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Journalism of Courage
CHANDIGARH, April 29: The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Shimla-based Army Training Command ARTRAC, Lt Gen. Vijay Oberoi, has been tipped to take over as the GOC-in-C, Western Command.
This is a part of a triangular move in which three Army Commanders are being rotated among different Commands. The present Western Army Commander, Lt Gen. H. B. Kala, is stated to take charge of the Lucknow-based Central Command, whose present GOC-in-C, Lt Gen. S. S. Sangra, will proceed to the ARTRAC.
Though the Army is yet to issue an official notification, the move was reportedly decided upon during the bi-annual Army Commanders Conference, held in New Delhi last week. Sources add that the move is expected to take place in late June or early July.
Lt Gen. H. B. Kala, who had taken over as GOC-in-C, Western Command, in October 1996, has completed his tenure as the Western Army Commander, while the ARTRAC Commander, Lt Gen. Oberoi, would have completed a two-year term by then.
All the three Army Commanders are infantry officers. While Lt Gen. Kala is Colonel of the Jat Regiment, Lt Gen. Oberoi and Lt Gen. Sangra are Colonels of the Maratha Light Infantry and the Dogra Regiment and Dogra Scouts, respectively.
With this move, all Army Commanders, with the exception of the GOC-in-C, Eastern Commander, Lt Gen. H. R. S. Kalkat, would have been rotated. The move is the result of a policy decision, following the two-year service extension, wherein the top brass who have been in their current position for about two years are to be rotated to offset stagnation.
Commissioned in June 1961, Lt Gen. Oberoi has taken active part in the Goa operations and the 1965 Indo-Pak war. Besides having served as the Military Adviser in Malaysia, he is an alumni of the US Army War College. His staff appointments include Director General, Military Operations, Additional Director General, Perspective Planning and Deputy Director General, Combat Training.
Lt Gen. Kala, who is a recipient of the Shaurya Chakra for gallantry, is an alumni of the National Defence College and has commanded a Division and Corps in the Western sector, besides serving in CzechoslovakiaEarlier, the present GOC-in-C, Northern Command, Lt Gen. H. M. Khanna and the GOC-in-C, Southern Command, Lt Gen S. Padmanabhan had been rotated between these two Commands on completion of about a two-year long tenure in their earlier appointments.
