New Delhi, February 1: Lieutenant General Chandi Prasad Mohanty on Monday assumed the appointment of the Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VCOAS). He is the first Odia to be appointed as the VCOAS of the Indian Army.
He took over the new appointment from Lt Gen SK Saini who superannuated on January 31 after completing four decades of illustrious career in the Army. On assuming the coveted appointment of VCOAS of Indian Army, Lt Gen CP Mohanty, paid homage to the brave hearts by laying a wreath at the National War Memorial and also reviewed the Guard of Honour today at the South Block Lawns.
An alumnus of Rashtriya Indian Military College, Dehradun, National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, Mohanty was commissioned into the Rajput Regiment on June 12, 1982.
In a career spanning four decades, the General officer served across a wide spectrum of conflicts and terrain profiles and tenanted a host of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments.
He commanded a battalion on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir and later in the North East. He has the unique distinction of commanding two brigades – first on the Line of Actual Control (LoCA) and later on, the multinational UN Brigade in Democratic Republic of Congo.
He later commanded the Rangiya based Division in a counter insurgency environment and the Sikkim based Trishakti Corps immediately after the Doklam incident. The General officer also has a unique distinction of commanding two Administrative formations as well: the Jodhpur Sub Area as a Major General and Uttar Bharat Area as a Lieutenant General.
An alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College Wellington, Higher Defence Management Course Secunderabad and the National Defence College New Delhi, the General Officer’s staff and instructional assignments include an instructional tenure at NDA, Brigade Major of an Armoured Brigade, Military Advisor in Seychelles, Colonel Military Secretary (Selection) in the MS Branch, Brigadier General Staff (Operations) of a Corps in the Eastern Theatre and Director General, Operational Logistics and Strategic Movement.
