Joginder Jaswant Singh General Joginder Jaswant Singh ( born 17 September 1945 ) was the 22nd Chief of the Army Staff of India . He was appointed on November 27 , 2004 , and took over the role when his predecessor , General N C Vij , retired on 31 January 2005 . He was succeeded by General Deepak Kapoor . He served as Chief of army staff from January 31 , 2005 , to September 30 , 2007 . He is the first Sikh to have led the Indian Army and the 11th chief of army staff from the Western Command based at Chandigarh . His selection was not a surprise , as at the time of his appointment he was the most senior officer in the army after General N C Vij . Following his retirement , he became governor of the state of Arunachal Pradesh in January 2008 . He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and was commissioned into the 9 Maratha Light Infantry on 2 August 1964 . Biography . Military career . General Joginder Jaswant Singh assumed command of the Indian Army , as the 22nd chief of army staff , on 31 January 2005 commanding an army of over a million soldiers . He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and was commissioned into the 9 Maratha Light Infantry on 2 August 1964 . He received the colour of the battalion from the late president Dr . Zakir Hussain at the Investiture Parade in 1968 . He is a third - generation soldier . Born on 17 September 1945 in Bahawalpur ( now in Pakistan ) , his family migrated to India ( Patiala , Punjab ) after partition in 1947 . His grandfather served in the 1 / 67 Punjab Regiment during the First World War in Mesopotamia and Kut - al - Amara , both in present day Iraq , along with the 103rd , 105th , 110th , 114th and 117th Mahrattas . These five battalions subsequently joined the Maratha Light Infantry , the same regiment General Singh was commissioned into 50 years later . His father , Lt Col Jaswant Singh Marwah , served in the Electrical & Mechanical Engineers from 1943 to 1973 and is also a veteran of the Second World War . During his tenure with the 7th and 9th Maratha LI and also while on higher command and staff appointments , General Singh has served in Jammu & Kashmir , Nagaland , Arunachal Pradesh , Sikkim , and Joshimath in Uttranchal . He was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal during his command tenure with the 9 Maratha Light Infantry in Arunachal Pradesh . He later commanded the 5th Maratha LI at Hyderabad in the rank of colonel . A consistent front - runner , he was the youngest and one of the first in his batch to attend Staff College , Senior Command , Higher Command and National Defence College courses . He has contributed articles to regimental and other professional journals and his thesis on " Sino - Indian Border Dispute " and " Strategy to Boost Defence Exports " have been highly acclaimed . He has the honour of being India ' s first defence attaché to Algeria ( 1987 – 1990 ) . After returning from Algeria , General Singh commanded the 79th ( Independent ) Mountain Brigade in the Baramula Sector , Jammu & Kashmir , during the peak of insurgency there in 1991 – 92 . During this tenure , he was gravely wounded in action leading from the front , in a fierce engagement with terrorists infiltrating across the Line of Control ( LoC ) . For that operation he received the War Wound Medal and was awarded the Chief of Army Staff ' s Commendation . He was nominated to attend the prestigious National Defence College ( NDC ) course in 1993 . He was posted as Deputy Director General Operational Logistics in Army HQ after the NDC Course and later commanded the 9th Infantry Division from 1996 to 1998 . General Singh was then selected for a key appointment as the Additional Director General Military Operations ( ADGMO ) at Army HQ , Military Operations Directorate . During his tenure as ADGMO , he contributed positively to evolving India ' s policy on the Sino - Indian border issue and visited Beijing as part of the Joint Working Group . He was also part of the Ministry of Defence team for talks with Pakistan on the Siachen and Sir Creek issue in 1998 . He also visited Sierra Leone with the defence minister , where an Indian contingent carried out successful operations as part of the UN Mission . As the ADGMO , he became the Indian Army ' s public face during the 1999 Kargil conflict . He was decorated with the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in recognition of his services in the planning and execution of the war . General Singh assumed command of the elite 1 " Strike " ' Corps at Mathura . He successfully coordinated the corps - level exercise " Poorna Vijay " in May 2001 in the deserts of Rajasthan . He subsequently led 1 Corps during Operation Parakram , the military standoff against Pakistan , from December 2001 to December 2002 . He was then appointed of the Army Training Command in January 2003 , where he was credited with drafting a new doctrine for the Indian Army . He was instrumental in giving the Command a distinctly discernible and widely appreciated thrust towards modernisation . After his stint at ARTRAC , he stated , " Every assignment has its own importance , but the one at ARTRAC , the think - tank of the Army , has been quite different as it plays a crucial role in preparing the Army for future challenges in a constantly changing battlefield milieu . The responsibility involved development of new concepts and doctrines at the strategic and operational levels for the emerging security environment , besides framing of the training policy and providing training support to the Army in all its facets . " He was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal ( PVSM ) on 26 January 2004 for his distinguished services of the highest order . General Singh took over as the general officer commanding - in - chief Western Command on 1 February 2004 , and his tenure at this elite command provided an opportunity to put into practice the concepts and doctrines evolved at ARTRAC . He refined operational planning by co - opting the battle - winning role of Revolution in Military Affairs ( RMA ) and provided focused direction based on the recently released " Doctrine for the Indian Army " , having earlier been its architect . He simultaneously gave training a visionary direction in conjunction with principles of synergetic cohesiveness at all levels . His tenure at Western Command also saw a quantum leap in the implementation of the Ex - servicemen Contributory Health Scheme ( ECHS ) . He was also appointed as honorary aide - de - camp ( ADC ) to the president of India on 1 February 2004 . On assuming the office of chief of army staff on 1 February 2005 , General Singh stated in a message , " We stand poised at a critical juncture in the timeline of history . Having left behind us the vagaries of the past , we purposefully stride towards economic growth , social harmony , peace and prosperity . Simultaneously and seamlessly , we are also making the transition to a highly motivated and modern Army , driven by the engines of high technology and Revolution in Military Affairs . I assure our countrymen that the Army will remain at the service of the nation , at all times , ready and eager to take on any challenge with determination and resolve to emerge victorious . " He is widely considered to be a thinking soldier and is a through professional . Affectionately known as " General JJ " within army circles , he was appointed Colonel of the Maratha Light Infantry on 10 October 2001 . He is an ace shooter and plays basketball , squash , and golf . He is also a keen mountaineer who has trained under the late Tenzing Norgay at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute , Darjeeling . Personal life . He is married to Mrs Anupam Singh and they have a son and a daughter . Singh and his wife both belong to the Marwah clan , though neither uses the name as their surname . He is fluent in Arabic and French , the widely spoken languages in Algeria .