Western Command of the Indian Army today celebrated its 66th anniversary at a function organised at Chandimandir near here.
The day marked the 66th Raising Day of the Western Command, the frontline operational command of the Indian Army.
On this occasion, Lt Gen Philip Campose, AVSM, VSM, GOC-in-C Western Command laid wreath at the veer Smriti at Chandimandir to pay homage to the Martyrs of Western Command, a defence spokesman said here.
The Command raised in 1947 as DEP Command with Head quarters at Delhi was re-designated 'Western command' in January 1948.
The genesis of Western Command was forged on the anvil of one of the most tragic trans border migration of human population.
In 1954 the Headquarters of the Command moved to Shimla.
After the Indo-Pak Conflict of 1971, Northern Command, with its Headquarters at Udhampur, was carved out of Western Command to assume operational responsibility of Jammu and Kashmir.
Later, Headquarters Western Command moved to its present location at Chandimandir in 1985.
Western Command has time and again, provided succour to the civilian population during natural calamities, the spokesman said.
Troops of Western Command were employed in extending a helping hand when flash floods hit Haryana in 2010 and the valley of Kedarnath in Uttarakhand in June 2013.
