New Delhi, July 18: Lt Gen Nirbhay Sharma, who had commanded a counter-insurgency force during the 1999 Kargil conflict, today took over as general officer commanding of Army's Srinagar-based 15 corps also known as 'Chinar' corps. He succeeds Lt Gen V G Patankar, who has been posted to the Army Headquarters here, an Army spokesman said.
Commissioned in the Army in 1966, Sharma led an airborne operation in the 1971 Indo-Pak war and has held a series of important command assignments in Jammu and Kashmir. He is no stranger to the Kashmir Valley having commanded a brigade there. He had till recently headed the perspective planning directorate in the army headquarters where he had earlier served as deputy director general of military operations. He has also been a member of Sino-Indian, Indo-Myanmar and Indo-US joint working steering groups. Bureau Report