Names of new Army and Air Chiefs after winter session

As per normal practice, in all the three services, the next chief is announced at least three months prior to the date of the incumbent’s superannuation. In Army, the senior- most commander in the service is usually appointed the Army Chief and in the IAF, the senior most Air Marshal is appointed the next Air Chief.

Considering the present seniority structure in the Army, the current Eastern Army Commander, Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi is the senior-most and if government follows norms, he is expected to be the next Army Chief. If his name is approved by the govern- ment, Lt Gen Bakshi will be the first chief from the Armoured Corps after General Shankar Roychowdhary, who retired in 1997. In the Air Force, it’s the present Vice Chief of the Air Force, Air Marshal B.S. Dhanoa who is the senior- most amongst all Air Marshals.

The delay in the announcement of the names of the Army and Air Force chiefs has given rise to speculation that the government may not follow the norm of appointing the senior most officer this time. The other senior most officer in the race to be the next Air Chief is Air Marshal S.B. Deo. He is currently the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) of the Western Air Command and is considered as one of the most reputed Air Marshals in the Air Force. In the Army, the current Vice-Chief, Lt Gen Bipin Rawat is one of the strongest names being considered for the post of Army Chief.

Appointing the seniormost officer is just a norm, not a rule. “While the delay in announcement of the next Army and Air Chiefs is certainly unusual, the government must have a strong reason to do so. Speculation about the next incumbent is, however, avoidable since the government is well within its right to choose from among all those eligible to take the top spot. Hopefully, the names will be out in the coming week,” said Nitin A. Gokhale, national security analyst.