Lieutenant General Manoj Pande appointed new Army Chief
New Delhi, Apr 18: Lieutenant General Manoj Pande has become the first engineer to be appointed as India's Army Chief.
Lt Gen Pande, an engineer, will replace after General Naravane as Army Chief. Gen Naravane is the front runner for the post of Chief of Defence Staff after the passing of General Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash December last year.
General MM Naravane #COAS & All Ranks of #IndianArmy congratulate Lieutenant General Manoj Pande #VCOAS on being appointed as the 29th Chief of the Army Staff #COAS of the #IndianArmy. Lt Gen Manoj Pande will assume the appointment of #COAS on 01 May 2022.#InStrideWithTheFuture pic.twitter.com/fiUpc29U2A
— ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) April 18, 2022
Before taking charge as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff, he was heading the Eastern Army Command tasked with guarding the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh sectors.
Gen Naravane's tenure will come to an end on April 30. Lt Gen Pande was commissioned into the Bombay Sappers in December 1982.
In his distinguished career, he has held several prestigious command and staff assignments in conventional as well as counter-insurgency operations in all types of terrain.
He commanded an engineer regiment along the Line of Control during the Operation Parakram in Jammu and Kashmir, an engineer brigade in the western sector, an infantry brigade along the LoC and a mountain division in high-altitude areas of western Ladakh and a corps in the Northeast. He has served as chief engineer in the UN mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
He was the Commander-in-Chief Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN) from June 2020 to May 2021. For his illustrious service, he has been conferred Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, the Chief of Army Staff Commendation and the GOC-in-C Commendation.