General Vijay Kumar Singh on Wednesday took charge as the Chief of the Army Staff from General Deepak Kapoor, who retired from service.
At a brief ceremony here, Gen. Kapoor handed over the baton to Gen. Singh, the seniormost infantry officer.
Gen. Singh, 59, is a third generation officer of the Rajput Regiment and was until recently the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Kolkata-based Eastern Command. A veteran of many battles, he participated in the 1971 Bangladesh war and saw action in “Operation Pawan” in Sri Lanka, for which he was awarded the Yudh Seva Medal.
He brings to office a vast experience in counter-insurgency operations and operations in the Line of Control and the high-altitude environment. During his illustrious career, Gen. Singh performed outstandingly in all courses of instruction.
A graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, he has excelled in a number of professional courses overseas. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Army Rangers Course of the U.S. Army War College. Gen. Singh held various high-profile command, staff and instructional appointments and commanded his battalion in an active Line of Control environment, and brigade in an operationally sensitive area. While in command of the counter-insurgency force in Jammu and Kashmir, he was awarded the Ati Vishist Seva Medal for his distinguished service as General Officer Commanding.
Gen. Singh commanded the prestigious strike corps in the Western Sector before taking charge of the Eastern Command. He has twice served as an instructor at the Infantry School, Chief Instructor at JLW (Commando Wing) and instructor in the Indian Military Training Team.
He will be the 24{+t}{+h} Indian to be the Army Chief, and was awarded the Param Vishist Seva Medal last year.
