LIEUTENANT GENERAL SANJIV CHACHRA, AVSM, VSM
Lieutenant General Sanjiv Chachra is a second generation Rajput Officer, commissioned in Jun 1974. An alumnus of the NDA, Khadakvasla and IMA, Dehradun, the General Officer has had varied combat, staff and instructional experience. A graduate of the DSSC, Wellington, where he later served as Directing Staff, the officer is also qualified on the HC Course, Mhow and the NDC, New Delhi. In his formative years, he has also been an Instructor at the NDA, Khadakvasla.
The General Officer has seen active service on the Siachen Glacier, HAA in the North & NE, and has commanded 16 RAJPUT in a CI environment in the North East, where he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM). He later commanded a brigade on the Western Sector. The General Officer commanded a frontline Mountain Division deployed along the Sino-Indian border in the North East, wherein, for exceptional service and outstanding leadership shown for maintaining peace and tranquillity along the troubled border, he was awarded the prestigious Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM). The General later commanded a pivot corps on the Western Sector where he was instrumental in conceptualising the transformation of pivot corps operations to meet challenges of the future.
On operational staff, he has been a GSO 2 (Ops) and DDG Ops in the MO Directorate at Army HQ and a GSO 1(Ops) of an active division. He has been a Director, Foreign Training at the Army HQ wherein he successfully initiated and executed military cooperation plans with a number of friendly foreign armies. The General Officer has been a Technical Manager (Land Systems) in the Acquisition Wing of Ministry of Defence, wherein he spearheaded modernization projects for the Army in the Government. The General Officer has been a Principal Staff Officer (PSO) as Military Secretary prior to command of Western Command.
The General Officer has served as a Military Observer at the UN Peacekeeping Mission for independence of Namibia in 1989. Having travelled extensively abroad, he has seen large parts of Africa and represented the Indian Army and Government on official delegations to Russia, Egypt, Middle East, Israel, USA, Brazil, Sweden, Colombia, Venezuela and Pakistan.
The General assumed command of the Western Army on 01 June 2012.