Eastern Army Command Chief: Lt. General Rana Pratap Kalita is the new General Officer Commanding in Chief, Eastern Command at Fort Lewis in Kolkata.
Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita is the first Assamese Army officer to be appointed as GOC and second one from northeast.
Kalita is the first Assamese Army officer to be appointed as GOC and second one from northeast. He hails from Rangiya in Assam and has been awarded the ‘Sena Medal’ and ‘Vishisht Seva Medal’ for his outstanding service.
He earlier commanded the 19th infantry division at Baramulla LoC and was awarded Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2018.
Lt-Gen Kalita, replaces Lt-Gen Manoj Pande who moves as the Vice Chief.
Lt. Gen Rana Kalita and his Military career:
In September, 2020, when he was the GOC of 3 Corps based at Rangapahar near Dimapur, he was the first Assamese army officer to be appointed as a corps commander and the second one from the northeast after Lt-Gen KH Singh (retd) of Manipur.
Lt. Gen Rana Kalita Personal Life:
He is an Assamese by ethnicity and was born to a noted teacher in Lower Assam – Jogendra Kalita and Renu Kalita. He is an alumunus of Sainik school, Goalpara.
Achievements:
He earlier served as the Chief of Staff (COS) in the Eastern Command of the Indian Army at Fort William in Kolkata. He has been decorated with Uttam Yudh Seva Medal (UYSM), Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM), ‘Vishisht Seva Medal’ (twice) and ‘Sena Medal’ for his outstanding service.
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