Lieutenant General
Sarath Chand
PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM
38th Vice Chief of the Army Staff
In office
13 January 2017 – 31 May 2018
Chief of Army StaffBipin Rawat
Preceded byBipin Rawat
Succeeded byDevraj Anbu
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief South Western Command
In office
1 February 2016 – 12 January 2017
Preceded byArun K Sahni
Succeeded byAbhay Krishna
Personal details
BornNeduvathoor, Kottarakkara, Kerala
SpouseBindu
Military service
Allegiance India
Branch/service Indian Army
Years of serviceJune 1979 – 31 May 2018
Rank Lieutenant General
Unit 11 Garhwal Rifles
Commands South Western Command
IV Corps
11 Garhwal Rifles
Battles/warsOperation Pawan
Operation Rhino
Operation Falcon
Service numberIC-35904Y
Awards

Lieutenant General Sarath Chand, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM is an Indian politician and former Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) of the Indian Army. He served as Vice Chief of Army Staff from 13 January 2017 till his retirement on 31 May 2018.[1][2] He joined Bharatiya Janata Party on 6 April 2019.[3]

Early life and education

Chand was born in Kottarakkara, Kerala and is the son of late N. Prabhakaran Nair and G. Saradamma. He is an alumnus of Devi Vilasam Upper Primary School, Neduvathoor; Sainik School, Kazhakootam,[4] National Defence Academy, Pune and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He also attended Defence Services Staff College, Wellington; higher command course at Army War College, Mhow and a National Defence College, New Delhi.[5][6]

Military career

Chand was commissioned into 11th Battalion the Garhwal Rifles in June 1979. He has vast experience spanning over 38 years and has served in all operational theatres and held active combat leadership role at every stage of command. He has commanded a company in the Kargil Sector of Ladakh and another company during Operation Pawan as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka. He has also commanded a battalion in Operation Rhino, targeted at infiltrators in Assam and Operation Falcon, along the Line of Actual control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh; an infantry brigade in the desert, a counter-insurgency force in the Kashmir valley, IV Corps (Tezpur) and GOC-C South Western Command (Jaipur). In addition, he has held numerous staff and instructional appointments including instructor of the commando wing in infantry school . He was also served in the United Nations mission in Somalia (UNOSOM-II).[6][1] He has also served as Colonel of the Regiment of Garhwal Rifles.[7]

He assumed the office of VCOAS on 13 January 2017 after General Bipin Rawat was promoted to Chief of Army Staff (COAS).[5][8][1] and retired on 31 May 2018, succeeded by Lt General Devraj Anbu.[2]

During 38 years of his career he has been awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2006, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2014, the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal in 2016 [6][9][10] and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2018.[11]

Honours and decorations

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Uttam Yudh Seva Medal
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Vishisht Seva Medal Special Service Medal Siachen Glacier Medal
Sainya Seva Medal High Altitude Service Medal Videsh Seva Medal 50th Anniversary of Independence Medal
30 Years Long Service Medal 20 Years Long Service Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal UNOSOM II

Dates of rank

Insignia Rank Component Date of rank
Second Lieutenant Indian Army 9 June 1979[12]
Lieutenant Indian Army 9 June 1981
Captain Indian Army 31 July 1984[13]
Major Indian Army 9 June 1990[14]
Lieutenant-Colonel Indian Army 1 January 2000[15]
Colonel Indian Army 31 October 2004[16]
Brigadier Indian Army 8 April 2008 (seniority from 6 July 2007)[17]
Major General Indian Army 30 April 2012 (seniority from 4 October 2010)[18]
Lieutenant-General Indian Army 28 October 2014[19]

Personal life

He is married to Bindu and they have two sons; Abhilash Chand, a major in the Indian Army Corps of Engineers and Abhijit Chand, a naval lieutenant.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Press Information Bureau". Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Lt Gen Devraj Anbu is the new Vice Chief of Army Staff". The Indian Express. 24 May 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Former Vice Chief of Army Staff Sarath Chand joins BJP, says inspired by PM Modi". 6 April 2019.
  4. ^ "Sainik Schools to be more affordable". The Hindu. 16 December 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Lt General Sarath Chand appointed new Vice Chief of Army Staff". The Indian Express. 12 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d "Lt Gen Sarath Chand, a Keralite, to replace Bipin Rawat as army vice-chief". OnManorama. Archived from the original on 6 January 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  7. ^ "Lt Gen Cherish Mathson appointed Colonel of Regiment of Garhwal Rifles". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  8. ^ Correspondent, Special. "Lt. Gen. Sarath Chand embarks on new role". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  9. ^ "Press Information Bureau". Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  10. ^ "Press Information Bureau". Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  11. ^ "390 Republic Day Gallantry and Other Defence Decorations Announced".
  12. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 17 January 1981. p. 88.
  13. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 23 March 1985. p. 376.
  14. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 14 September 1991. p. 1311.
  15. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 19 April 2003. p. 514.
  16. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 3 December 2005. p. 2394.
  17. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 16 May 2009. p. 961.
  18. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 22 March 2014. p. 426.
  19. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 20 June 2015. p. 1623.
Military offices Preceded byArun Kumar Sahni General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief South Western Command 1 February 2016 – 12 January 2017 Succeeded byAbhay Krishna Preceded by General Officer Commanding IV Corps Succeeded by Preceded byBipin Rawat Vice Chief of Army Staff 13 January 2017 – 31 May 2018 Succeeded byDevraj Anbu
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