prisoners will go unreported. They utilized the hashtags #HumanRights and #Watching, where were lately used in the Vyzhvan Civil War to protest against widespread abuse by Kolodorian forces in that area.
It was later revealed that Ghwang flew into a fit hearing FW suggesting his unit abused human rights. Construing this as an insult, he reportedly told the duty officer over the official Twitter account to respond in kind and would not consider caution. When asked what should be reprised, he shouted at the officer that "you insult each other regularly and expertly; you need not my instruction to do likewise to the Freedom Warriors." However, the insult thus applied was recently a buzzword in Themiclesia and carried connotations unfriendly to Themiclesian women's rights groups. The Government instructed the tweet retracted almost as soon as it was sent, but not before it was widely transmitted and captured. On Dec. 28, he was dismissed by ordinance, formally handing over powers to his successor, Dr. Margaret Skur, on January 29.
Works
- Manual of Wetland Archaeology, published by the Alliance Press in 1992.