Jammu: Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma Wednesday took over as the new Commander-in-Chief of the Udhampur-based Northern Army Command. He replaced Lt Gen MV Suchendra Kumar after his 15-month tenure in the office.
With an illustrious career spanning across three decades, Lt General Sharma, is an infantry officer who has served in varied operational environments. He was a part of key operations such as operations Pawan, Meghdoot, Rakshak and Parakram.
Lt Gen Sharma has held key appointments, including Director General Military Operations, Military Secretary branch. He was also the Director General of Information Warfare at the newly institutionalised Information Directorate at the Army Headquarters in New Delhi.
The Udhampur-based Northern Army Command looks after the entire gamut of operations against Pakistan and China in the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh sectors.
Even prior to his appointment, which was approved by the government on April 28, Lt Gen Kumar had travelled with Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi to Srinagar after the Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 people on April 22.
It may be recalled that in February last year, the outgoing General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Northern Command, Lt Gen MV Suchendra Kumar, took over from then Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, who is now the Army Chief.
