He is scheduled to take over from the Western Command's present chief, Lt Gen H.B. Kala on October 15, who will proceed to ARTRAC. Posting orders have already been issued.

Commissioned into the Maratha Light Infantry, Lt Gen Oberoi has taken active part in the Goa operations and the 1965 Indo-Pak war. An alumni of the US Army War College, he has also served as Military Adviser in Malaysia. He has also served as Director General Military Operations, Additional DG Perspective Planning and Deputy DG Combat Training. He took over as ARTRAC commander in July 1997.

Lt Gen Kala, who is a recipient of the Shaurya Chakra, is a graduate of the National Defence College. Besides serving in Czechoslovakia, he has also commanded a division and a corps in the Western Sector. Commissioned into the Jat Regiment in 1960, he was appointed GOC-in-C Western Command in October 1996.

Earlier, there had been a move to rotate three Army Commanders, including the GOC-in-C, Central Command, Lt Gen Surjit Sangra, who had then been tipped as the ARTRAC commander, with Lt Gen Kala moving to Central Command.

The triangular move, which was to have taken in June, was dropped because of Kargil operations. Now, only the two Army Commanders are being moved.

The move is a result of a policy decision wherein the top brass who have been in their current appointments for over two years are being rotated to offset stagnation following the two-year extension in service.