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| Edited By: DNA Web Team |Source: DNA Web Desk |Updated: Feb 01, 2022, 08:04 PM IST
After the retirement of Lieutenant General CP Mohanty, Lieutenant General Manoj Pande has taken over as the Vice Chief of the Army. The appointment of Lt Gen. Pande was announced by the army in a statement released on Tuesday.
Prior to assuming charge as the Vice Chief, Pande was working as the head of the Kolkata-based HQs Eastern Command.
Work Life of Lt. Gen Pande
Lt Gen Pande was an alumnus of National Defence Academy. He was commissioned to the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers) in December 1982. There he commanded a challenging Engineer Regiment during Operation Parakram in the sensitive Pallanwala Sector along the Line of Control of Jammu and Kashmir.
He completed his graduation from the Staff College, Camberley (United Kingdom). Thereafter, he opted for the Higher Command (HC) and National Defence College (NDC) Courses.
Lt Gen Pande has worked in the military for almost 39 years and all these years his performance has proven to be worth appreciating. He has worked in challenging command and staff appointments in various operational environments, including command of an Engineer Brigade of Strike Corps in the Western Theatre, Mountain Division in the High Altitude Area of Western Ladakh, a Corps in the North East, Commander-in-Chief Andaman & Nicobar Command (CINCAN), Infantry Brigade along Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Command.
His appreciable service in the military has won him the award of Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, the Chief of Army Staff Commendation and GOC-in-C Commendation twice.
After the retirement of Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane on April 30, Pande will be the senior-most officer in the army.
Meanwhile, Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, who was serving as the Deputy Chief of the Army Staff, has taken over as chief of the Indian Army`s Northern Command.
Throughout his career, Lt Gen Dwivedi has worked in different operational profiles and held important positions. As per the statement released by the Army, “Commissioned into the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, Lt Gen Dwivedi, in a career spanning over 37 years, served across a wide spectrum of terrain and operational profiles, and held a number of important command, staff, and instructional appointments making immense contributions to the organisation.
The statement further said, "He is an alumnus of Sainik School, Rewa, National Defence Academy, and Indian Military Academy. He graduated from the prestigious Defence Service Staff College, attended Higher Command Course at the Army War College and the National Defence College equivalent course at the United State Army War College”.
He has commanded his battalion in the Kashmir Valley and the Rising Star Corps based at Yol. He has earlier served as staff officer in an armoured brigade, in the Directorate General of Military Operations, Military Secretary`s Branch and at Divisional and Corps Headquarters. He has also had two overseas tenures in Somalia and Seychelles.
After assuming taking over as the Northern Command chief, Lt. Gen Dwivedi paid homage to the brave hearts of Northern Command and laid the wreath at the Dhruva War Memorial. According to the statement, he greeted all ranks and expressed his commitment to take forward the excellent work by his predecessors and all ranks of Northern Command.
