New Delhi (NVI): Southern Army Commander Lieutenant General SK Saini will take over as the new Vice Chief of Army Staff tomorrow.
Ahead of taking up the new role, General Saini relinquished the command of the Southern Command at a ceremony in Pune. The officer also paid tributes to the martyrs at National War Memorial Pune.
Notably, this is also the first order of a senior military appointment issued through the Department of Military Affairs headed by Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat.
The post of Vice Chief of Army Staff fell vacant after Lt Gen MM Naravane, then vice chief, was elevated as the Chief of Army Staff.
Commissioned into the Jat Regiment in June 1981, General Saini is an alumnus of Sainik School Kapurthala (Punjab), National Defence Academy (NDA) in Pune and Indian Military Academy in Dehradun.
His previous assignments and roles include his deputation as Deputy Chief Military Personnel Officer in the Iraq-Kuwait UN Mission, Global Peace Operations Initiative’s peacekeeping exercise in Mongolia, and a counter-terrorism exercise in Australia.
Apart from this, General Saini has been honoured with Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM), the Yudh Seva Medal (YSM), the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM), the Chief of Army Staff Commendation and the Army Commander Commendation for his service.
