NEW DELHI: For the first time in the history of Indian military, two classmates will be the service chiefs Indian Army and Navy. Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi and Admiral Dinesh Tripathi studied together at the Sainik School in 1970 in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa. 54 years later, the two defence official will the chiefs at the same. Hailing from the same school, the roll numbers of Lt Gen Dwivedi and Admiral Tripathi were also around each other in class 5A: 931 and 938 . An official spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence, A Bharat Bhushan Babu on X said, “For the first time in Indian Military history, Chiefs of Navy and Army hail from the same school. This rare honour of nurturing two prodigious students, who would go on to lead their respective Services 50 years later, goes to Sainik School, Rewa in Madhya Pradesh.” It was announced on Tuesday that currently serving as Vice Chief of the Army Staff, Lt Gen Dwivedi will be the next Army chief, succeeding General Manoj Pande. An alumnus of the Sainik School, Rewa, Lt Gen Dwivedi was born on July 1, 1964, and was later commissioned into 18 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles on December 15, 1984. Lt General Dwivedi had passed out from the Sainik School in 1981. The Sainik School principal Colonel Avinash Rawal told PTI, “The entire Sainik School family is feeling proud that its alumnus will become the next Army chief. Updendra Dwivedi is a former student of the school. During diamond jubilee celebrations he paid a visit to his alma mater and inaugurated the entry gate of the institution and shared his experiences with students.” Before being the Vice Chief of the Army Staff, Lt Gen Dwivedi served as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command from 2022-2024. Lt Gen Dwivedi has attended the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and then the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He is also an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington & Higher Command Course at Army War College, Mhow. Admiral Tripathi has graduated from the National Defence Academy, Pune, and has completed his staff course at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. Admiral Tripathi is also an alumnus of the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island in the United States. On July 1, 1985, he was commissioned into the Indian Navy and was later appointed as the Vice Chief of Naval Staff on December 5, 2023. Admiral Tripathi was appointed as the 26th Chief of Naval Staff on April 19, 2024, and he took over the position on April 30, 2024. Sainik School principal Rawal also said, “Recently, Admiral Tripathi gifted a torpedo to the institution, and it is the only Sainik School in the country to have this weapon.”
