Though there is a tradition in the Army of refilling vacant posts within a month of retirement, one post of Lt General had already been lying vacant since April 2011 when Lt. General Pawan Jung Thapa retired from service.[break]
The position of lieutenant generals is second-in-command in the NA.
Among the two serving major generals, who are the potential candidates for the post of Lt. General, Gaurav Sumsher Rana is senior in the hierarchy followed by another Major General Nepal Bhusan Chand.
The Army Headquarters in August last year had proposed the government to add two additional posts of lieutenant generals to make them four in total. However, then Defense Minister Bidya Devi Bhandari put it on hold saying there was no need to add more lieutenant generals in the army ranks.
Defense Secretary Nabin Ghimire said that the ministry is discussing the NA´s proposal. “We are conducting Organization and Management Survey (OMS) and it may take some time,” he said.
Lt. General is the successor of Chief of Army Staff (CoAS). The incumbent Army Chief Chhatra Man Singh Gurung is completing his three-year tenure on Sept. 9, 2012.
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