New Delhi: General Anil Chauhan, on Friday, took over as the new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).
He is also the Principal Military Advisor to the Defence Minister on all tri-Service matters as well as head of the Department of Military Affairs as Secretary.
He is also the Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC).
In a brief interaction with the media before taking charge, General Chauhan said that it was a matter of pride for him to be nominated as CDS.
There are hopes and expectations among the three Services, government, and citizens from the new CDS, he said while assuring that he would fulfill his duties to the best of his abilities.
“The security challenges facing the nation will be dealt with jointly by the Services,” said General Chauhan.
Earlier, General Chauhan paid homage to the fallen heroes by laying a wreath at the National War Memorial.
He also inspected the Tri-Service Guard of Honour at the South Block Lawns, in the presence of Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral SN Ghormade, and other senior officers of the Armed Forces.
Newly appointed Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Friday also called on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at South Block in the national capital.
This has been the first time that a retired officer has been appointed to this position for which a gazette notification was issued to announce the change in rules for the appointment.
In a career spanning over 40 years, Lt Gen Chauhan has held several command, staff, and instrumental appointments and had extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and northeast India.
Born on 18th May 1961, Lt Gen Anil Chauhan was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in 1981.
He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.
In the rank of Maj General, the officer had commanded an Infantry Division in the critical Baramula sector in the Northern Command.
Later, as Lt General, he commanded a corps in the North East and subsequently went to become the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command from September 2019 and held the charge until his retirement from the service in May 2021.
In addition to these command appointments, the officer also tenanted important staff appointments, including the charge of the Director General of Military Operations.
Earlier, the officer had also served on a United Nations mission to Angola. He superannuated from the Indian Army on 31 May 2021.
Even after his retirement from the Army, he continued to contribute to national security and strategic matters.
The CDS is the most senior uniformed officer in rank, the first among equals — the only four-star officers in the country are the CDS, the chiefs of the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.
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