Kamal Jit Singh

For the footballer, see Kamaljit Singh.
Kamal Jit Singh

Lt Gen KJ Singh
Allegiance India
Service/branch Indian Army
Years of service 1977 – present
Rank Lieutenant General
Unit 63 Cavalry
Commands held Western Command
63 Cavalry
83 Armoured Regiment
Awards

Param Vishisht Seva Medal

Ati Vishisht Seva Medal & Bar
Spouse(s) Anita Singh

Lieutenant General Kamal Jit Singh, PVSM, AVSM & Bar was a senior Indian Army officer and former general officer commanding-in-chief of Western Command.[1] He graduated from the National Defence Academy,[1][2] and attended various staff courses in training academies of the Indian Army throughout the country. Singh worked closely with UN Peacekeeping forces stationed in Angola and was commended by the chief and UN Force Commander during his tenure. He held several appointments as commanding officer and also staff appointments at the headquarters of the Indian Army. He has been twice awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal.[Note 1][3]

Personal life and education

Singh graduated from the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla,[2] and was awarded the bronze medal (for academics). He attended various command courses, including the National Defence Course and Higher Command Course, and was awarded the Col. Pyare Lal Medal and Commandant's Medal for his performance. He also attended the Defence Services Staff Course.[Note 2][3][4][1][5]

Singh completed his Master of Science and Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) in defence studies and his Master of Philosophy in strategic studies. He also qualified for a Master of Business Administration.[3][4]

Singh's wife, Anita, coordinated the winning team[Note 3] of the Global Space Settlement Design Competition held by NASA and was awarded the Government of Punjab's Samman Patra. The couple have two sons, Sahil and Samrat, who both work in the private sector.[3][5]

Military career

Singh was commissioned through the Indian Military Academy into the 63 Cavalry, an armoured regiment of the Indian Army, on 11 June 1977.[2] During his three-decade long career, he has served in several counter-insurgency areas such as Nagaland, Manipur, and Punjab and was twice commended by the Eastern army commander during his service in Nagaland and Manipur. Additionally, he worked with the paramilitary force, the Assam Rifles, and the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces stationed in Angola. He has also commanded his own regiment, 63 Cavalry; an armoured brigade of T-90s; an armoured division, and a corps in the north-eastern region.[2][3][4][5]

During his time with the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces (UNPKF), Singh served as chief operations officer and team commander. He was commended by the Chief of the Indian Army Staff and also received the UN Force Commander's citation for his contributions to UNPKF.[3][4][5]

His staff appointments include brigade major of an armoured brigade, assistant military secretary (Policy), military assistant to deputy chief of army staff (COAS), colonel general staff of division involved in counter-insurgency operations, brigadier general staff of a Strike Corps, and additional director general (Perspective Planning) at the headquarters of the Indian Army.[Note 4] He served as an instructor at the School of Armoured Warfare and also on the Directing Staff at the Higher Command Wing of the Army War College, Mhow.[Note 5][3][4][5] He was succeded by Lieutenant General Surinder Singh as the GOC-in-C Western Command.[6]

He was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Bar by the President of India.[2][3]

Controversy

In May 2016, Singh was involved in a controversy with Lieutenant General R. Ravindran, General Officer Commanding (GoC) Delhi Area. Ravindran was reportedly accused by Singh of playing golf in a gathering held at the officer's mess of Delhi Cantonment, and Ravindran replied, "Mr. Commander, my unit does not only play golf. We do many other things as well, which you are ignoring." The following day, the verbal spat between the two general officers continued when Singh instructed the officers at a conference not to allow the GoC to speak unless he was asked to do so. Two days after the incident, Ravindran was transferred to Lucknow. Critics claimed that the transfer and conflict between the officers were interlinked, as generally no officer is transferred or moved out within a year. However, the Army HQ condemned the rumours and called it a routine transfer.[7]

Notes

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Bar to Ati Vishisht Seva Medal.
  2. ↑ Naval Staff Course-on Competitive Vacancy
  3. ↑ Budha Dal Public School team
  4. ↑ Integrated headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Army)
  5. ↑ Military headquarters of War, generally referred as Mhow.

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 "Lt Gen Kamal Jit Singh PromotedWestern Army Commander". pib.nic.in. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Lt Gen KJ Singh takes charge of Western Command". First Post. 1 August 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "GOC-in-C Western Command". Indian Army. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Lt Gen K J Singh takes over as GOC-in-c, Western Command". Daily Excelsior. 1 August 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Lieutenant General KJ Singh, takes over as GOC-in-C Western Command". www.cityairnews.com. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  6. ↑ "Lt Gen Surinder Singh to be Western Army Commander". Tribune India. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  7. ↑ Pradip R Sagar (22 May 2016). "In army, boss is sternly right". Indian Express. Retrieved 19 July 2016.

References

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