Change of Command at DSSC, India's Tri-services training institution

Lieutenant General Manish Erry, assumed command of the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), among the oldest military institutions in the country, on Thursday, 18th September. He took over from Lieutenant General Virendra Vats, who concluded his three-year tenure marked by strengthening academic standards, advancing joint training and deepening international military cooperation at the premier Tri-Services institution.The Defence Services Staff College(DSSC) was established in 1905 at Quetta (now in Pakistan) and relocated to Wellington in the Nilgiris District, in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu in 1947.

The DSSC is India’s foremost Tri-Services training institution. It trains selected officers of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as officers from friendly foreign nations, in higher nuances of leadership, jointmanship, strategy and staff functions. Having recently completed 77 years of excellence at Wellington, the college continues to play a pivotal role in shaping future military leaders.

Lieutenant General Erry is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. Commissioned into the 9 Jammu And Kashmir Light Infantry of Indian Army in December 1988. He is also an alumnus of DSSC.

A highly decorated officer, the General brings with him 37 years of rich and varied experience in the Indian Army. He commanded his battalion in the Northern Glacier and high-altitude areas at Chushul in Eastern Ladakh, raised an Infantry Brigade in the Eastern Theatre as part of the Mountain Strike Corps, commanded a Mountain Division and later led the Gajraj Corps in the Eastern Theatre.

In his distinguished staff appointments, he has served as Inspector General (Operations) at Headquarters National Security Guard, Chief of Staff of South Western Command and Director General of Strategic Planning at the Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Army).

On taking over command, Lieutenant General Erry expressed gratitude to the civilian staff and local populace for their continued support and contribution to DSSC. He reaffirmed his commitment to further strengthening the college’s role as a centre of excellence in professional military education and jointmanship.