General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Army’s Western Command, Lieutenant General Manoj Kumar Katiyar, retired after a distinguished career of 40 years. He previously served as Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) in IHQ, Ministry of Defense (Army). Earlier, he was the General Officer Commanding I Corps, the Army’s premier strike formation.On Wednesday, the current vice-chief, Lieutenant General Pushpendra Pal Singh, is scheduled to take charge as chief of the Western Command, one of the most important operational formations of the Army responsible for guarding the Pakistan border in Jammu, Samba, Kathua and Punjab.Eastern Army Commander Lieutenant General RC Tiwari also retired on Tuesday. He will be replaced by Lieutenant General VMB Krishnan, who has been promoted.Lieutenant General Dheeraj Seth, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Pune-based Southern Command, will be transferred to the Army Headquarters as vice-chief with effect from April 1. Lieutenant General Seth is an Armored Corps officer commissioned in December 1986. He has held a number of command and staff appointments during his career. Before taking charge of the Southern Command in July 2024, he commanded the Mathura-based XXI Strike Corps, one of the Army’s premier strike formations.Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain, currently Chief of Staff of the Southern Command, will be promoted as Southern Army Commander in his place.Lieutenant General Katiyar, who led the Western Command during the conflict with Pakistan last May, had recently said, “During Operation Sindoor, we successfully thwarted Pakistan’s nefarious objectives and achieved success… Beyond regular training, we are undertaking large-scale procurement of new equipment, including drones and counter-drone systems. Wherever required, we are manufacturing these items in our own workshops.“During his tenure as Eastern Army Commander, Lieutenant General Tiwari played a key role in strengthening operational preparedness, enhancing training and capability development in the eastern region. During his military career spanning over three decades, Tiwari served important command roles in both conventional combat and counter-insurgency environments, including command of an infantry battalion for counter-insurgency operations, a mountain brigade in high altitude areas, as General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the elite Black Cat Division and command of 3 Corps (Spear Corps) in Nagaland.