New Delhi: Lieutenant General Chandi Prasad Mohanty, Vice Chief of the Army Staff, superannuated from service on January 31 after four decades of illustrious service.
His tenure in the office will be remembered for the huge increase in emergency financial powers to purchase urgently required weapon platforms and equipment and the impetus given to induction of niche and disruptive technologies in the Army.
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As the Vice Chief of the Army Staff, he was instrumental in executing a number of critical procurement decisions, especially involving emergency procurement to augment own preparedness along Northern borders.
He also laid emphasis on modern methods of training and education within the Army to deal with the emerging national security challenges.
An alumnus of Rashtriya Indian Military College, Dehradun, National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, Lt Gen CP Mohanty was commissioned into the Rajput Regiment on 12 Jun 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 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 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. Before taking over as the Vice Chief, the General Officer commanded the Pune-based Southern Command of the Indian Army.
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.
