New Delhi: Senior Odia officer and Lieutenant General CP Mohanty has been appointed as commander of the Southern Command.
He succeeds Lt Gen SK Saini who will take charge as new vice chief of the Army on Saturday. The post of vice chief fell vacant after Gen MM Naravane was appointed Chief of Army Staff.
Lt Gen Mohanty has operational experience along the borders with Pakistan and China. He has also been active counter-insurgency operations in Assam. He led a multinational UN brigade in Congo. At present, he is serving as General Officer Commanding of Uttar Bharat area.
Besides, Lt Gen YK Joshi has been appointed commander of the strategically crucial Northern Command which takes care of overall security scenario along the border with Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir as well as with China in Ladakh.