General Deepak Kapoor assumes office of Chief of Army Staff

General Deepak Kapoor today became the 23rd Chief of Army Staff after assuming the office from the outgoing General J J Singh at a simple ceremony here. eneral Kapoor will be paying homage to martyrs on Monday by laying wreaths at the Amar Jawan Jyoti. He is the first Army Chief who is an alumnus of Sainik School, and was commissioned in the Corps of Artillery in June 1967.

New Delhi, Sept 30 : General Deepak Kapoor today became the 23rd Chief of Army Staff after assuming the office from the outgoing General J J Singh at a simple ceremony here. eneral Kapoor will be paying homage to martyrs on Monday by laying wreaths at the Amar Jawan Jyoti. He is the first Army Chief who is an alumnus of Sainik School, and was commissioned in the Corps of Artillery in June 1967.

He participated in the 1971 India-Pakistan War and has also served as the Chief Operations Officer for all United Nations Forces deployed in Somalia from 1994 to 1995.

He was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal in January 1996 for leading UN troops in Somalia.

An avid reader, General Kapoor served as a Brigade Commander and was deployed on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

He was awarded the Sena Medal for his devotion to duty in January 1998, and during the Operation Parakram, he commanded one of the most prestigious divisions of a Strike Corps.

He has also commanded troops in the North East, along the India-China border.

He was awarded Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in January 2006.

ANI