CHANDIGARH (PTI): Lieutenant General Vijay B Nair has taken over as the General Officer Commanding of the Army's Vajra Corps, an official statement said here on Wednesday.

On assuming the command, he paid homage to the bravehearts who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, in a sober wreath laying ceremony at the Vajra Shaurya Sthal, Jalandhar, to honour their martyrdom.

He exhorted all ranks of the Corps to continue maintaining a high level of operational readiness, while maintaining a high tempo of capability development, adapting to the changing contours of warfare, the statement said.

A distinguished alumnus of Sainik School Kazhakootam, National Defence Academy and Indian Military Academy, Lt General Nair was commissioned into an infantry battalion in June 1988 and had the privilege of commanding the same battalion with distinction from 2005 to 2008.

He later commanded a brigade on the Western Sector, operationalised a sub-area on the northern borders and a division in Jammu and Kashmir, said the statement.

In his illustrious career spanning 35 years, he has wide-ranging experience of command, staff and instructional appointments.

Among other operational assignments, his tenure as part of Indian Peace Keeping Forces in Sri Lanka, six tenures along the Line of Control and in counter-terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir were notable, the statement said.