Pande took charge as the 29th Chief of Army Staff on April 30, 2022.
He is an alumnus of the National Defense Academy. He was commissioned in December 1982 into the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers). He served as Vice Chief of Army Staff before taking over as COAS.
Pande became the first Corps of Engineers officer to take charge of the 1.3 million-strong force, the post having until now been held by officers from the infantry, artillery and armored regiments .
During Operation Parakram in 2001 – a major military standoff between India and Pakistan after a terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament – Pande commanded the 117th Engineer Regiment along the Line of Control (LOC) in Jammu and -Cashmere. His military career spanned 41 years.
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