General NC Vij, PVSM,UYSM, AVSM (Retd) passed out in December 1962 from the Indian Military Academy at Dehra Dun and was commissioned into 4 Dogra. During the 1971 Indo-Pak war, his company was the first one to occupy the ‘Chicken Neck’ and also captured the ‘Chhote Chak’ post of Pakistan in Miran Sahib Sector. He commanded 16 Dogra from June 1978 to September 1980. He became the Colonel of the Dogra Regiment and Dogra Scouts on 1st April 2002 and continued to hold that office till his retirement in Jan 2005.

General Vij commanded 44 Mountain Brigade; 18 Infantry Division (RAPID); two Corps i.e XXI and IV Corps and Southern Command. He was Deputy Director General of Perspective Planning; Major General General Staff (MGGS) Western Command; and Director General Military Operations (DGMO). He also had the rare distinction of having commanded a Strike Corps as well as a Corps in counter insurgency operations. As General Officer Commanding IV Corps, he was instrumental in ensuring large-scale surrender of United liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) insurgent. During his tenure as the Chief of Army Staff, the Royal Bhutan Army and the Indian Army undertook a joint operation to evict the United liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) from their bases in Bhutan in December 2003.

He was decorated with the AVSM while serving as MGGS Western Command in 1996, and PVSM while he was the General Officer Commanding IV Corps. He was conferred with an Uttam Yudh Seva Medal (UYSM) while he was serving as Director General Military Operations during Operation Vijay. As Director General Military Operation (DGMO) he also finalized the plans for ‘Op Khukri’, which was successfully fought by Indian troops serving with the UN in Sierra Leone .

On 31st December 2002, General N C Vij, took over as the Chief of the Army Staff. As the Chief of Army Staff, it is through his passion and untiring efforts that the border fencing in Jammu and Kashmir was completed. The wide spectrum of activities that received an impetus due to his intimate involvement were the Married Accommodation Project (MAP), establishment of Professional Colleges and Ex-Servicemen’s Health Scheme (ECHS).

General Nirmal Chander Vij, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM (Retired) is presently Honorary Colonel of the Dogra Regiment & Dogra Scouts and also Deputy Chairman of National Disaster Management Authority, Govt of India.