Lt Gen Amit Sharma has been promoted as Army Commander and appointed Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Forces Command which looks after the nuclear arsenal of the country, an Army spokesperson said today.
He replaces Vice Admiral S P S Cheema as the head of the tri-services command as the Navy officer has moved to Kochi to head the Navy's Southern Command there.
Sharma (58) was the Chief of Staff of Japiur-based South Western Command of the army and had headed the force's elite 21 Strike Corps.
The responsibility of the Strategic Forces Command is to operationalise the directives of the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA).
The Command has the sole responsibility of initiating the process of delivering nuclear weapons and warheads after acquiring explicit approval from NCA. PTI KR
Lt Gen Sharma was commissioned in 45 Cavalry in December 1976 and has over the years held numerous command, staff and instructional appointments in all operational sectors including counter insurgency areas.
He had the distinction of having served as Colonel Administration of an Infantry Division in Jammu & Kashmir, Colonel General Staff of a Mountain Division in eastern sector and Brigadier General Staff of a strike corps.
Lt Gen Amit Sharma had also served as Defence Attache in Indian Embassy in Paris where he was responsible for Army and Naval cooperation with France, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. He has commanded an armoured regiment, an independent armoured brigade in western deserts, an infantry division in a Strike Corps and the Strike Corps in the Southern Theatre.
