Deependra Singh Hooda is a retired General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command after forty years of service in the Indian Army. From 2012 to 2016, he was stationed in Jammu and Kashmir, first as a Corps commander and then as the Northern Army Commander when he handled numerous strategic challenges and China and Pakistan’s borders.

He was the Army Commander during the Chumarand Demchok face-off situation along the India-China LAC in September 2014 and during the launch of surgical strikes against Pakistan in September 2016. As a Major General, he was responsible for counterinsurgency operations in Manipur and South Assam. His earlier assignments included serving as Chief Logistics Officer for the newly-raised United Nations Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea. In his four-decade-long career, he was conferred with the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, and the Vishisht Seva Medal (Bar). 

He is currently accredited as a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies, New Delhi, and serves on the Advisory Board of Cyber Peace Foundation. He is a regular contributor to newspapers, online media portals, and professional journals.