New Delhi, April 18: Lt Gen Manoj Pande on Monday was appointed as the new Army Chief. Pande, who has been holding the position of Vice Chief of the Army so far, will take over from Gen MM Naravane who is set to retire by the end of this month. “Gen MM Naravane and All Ranks of Indian Army congratulate Lt Gen Manoj Pande, VCOAS on being appointed as the 29th Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army. Lt Gen Manoj Pande will assume the appointment of Army Chief on 01 May 2022,” the Indian Army said in a tweet. Lt Gen Manoj Pande is the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to become the Army Chief. Earlier, he held the role of Eastern Army Commander and looked after India’s borders with China, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. Gen Naravane took charge as Army Chief on December 31, 2021 and is set to retire by the end of this month. Lt Gen Manoj Pande is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and he was commissioned in December 1982 in the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers). The General Officer commanded 117 Engineer Regiment during Operation Parakram in the sensitive Pallanwala Sector of Jammu and Kashmir, along the Line of Control. The General Officer is a graduate of Staff College, Camberley (United Kingdom) and attended the Higher Command (HC) and National Defence College (NDC) Courses. In his 39 years of distinguished military career, he has tenanted important and challenging command and staff appointments in different operational environments which include command of an Engineer Brigade in the Western Theatre, as part of Strike Corps, an Infantry Brigade along Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, a Mountain Division in the High Altitude Area of Western Ladakh and command of a Corps, deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and in Counter Insurgency Operations area of Eastern Command. Lt Gen Pande’s staff exposures include Brigade Major of a Mountain Brigade in the North East, Assistant Military Secretary (AMS) in Military Secretary’s Branch, Colonel Q of a Mountain Division in High Altitude Area and Brigadier General Staff (Operations) at Headquarters Eastern Command. The General Officer has served as Chief Engineer in the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea. He has also tenanted the appointments of Additional Director General in the Military Operations Directorate at Army Headquarters, Chief of Staff Headquarters Southern Command and Director General Discipline Ceremonial and Welfare at the Army Headquarters. He was Commander-in-Chief Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN) from June 2020 to May 2021 and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command from Jun 2021 to Jan 2022. He took over as Vice Chief of Army Staff on February 1. For his illustrious service he has been conferred with the award of Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, the Chief of Army Staff Commendation and twice with GOC-in-C Commendation. (UNI)
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