Kolkata: Lt. Gen. Rana Pratap Kalita assumed his duties as the General Officer Commanding-in-Cig (GOC-in-C) of Indian Army Eastern Command on Tuesday, succeeding Lt. Gen. Manoj Pande who became the Deputy Chief of army staff.

Lt. Gen. Kalita took up his post at Fort William after paying homage to the martyrs of Vijay Smarak, followed by a guard of honor at the Garrison Battalion Parade Ground. He conveyed his “warm greetings to the people and wishes them peace, prosperity, health and happiness in the times to come”.

The new commander of the Eastern Army, hailing from the Northeast, previously held the position of Director General (Manpower Planning and Personnel Services) at the Integrated Headquarters (IHQ) of the Ministry of defense (army) in New Delhi.

Commissioned into the 9th Kumaon Regiment in 1984, he has extensive operational experience in Sri Lanka, Jammu and Kashmir and the North East, including commanding a Rashtriya rifle battalion in Kashmir, a brigade mountain and infantry division actively engaged in counter-insurgency (CI) operations in strategically important J&K and Spear Corps under Eastern Command in the Northeast, apart from its stint in as Colonel GS of a Division and BGS (Ops) of a Corps in a busy CI environment.

Lt. Gen. Kalita, recipient of Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Ati Vishist Seva Medal, Sena Medal, Vishist Seva Medal, Chief of Army Staff Commendation Card and GOC-in-C Easter Command Commendation Card, has a wealth of experience under serving in various personnel appointments shall include key appointments within the Military Secretary Branch, Operational Logistics Directorate, the Adjutant General’s branch at the HQ of the Ministry of Defense (Army).

An alumnus of the Defense Services Staff College, Senior Command and National Defense College, Lt. Gen. Kalita served twice with the United Nations as a military observer in Sierra Leone and head of operations in Sudan.

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