Lt Gen Philip Campose takes over as Army Vice Chief

NEW DELHI: Lt Gen Philip Campose- a veteran mechanised infantry officer, has taken over as the new Vice Chief of Army Staff succeeding Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, who is now heading the 1.3 million strong force.

59-year-old Lt Gen Campose, who was till now the Western Army Commander, took over as the Vice Chief on August 1, an Army release said here.

An alumnus of St Xavier's School, Delhi, the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun, he was commissioned into the Infantry in 1974 and later sidestepped into the newly constituted Mechanised Infantry Regiment in 1982.

Trained at the Vystral Academy, Russia and the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, the officer has also attended the Higher Command Course, Mhow and the National Defence College, New Delhi.

His command appointments include an Independent Armoured Brigade, an Infantry Division on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and a Corps in the Western Sector.

"He has participated in a UN Peacekeeping Mission in the former Yugoslavia and headed a UN security force in Northern Iraq," the release said.

The officer had headed a General Court Martial in the Sukna land scam while he was commanding the Jodhpur-based 12 Desert Corps.