New Delhi, Oct 1 : Lieutenant General PC Bhardwaj, a paratrooper, took over as Army Vice Chief here today.

Lieutenant General PC Bhardwaj was commissioned into First Battalion the Parachute Regiment on June 14, 1970.

The General is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, the Indian Military Academy, the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and the National Defence College.

He was the first person from the Indian Army to undergo the rigorous Commando Divers Course at Naval Diving School. He has also attended the prestigious Special Forces Officers Course at Fort Bragg, USA doing well again and earning an instructor rating.

Lieutenant General Bhardwaj was awarded the Vir Chakra for conspicuous bravery. He commanded his parent unit, 1 PARA (Cdo) in counter-insurgency operations in the East and was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for a daring rescue operation.

He commanded a Mountain Brigade in Nagaland and also the elite Parachute Brigade. As a Major General, he commanded Counter Insurgency Force Delta in Doda/Kishtwar and thereafter was appointed as the General Officer Commanding Delhi Area.

Promoted Lieutenant General, he commanded 14 Corps, responsible for the vast areas of Ladakh and the Siachin Glacier before assuming command of Northern Command on March 1, 2008.

He has held many prestigious Instructional and Staff Appointments. He served as an Instructor at Infantry School Mhow and at the Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School.

He has been a Brigade Major of an Infantry Brigade and Deputy Director General at the Directorate General of Military Operations, Army Headquarters. He was appointed as the Defence Attache at Embassy of India, Yangon (Myanmar) from 1994 to 1997. (ANI)