Lt Gen Manoj Pande becomes first sapper to be Indian Army chief

Lt Gen Manoj Pande, who is Vice Chief of the Army, will become the senior-most army officer when General Naravane retires on April 30

PGurus Newsdesk

April 18, 2022

Lt Gen Manoj Pande, who is Vice Chief of the Army, will become the senior-most army officer when General Naravane retires on April 30

Lt Gen Manoj Pande to take over as army chief, 1st engineer to hold top post

Army Lieutenant General Manoj Pande has been appointed as Chief of the Army Staff with incumbent Army Chief General M M Naravane, seen as the frontrunner for the Chief of Defence Staff’s post, due to retire by the end of this month. At present, Lt Gen Pande is serving as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff.

For his illustrious service, he has been conferred with the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, the Chief of Army Staff Commendation, and twice with GOC-in-C Commendation. The General Officer is The Colonel Commandant, The Bombay Sappers.

Lt General Pande was commissioned on December 24, 1982, in the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers), and during his long and distinguished service spanning over 39 years, has served in a variety of command, staff, and instructional appointments.

Lt Gen Manoj Pande, who is Vice Chief of the Army, will become the senior-most army officer when General Naravane retires on April 30.

He has commanded an Engineer Brigade in the Western Theatre as part of Strike Corps, and an Infantry Brigade along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. His other important command appointments include a Mountain Division in the high-altitude area of western Ladakh and a Corps deployed along the LAC and in the counter-insurgency operations area of the Eastern Command.

He had been Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman & Nicobar Command and the Eastern Army Commander at Kolkata before taking over as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff.

An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, he has also studied at Staff College, Camberley (UK), Army War College, Mhow, and National Defence College, New Delhi.

[With Inputs from IANS]

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