Western Division
Introduction
RAKSHYA NAI DHARMA
The Western Division Headquarters, with the motto, "Rakshya Nai Dharma Ho” was established on February 13, 2003 (Falgun 1, 2059) as Central Division at Pokhara, Kaski. The Central Division was renamed to its present name as the Western Division on September 17, 2004. Lt Gen Chitra Bahadur Gurung was the first General Officer Commanding (GOC) of this division and Major General Shantosh Ballave Poudyal is the present GOC.
The successive GOC of this division were Maj Gen Prakash Bahadur Basnet (Retd.), Maj Gen Amar Panta (Retd.), Brig Gen Dilip Samsher JB Rana (Retd.), Maj Gen Gaurav Samsher JB Rana (Retd.), Maj Gen Sivram Pradhan (Retd.), Maj Gen Nar Badadur Kandel (Retd.), Maj Gen Victor JB Rana (Retd.), Maj Gen Yagya Bikram Rana (Retd.), Maj Gen Padam Bilash Karki (Retd.), Maj Gen Ramesh Kumar Pun (Retd.), Maj Gen Jagadish Chandra Pokharel, Maj Gen Devendra Bahadur Medhasi, Maj Gen Kaji Bahadur Khatri and Maj Gen Deepak Kumar Baniya.
Biography of Major General Shantosh Ballave Poudyal
Maj General Shantosh B Poudyal was commissioned into the arms of Signals in the Nepali Army in 1989 after graduating from Nepali Military Academy, Kharipati.
Maj Gen Poudyal has undergone several professional military training and courses in his career that include Intelligence and Security Course, Company Commander Course, Command and Staff Officers Course and Higher Command and Management Course in Nepal. A graduate of Command and General Staff College, Kansas, USA, he has completed International Fellowship program at the National War College in the National Defense University, USA. He has participated in many workshops and seminars on a broad range of topics at home and abroad as panel member and moderator.
Maj Gen Poudyal holds three Master’s degrees to his credit. The first one in Public Administration is from Tribhuban University, Nepal. Second is on National Security Affairs: Combating Terrorism Policy and Strategy from Naval Postgraduate School, California, USA where he earned the distinguished thesis award and also the best international student award for regional security studies. His third Master’s degree is on National Security Strategy from National Defense University, USA.
Maj Gen Poudyal has held various Command, Staff and instructional responsibilities during his 36 years of illustrious military career. He has successfully commanded an independent Infantry Company, the Army Headquarter Signals Battalion and a Signals Brigade. Similarly, he has also held junior and senior staff appointments in different branches of the Army HQs such as Staff Officer to the Chief of Army Staff, Director of the Supply and Transport Directorate and Directorate of Public Relations and Information where he was also the official spokesperson for the Nepali Army. He also held the appointment of the Director for the Directorate of Peace Operations overseeing Nepali Army’s peacekeeping across the world. He has also served as the Chief of Medical Logistic and Supply Branch in the Covid-19 Crisis Management Committee (CCMC) formed by the Government of Nepal during the pandemic. He was an instructor in the Army Command and Staff College for three years where he continues to teach as a visiting speaker. His notable staff appointment in the United Nations include a tenure of two years (2014-16) as a planner in the Strategic Force Generation and Capability Planning Cell of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in New York, USA. He is widely acclaimed in the peacekeeping fraternity for his contribution as one of the architect and the first ever manager of the Peace Keeping Readiness System (PCRS), the current stand by system adopted by the United Nations for peacekeeping. He has the experience of two peacekeeping missions, one in Somalia (UNOSOM-II) from 1993-94 and the other one is in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) from 2004-2005.
Maj Gen Poudyal is currently the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Western Division of the Nepali Army.
He is married to Mrs. Shovana Sharma Poudyal, who is currently the Secretary of the Nepali Army Wives Association (NAWA) and the couple is blessed with a daughter Ms. Shuvangi Poudyal and a son Shashwat Poudyal.
Army Commanders Western Division
Maj Gen Baburam Shrestha
Maj Gen Binaya Bikram Rana
Maj Gen Gokul Bhandari
Maj Gen Kaji Bahadur Khatri
Maj Gen Devendra Bahadur Medhasi
Maj Gen Jagadish Chandra Pokharel
Maj Gen Ramesh Kumar Pun
Maj Gen Padam Bilash Karki
Maj Gen Yagga Bikram Rana
Maj Gen Victor JB Rana
Maj Gen Nar Bahadur Kandel
Maj Gen Sivram Pradhan
Maj Gen Gaurav Samsher JB Rana
Maj Gen Dilip Samsher JB Rana
Maj Gen Amar Panta
Maj Gen Prakash Bahadur Basnet
