Indian Army’s elite Vajr Division welcomes Major General Girish Kalia as the GOC

The elite Vajr Division of the Indian Army has received Maj General Girish Kalia as General Officer Commanding (GOC), the Northern Command revealed. Maj Gen Kalia assumed charge as the GOC of Vajr Division from General Abhijit S Pendharkar on Wednesday. Commissioned into Indian Army’s Madras Regiment on December 14, 1991, after passing out from the Indian Military Academy (IMA) Dehradun, the officer has attended various significant career courses.

Notably, Maj Gen Girish Kalia is an alumnus of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, National Defence College, New Delhi Army War College, Mhow. Furthermore, Maj Gen Kalia is highly qualified academically. He holds qualifications of MSc and M Phil in Defence and Strategic Studies.

A distinguished military career

Maj Gen Kalia has vast operational experience having served in intense Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism Operations in the Northeast as well as Jammu and Kashmir. According to the Ministry of Defence, Maj Gen Kalia has been a recipient of the GOC-in-C Northern Command Commendation Card in 2001. The officer further received GOC-in-C Southern Command Commendation Card in 2009. One notable decoration received by the officer is the Vishisht Seva Medal which was awarded to him in 2020 for commanding a challenging brigade along the Line of Control (LOC).

Vajr Command’s new GOC has a rich experience of various Command, Staff and Instructional appointments, a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said. As part of an Infantry Brigade and Strike Corps posted along the LOC, Maj Gen Kalia commanded an infantry battalion as well. Moreover, he has served as a Defence Attache in Egypt. Meanwhile, prior to his appointment as the GOC of the elite Vajr Division of the Indian Army, Maj Gen Kalia was tenanting an important appointment at the Headquarters of Integrated Defence Staff.