Lieutenant General PC Bhardwaj was commissioned into 1st battalion,
Parachute Regiment on 14 June 1970. He is an alumnus of
National Defence Academy,
Indian Military Academy,
Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and
National Defence College. A specialist in Special Operations, he was the first person from the Indian Army to undergo the rigorous Commando Divers Course at Naval Diving School. He excelled on the course, qualifying as an instructor. He has also attended the Special Forces Officers Course at
Fort Bragg in the US and earned an instructor rating. He commanded his battalion, 1 Para (Commando), in counter-insurgency operations along India's eastern border with
China and
Myanmar, and later commanded counter-insurgency Force Delta in Doda/Kishtwar. He commanded a mountain brigade in
Nagaland and also the elite
50th Parachute Brigade. As a brigadier, he commanded an infantry brigade and was the deputy director general at the Directorate General of Military Operations, Army Headquarters. He was appointed as the
Defence Attache at Embassy of India at
Yangon in
Myanmar from 1994 to 1997. As a
Major General, he was the General Officer Commanding Delhi Area where he was awarded the
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished service. Upon promotion to the rank of
Lieutenant General, he commanded
XIV Corps, responsible for the vast areas of
Ladakh and the
Siachen Glacier before assuming command of
Northern Command on 1 March 2008. Upon being awarded the
Param Vishisht Seva Medal on 26 January 2009, he became the most decorated soldier in the Indian Army. ==Post-military career==