General
Bipin Rawat
has had a distinguished service career of 42 years in the Indian Army.
On December 31, 2019, he appointed as India’s first Chief of Defence
Staff, after serving as the Chief of Army Staff from January 1, 2017. He was
also the 57th and last Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.

General
Rawat
is an alumnus of the St Edward’s School, Shimla and the National Defence
Academy. He was commissioned on the 16 December, 1978 into the 5th
Battalion of the Eleventh Gorkha Rifles of the Infantry, which was commanded by
his father. He was awarded the ‘Sword of Honour’ upon graduating from the
Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.

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He is also
a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, as well as the
Higher Command Course at the United States Army Command and General Staff
College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

General Rawat
has a vast operational experience and commanded an Infantry battalion along the
Line of Actual Control in the Eastern Sector and a Rashtriya Rifles Sector in
the Kashmir Valley. He was assigned to command an Infantry Division along the
Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and was Corps Commander in the North-East.
He was also responsible for operations in the Desert sector along the Western
Front.

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He also served
with the United Nations, commanding a Multinational Brigade in a Chapter VII
Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. During his time in the DRC, he was
twice awarded the Force Commander’s Commendation.

Here are
some of the honours he has been awarded over his career:

·      Param Vishisht Seva Medal

·      Uttam Yudh Seva Medal

·      Ati Vishisht Seva Medal

·      Yudh Seva Medal

·      Sena Medal

·      Vishisht Seva Medal

·      Wound Medal

·      Samanya Seva Medal

·      Special Service Medal

·      Operation Parakram Medal

·      50th Anniversary of
Independence Medal

On Wednesday, an Indian Air Force Mi-17V5 helicopter carrying General Rawat and 13 others crashed in Tamil Nadu.