Lieutenant General Manoj Pande was named Chief of Army Staff on Monday. On May 1, he will succeed General M M Naravane. Lt General Pande, the Vice Chief of Army Staff, will be the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to be named COAS.
“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,” the Indian Army said in a tweet. On May 1, 2022, Lt Gen Manoj Pande will be sworn in as #COAS.”
Since February 1, this year, he has served as Vice Chief of Army Staff.
He was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers (Bombay Sappers) in December 1982 after graduating from the National Defence Academy.
He was a member of Operation Parakram, the 2001-02 India-Pakistan stalemate in the aftermath of the Parliament assault, according to the Army. Thousands of troops were stationed on both sides of the border and along the Line of Control in J&K throughout the stalemate.
“During Operation Parakram in the strategic Pallanwala Sector of Jammu and Kashmir, near the Line of Control, the General Officer led the 117 Engineer Regiment,” the Army stated.
Pandey attended the Higher Command (HC) and National Defence College (NDC) courses at Staff College, Camberley (United Kingdom).
In his 39 years of military service, he has held key command and staff positions in a variety of operational environments, including command of an engineers brigade in the western theatre as part of a strike corps, an infantry brigade along the LoC in J&K, a mountain division in the high altitude area of western Ladakh, and command of a corps deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and in the counter insurgency operations area of Eastern Com.
“Among his staff positions, he has served as Brigade Major of a Mountain Brigade in the North East, Assistant Military Secretary (AMS) in the Military Secretary’s Branch, Colonel Q of a Mountain Division in the High Altitude Area, and Brigadier General Staff (Operations) at Headquarters Eastern Command. The General Officer formerly worked as the Chief Engineer for the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea. He also holds the positions of Additional Director General in the Military Operations Directorate at Army Headquarters, Chief of Staff Headquarters Southern Command, and Director General Discipline Ceremonial & Welfare at Army Headquarters, according to the Army.
From June 2020 to May 2021, Pande was Commander-in-Chief, Andaman & Nicobar Command (CINCAN), then from June 2021 to January 2022, he was General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command.
“He has received the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, Chief of Army Staff Commendation, and GOC-in-C Commendation thrice for his distinguished service.” The Bombay Sappers’ Colonel Commandant is the General Officer, according to the Army.
