Chand was commissioned into 11th Battalion the Garhwal Rifles in June 1979. He has vast experience spanning over 38 years and has served in all operational theatres and held active combat leadership role at every stage of command. He has commanded a company in the
Kargil Sector of Ladakh and another company during
Operation Pawan as part of the
Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in
Sri Lanka. He has also commanded a battalion in Operation Rhino, targeted at infiltrators in
Assam and Operation Falcon, along the
Line of Actual control (LAC) in
Arunachal Pradesh; an infantry brigade in the desert, a counter-insurgency force in the
Kashmir valley,
IV Corps (
Tezpur) and GOC-C
South Western Command (
Jaipur). In addition, he has held numerous staff and instructional appointments including instructor of the commando wing in infantry school . He was also served in the
United Nations mission in Somalia (UNOSOM-II). He assumed the office of VCOAS on 13 January 2017 after
General Bipin Rawat was promoted to Chief of Army Staff (COAS). and retired on 31 May 2018, succeeded by Lt General
Devraj Anbu. During 38 years of his career he has been awarded the
Vishisht Seva Medal in 2006, the
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2014, the
Uttam Yudh Seva Medal in 2016 and the
Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2018. == Honours and decorations ==