JAMMU, April 16: In a first for Manipur and the entire North-east region, an Army officer from Thoubal, Lieutenant General Konsam Himalay Singh, assumed command of the prestigious White Corps, also known as White Corps, the largest corps command of the Army on Wednesday.
White Knight Corps (16 Corps) was raised on June 1, 1972. It grew to become the largest force of the Army. Given its large number of troops, it easily outnumbers several armies of world. White Knight Corps is one of the most prestigious corps in the Northern Command headquartered in Nagrota near Jammu.
Lt Gen K H Singh was commissioned into The Rajput Regiment in 1978 and is an infantry soldier with vast operational experience. Earlier, He commanded a battalion in Siachin glacier and a division on the Line of Control (LOC) and held many prestigious staff and instructional appointments so far.
The general officer hails from Charangpat in Thoubal district. He is married to Dr Mangala Devi, an accomplished doctor, and they have two daughters.Lt Gen K H Singh was first commissioned into the 2nd Battalion of the Rajput Regiment (Kali Chindi) in June 1978 and later commanded the 27 Rajput. He is a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, College of Defence Management and the National Defence College.
His notable achievements in accumulating vast operational experience included counter insurgency (CI) operations in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), where he served five tenures in the last 35 years and four tenures in the North East, CI operations in LC (Line of Control), LAC (Line of Actual Control) and HAA (High Altitude Area) environments. He commanded the 27 Rajput in Siachen glacier from 1998 to 2000.
Honoured with ‘Yudh Seva Medal’ in 2000 for command of a unit during ‘OP VIJAY’ against Pakistan’s unsuccessful move to occupy Indian territory, the general officer later commanded an infantry brigade in Delhi. He was the general officer commanding (GOC) of the 25 Infantry Division in J&K and was awarded with ‘Ati Vishisht Sewa Medal’ in 2013. He has also been awarded the Chief of Army Staff Commendation Card thrice and also the GOC-in-C Eastern Command Commendation Card.
Among the staff and intructional appointments he had held in his career, notable are the assistant military secretary 1D, colonel administrator of a Mountain Division in Gangtok, director PS-2, deputy MS Eastern Command and deputy MS (B) in the Military Secretary’s Branch at IHQ of the ministry of defence (Army). He has also been the battalion commander and senior intructor at the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla.
A keen sportsman, the general officer has excelled in all troops games and his brought up in a Sainik School environment helped him to a great extent. An avid golfer, Lt Gen K H Singh is also a mountaineer and a skydiver. He also participated in the Rajput Regiment expedition to Kedarnath dome in 1980 and the Kanchenjunga Expedition in 1987.
Lt Gen K H Singh is an alumni of Sainik School Goalpara, Assam, a residential school for boys, providing public school education with an aim to prepare them for the defence services. He joined the school in 1968. The school, founded on November 12, 1964, will be celebrating its golden jubilee this year. The institute has excelled in its primary role as a feeder to the Armed Forces and has over 200 ex-Sainik School Goalpara students (SSGians) to its credit as officers in the Armed Forces. A good number of the school`s ex-students are IAS, IPS officers, doctors and engineers. The school grooming student not only from Assam and the North East but also all over the country and abroad. It is a member school of the IPSC (Indian Public School Conference).