Nav Kumar Khanduri

Lieutenant General Nav Kumar Khanduri AVSM, VSM is a retired general officer in the Indian Army, and the former General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Command since November 2021. He is the first officer from the Corps of Army Air Defence to become an army commander.

Biography

An alumnus of Rashtriya Indian Military College, Dehradun and the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, Khanduri passed out with the 73rd Regular Course from the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun and was commissioned into 27 AD Missile Regiment (Amritsar Airfield) on 17 December 1983. He commanded an air defence brigade in Operation Rakshak and a mountain brigade in Operation Falcon. He served as an instructor at the College of Defence Management, Secunderabad and has held various staff appointments in field, high altitude and Integrated Headquarters postings.

Khanduri has also served with the Indian Military Training Team in Bhutan, as a United Nations Military Observer with the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia and as Deputy Chief Integrated Service Support with the United Nations Mission in Ivory Coast. He commanded 15 Infantry Division, and was subsequently appointed Director General Operational Logistics and Strategic Movement before assuming command of XXXIII Corps in September 2019. On 30 June 2023, he formally retired from the Army.

Awards and decorations

He was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal in the 2016 Republic Day decorations list, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in the 2021 Republic Day decorations list and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2023.

Dates of rank