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Army general with artificial legs appointed GOC-in-C

Gen. Joshi, who is at present Commandant of the College of Combat at Mhow, is the first army commander with two artificial legs. He lost his legs as a young Captain, but overcame his disability, proved to be medically fit and went on to command a battalion, brigade, division and corps. Commissioned in 1965, Gen. Joshi is from the mechanised infantry.

Lt. Gen. N C Vij, Director General of Military Operations, was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Command at Pune. He will succeed Army Chief-designate Gen S Padmanabhan, who would assume office on September 30, an army spokesman said.

A highly decorated officer, Gen. Vij was DGMO during the Kargil conflict. He was commissioned in 1962 in the Dogra Regiment. In his capacity as DGMO, Gen. Vij was in communication with his counterpart in Pakistan and was responsible for co-ordinating the withdrawal of remnants of Pakistani troops from the Kargil sector after July 12, last year.

Gen. Vij was also responsible for conceiving and finalising plans on ground for the Indian peace-keeping operation in Sierra Leone.

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