"General Rawat had boundless energy...": Army Chief Manoj Pandey

Army Chief General Manoj Pandey on Saturday remembered India's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) late Gen Bipin Rawat and said that he had had boundless energy.

Army Chief General Manoj Pandey on Saturday remembered India's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) late Gen Bipin Rawat and said that he had boundless energy. While addressing the General Bipin Rawat Memorial Event he shared an incident with the first CDS and said, "General Rawat had boundless energy. When I was in Tezpur, we had to go to Tawang for exercise but the weather was not good. He said we will go there and we would drive through the night and start early the next morning again. We came back again driving for 14 hours."

Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said that General Bipin Rawat was working on the creation of a strategic rocket force. "He was one of the key players who contributed to the conceptualisation of the Agnipath scheme and was working on its nuts and bolts. The scheme could be rolled out in the middle of this year," said the Navy Chief.

On December 8, 2021, General Rawat along with his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others lost their lives in a helicopter crash in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu. On Saturday, to commemorate the first death anniversary of India's first CDS, his bust was unveiled by MoS Defence Ajay Bhatt at United Service Institution of India (USI) in New Delhi.

During the ceremony, rich tributes were paid to General Rawat by the Defence Minister, current CDS General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande and other serving and retired members of the military fraternity. The Armed Forces and the USI have taken the initiative to institute a Chair of Excellence and a Memorial Lecture in memory of General Bipin Rawat at the Institution.

During his illustrious service, India's first CDS was conferred with PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM and Padma Vibhushan (posthumously). He was a visionary leader and a scholar soldier, known for his professionalism, principles, conviction and decisiveness.

During his four decades in service, General Rawat had gained vast operational experience in the full spectrum of warfare. As a brigadier, he led successful counter-terrorism operations in Sopore in J-K and successfully commanded a multinational brigade under United Nations in Democratic Republic of Congo.

As a Major General, he had commanded an Infantry Division along the Line of Control in North Kashmir. As a Corps Commander, he oversaw the conduct of hot pursuit of terror groups executed by the Indian Army's Special Forces into Myanmar. This was the beginning of the transformation of India's strategic culture from restraint to assertion.

Later on, as Vice Chief of the Army Staff, he was instrumental in overseeing the surgical strikes against Pakistan-based terrorist groups in PoK. As Chief of the Army Staff, General Rawat's achievements were remarkable in all spheres of military and national security affairs. He followed the Indian Army's motto of 'Service before Self' as a guiding principle throughout his Army career.

As the first CDS, he rallied for organisational and structural reforms to integrate the Armed Forces. Path-breaking transformational initiatives and civil-military synergy will remain his legacy. PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, ADC General Rawat was also the former General Officer Commanding of 19 Infantry Division and commanded the Division in 2012.

On December 8, a wreath-laying ceremony was organised at Dagger War Memorial to commemorate the first death anniversary of Gen Rawat. Brig Sanjeev Kumar, Officiating General Officer Commanding, Dagger Division along with other military personnel laid a wreath at Dagger War Memorial and paid homage to the former Chief of Defence Staff remembering his memorable military career.

The people of Baramulla also organised a ceremony to pay tributes at Dak Bungalow, Baramulla. Many citizens gathered to remember and pay tribute to their favourite General. (ANI)

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