Lieutenant General Prabodh Chandra Bhardwaj, PVSM, AVSM,

VrC Vir Chakra (pronunciation: ʋiː ɾ a tʃ a kɾa) is an Indian wartime military bravery award presented for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy on the battlefield and is third in precedence in wartime gallantry awards and ...

, SC, VSM is a former

General Officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

of the Indian Army. He last served as the Vice Chief of Army Staff, having assumed office on 1 October 2009 following the retirement of Lieutenant General Noble Thamburaj. He also served as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command. He is one of the most decorated officers of the Indian Army, with a war-time gallantry award and a peace-time gallantry award to his name.

Career

Lieutenant General PC Bhardwaj was commissioned into 1st battalion, Parachute Regiment on 14 June 1970. He is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Indian Military Academy, Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and National Defence College. A specialist in Special Operations, he was the first person from the Indian Army to undergo the rigorous Commando Divers Course at Naval Diving School. He excelled on the course, qualifying as an instructor. He has also attended the Special Forces Officers Course at

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

in the US and earned an instructor rating. He commanded his battalion, 1 Para (Commando), in counter-insurgency operations along India's eastern border with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

, and later commanded counter-insurgency Force Delta in Doda/Kishtwar. He commanded a mountain brigade in Nagaland and also the elite 50th Parachute Brigade. As a brigadier, he commanded an infantry brigade and was the deputy director general at the Directorate General of Military Operations, Army Headquarters. He was appointed as the

Defence Attache Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

at Embassy of India at Yangon in

from 1994 to 1997. As a Major General, he was the General Officer Commanding Delhi Area where he was awarded the

Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime Dis ...

for distinguished service. Upon promotion to the rank of Lieutenant General, he commanded XIV Corps, responsible for the vast areas of Ladakh and the Siachen Glacier before assuming command of Northern Command on 1 March 2008. Upon being awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal on 26 January 2009, he became the most decorated soldier in the Indian Army.

Post Military Career

Lt. Gen Bhardwaj is a board member of the Welham Boys' School and also on the governing council of the Raphael Ryder Cheshire International Centre, both in Dehradun.

Honours and decorations

Vir Chakra Citation

As a Second Lieutenant, Bhardwaj was awarded the Vir Chakra for operations during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. His Vir Chakra citation reads as follows.

Shaurya Chakra Citation

As a Colonel, Bhardwaj was also awarded the Shaurya Chakra for a rescue operation where tourists who were stranded in a cable car were rescued in a joint operation conducted by 1 Para (Commando) and the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

. His Shaurya Chakra citation reads as follows:

Dates of rank

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhardwaj, Prabodh Chandra Vice Chiefs of Army Staff (India) Indian generals Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Vir Chakra Recipients of the Shaurya Chakra Recipients of the Vishisht Seva Medal National Defence Academy (India) alumni Living people Para Commandos Year of birth missing (living people) National Defence College, India alumni Indian military attachés