On Saturday, General Manoj Pande took over as the 29th Chief of the Army Staff after incumbent Gen MM Naravane retired. Gen Pande, who was vice head at the time, became the force’s first officer from the Corps of Engineers. Gen Pande was the Chief of the Eastern Army Command, which was tasked with safeguarding the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh sectors, until he was appointed Deputy Chief of the Army on February 1.
Gen Pande took leadership of the Indian Army at a time when the country is dealing with a plethora of security concerns, particularly along its borders with China and Pakistan. As Army commander, he will have to work with the Navy and the Indian Air Force on the government’s intention to roll out theatre commands. The theaterization plan was overseen by India’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen Bipin Rawat, who died in a helicopter mishap in December last year. The government has yet to nominate Gen Rawat’s replacement.
During his distinguished career, Gen Pande was also the Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN), India’s only tri-services command. He was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers) in December 1982 as an alumni of the National Defence Academy. Gen Pande has held a number of important command and staff posts in both conventional and counter-insurgency operations in a range of settings.
During Operation Parakram in Jammu and Kashmir, he headed an engineer regiment along the LoC, an engineer brigade in the western sector, an infantry brigade along the LoC, a mountain division in western Ladakh’s high-altitude area, and a corps in the northeast. Among his staff roles are Brigade Major of a Mountain Brigade in the Northeast, Assistant Military Secretary (AMS) in the Military Secretary’s Branch, and Brigadier General Staff (Operations) at the Eastern Command headquarters.
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