NEW DELHI, Apr 1: Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth, who helmed the Southern Command during Operation Sindoor last year, took charge as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff on Wednesday.
The decorated military officer succeeds Lt Gen. Pushpendra Singh.
At a ceremony held on the South Block lawns, the general officer reviewed a guard of honour as he assumed the key leadership post in the Indian Army.
A day earlier, Lt Gen. Seth relinquished his previous appointment as the general officer commanding-in-chief of the Southern Command.
He also laid a wreath at the Southern Command War Memorial to honour the sacrifices made by soldiers.
In his message to all ranks of the Pune-based command, the general officer exhorted them to sustain its operational edge by embracing technology absorption, refining warfighting competencies for multi-domain operations and strengthening the foundations of a future-ready force, officials said.
Lt Gen. Seth served as the 51st general officer commanding-in-chief of the elite Southern Command from July 1, 2024, to March 31 this year.
When India carried out Operation Sindoor — the decisive military action in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack — last year, Lt Gen. Seth was at the helm of the Southern Command.
Along with two other top officers from the Navy and Air Force, he also witnessed the key tri-services exercise, “Trishul”, held off Gujarat’s Porbandar coast in November last year.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla, and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, Lt Gen. Seth was commissioned into the 2nd Lancers on December 20, 1986.
The general officer has commanded the Skinner’s Horse, 98 Armoured Brigade, Counter Insurgency Uniform Force, 21 Corps and Delhi Area.
He has been an instructor and assistant adjutant at the NDA and the chief instructor at the School of Armoured Warfare, Armoured Corps Centre and School, Ahmednagar.
Lt Gen. Seth has served with the United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM-III) from 1995-96 as the operation officer, the officials said.
The general officer commanded the South Western Command from November 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.
“The staff appointments tenanted by the general officer include Brigade Major of an Independent Armoured Brigade, Assistant Military Secretary at Military Secretary’s Branch, Brigadier General Staff (Operations) of HQ South Western Command, Deputy Director General Perspective Planning (Plans) and Additional Director General, Weapons and Equipment,” the defence ministry had said earlier.
Lt Gen. Seth has excelled in all courses of instructions, having been awarded the “Silver Centurion” in the Young Officers’ Course and standing first on both the Radio Instructor Course and the Junior Command Course. He went on to be adjudged the best all-round student at the Defence Services Staff Course at Wellington, the ministry had said.
The general officer has attended the prestigious Defence Services Command and General Staff Course at Military College, Paris, International Defence Acquisition Management Course at Naval Postgraduate School, Monterrey, California, Higher Command Course at Mhow and the National Defence College at New Delhi, it had said.
The Army, in a post on X, said Lt Gen. Sandeep Jain assumed the appointment of general officer commanding-in-chief of the Southern Command on Wednesday.
“In a solemn ceremony, the General Officer paid tribute to the #Bravehearts at the Southern Command War Memorial in Pune Military Station and reviewed the Guard of Honour. #IndianArmy #SouthernCommand @DefenceMinIndia @SpokespersonMoD @IaSouthern,” it said.
In a separate post, the Army said Lt Gen. Pushpendra Singh has relinquished the appointment of Vice Chief of the Army Staff. In a solemn ceremony, he laid a wreath to honour the supreme sacrifice of soldiers at the National War Memorial in New Delhi and reviewed a guard of honour on the South Block lawns.
In another post on X, the Army said Lt Gen. Anoop Shinghal has assumed the appointment of director general of the Regiment of Artillery.
“Upon taking over the appointment, he paid homage to the #Bravehearts at the National War Memorial, #NWM honouring their supreme sacrifice and unwavering devotion to duty. #IndianArmy #RegimentOfArtillery,” it added. (Agencies)
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