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New Delhi. Lt Gen Manoj Pandey will be the 29th Chief of Army Staff and will succeed General MM Naravane after he retires on April 30. Lt Gen Pandey is currently the Vice Chief of the Army Staff. He will be the first officer of the Corps of Engineers, who will be the Chief of the Army Staff. Earlier, only officers of infantry, artillery and armored regiments have been at the head of the 13 lakh personnel army. “The government has appointed Lt Gen Manoj C Pandey as the next Chief of Army Staff and his appointment will be effective from 30 April afternoon,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The government followed the principle of seniority in appointing Pandey to the top post as he is the senior-most officer in the army after General Naravane. He was heading the Eastern Command of the Army before becoming the Vice Chief of the Army Staff on February 1. This command is responsible for guarding the Line of Actual Control in the Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh sectors. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the proposal to appoint Lt Gen Pandey as the next Chief of Army Staff, officials said.
General Naravane may be given the post of CDS
Lt Gen Pandey is taking charge of the army at a time when the government is focusing on integration of the three services through the establishment of theater commands to effectively deal with myriad security challenges. The theater command plan was being executed by India’s first Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat. He died in a helicopter crash in December last. The government is yet to appoint General Rawat’s successor. It is understood that General Naravane could be one of the contenders for this post as there is a general opinion in the defense establishment that this post should be given to an army officer.
Manoj Pandey is an alumnus of National Defense Academy
Lt Gen Pandey has also served as the chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command during his career. Andaman and Nicobar Command is the only command of the three armies in India. “Chief of the Army Staff General MM Naravane and all personnel congratulate Lt Gen Manoj Pandey on being appointed as the 29th Chief of the Army Staff,” the Army tweeted. Pandey is an alumnus of the National Defense Academy and was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers) in December 1982. In his illustrious career, he served in many important positions and participated in counter-terrorist operations in various areas.
Manoj Pandey has been awarded with many medals
He commanded an engineer regiment along the Line of Control during Operation Parakram in Jammu and Kashmir. Apart from this, he also commanded a mountain division in the highlands of western Ladakh and a corps in the northeast. He has also served as Chief Engineer in United Nations Missions in Ethiopia and Eritrea. He also served as Additional Director General in Directorate of Military Operations at Army Headquarters and Chief of Staff at Headquarters Southern Command. For his distinguished service, he has been awarded Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, Commendation from Chief of Army Staff etc.
Lt Gen Manoj C Pandey hails from Nagpur and some of his family members have been associated with the defense forces. His father retired from Nagpur University and mother worked in All India Radio. Colonel Abhay Patwardhan (Retd), who had met Lt Gen Pandey twice in Nagpur, told that Lt Gen Pandey did his early schooling in the city and is well known to him here. A senior journalist who knew Lt Gen Pandey’s family said that Lt Gen Pandey’s father CG Pandey lives in Nagpur.
