DE Web Desk
SRINAGAR, Feb 1: Major General Girish Kalia on Wednesday took over the reins as General Officer Commanding of the elite Kupwara based Vajr Division from Major General Abhijit S Pendharkar, defence spokesman said.
The Kupwara based Army Division guards nearly 300 kms of the Line of Control in twin districts of Kupwara and Bandipora.
The General Officer has vast operational experience having served in intense counter insurgency and counter terrorist operations in North East and Jammu and Kashmir, he said.
Maj Gen Girish Kalia was commissioned on December 14, 1991 from Indian Military Academy Dehradun, Uttarakhand into, the Madras Regiment.
An alumnus of IMA, Dehradun, the General Officer has attended all important career courses at Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Army War College, Mhow and National Defence College, New Delhi. His higher qualification includes MSc & M Phil in Defence & Strategic Studies.
For his distinguished service, he has been awarded GOC-in-C Northern Command Commendation Card in 2001, GOC-in-C Southern Command Commendation Card in 2009 and Vishisht Seva Medal in 2020 while commanding a challenging brigade on the Line of Control.
The General Officer brings with him a rich experience of various Command, Staff and Instructional appointments including the command of an Infantry battalion as part of an Infantry Brigade and Strike Corps on the Line of Control, and as Defence Attache in Egypt.
He was tenanting an important appointment at Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff prior to assuming the Command of the prestigious Vajr Division, officials said.
The outgoing Major General Pendharkar, had taken over GOC of the Vajr Division on December 5, 2021. Maj Gen Pendharkar has shifted to Delhi.
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