Indian Army's Southern Command Chief, Lt Gen SK Saini will be the force's new vice chief, taking charge a day before Republic Day, a top army official said on Friday.

The post fell vacant after Lt Gen MM Naravane was elevated to the post of Chief of ArmyStaff.

An alumnus of Sainik School in Kapurthala and the National Defence Academy, Lt Gen Sainiwas commissioned into the Jat Regiment in June 1981.

Hecommanded his battalion (7 Jat), a mountain brigade, a counter-insurgency forcein Jammu and Kashmir, a corps in the western theatre before heading thePune-headquartered Southern Army Command.

Lt GenSaini has also been a weapons instructor in the National Security Guard'sTraining Centre, senior directing staff at the National Defence College, NewDelhi and the Commandant of the Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun.

As SouthernArmy Commander, he steered transformation of the command's operationalphilosophy to overwhelm the emerging threats and validation of many new conceptsduring training exercises.

He had alsoserved as the Deputy Chief Military Personnel Officer in UN Mission in Iraq,attended an exercise on peacekeeping conducted by the Global Peace Operationsinitiative in Mongolia and a counter-terrorism exercise in Australia.

During hislong service, Lt Gen Saini has been conferred with a number of awards, both forgallantry and distinguished service, including the "Chief of Army StaffCommendation", "Army Commander Commendation", "Yudh SevaMedal", "Vishisht Seva Medal" (VSM), and the "Ati VishishtSeva Medal" (AVSM).