Major General Shubhi Sood

Major General Shubhi Sood was born and brought up in Simla. On completion of his schooling from there, he joined the "National Defence Academy" at Kharakwasla near Poona. Commissioned into the 4th Battalion of The 8th Gorkha Rifles, he saw action with the battalion in 'Jhangar' in the 'Rajouri Sector' of J&K and later in Manipur and Nagaland. In September 1968 he was posted as Aide de Camp (ADC) to Lt. Gen. Sam Manekshaw then GOC-in-C Eastern Command at Calcutta. On his promotion as Chief of Army Staff, Sam took Shubhi along with him as one of his Aides in Delhi.

Just before the 1971 war, Captain Sood was promoted to the rank of Major and appointed Deputy Military Assistant to the Chief of Army Staff. In addition to his duties as Dy MA, he was also carrying out the duties of ADC since the second ADC had reverted to his unit on their mobilization from Delhi. It was thus that the author had a ringside view of the "War of 1971."

He left to attend the Staff College Course at Camberley in the UK in the end of September 1972.

Having done the job of 'Brigade Major' in Mizoram and Assam, he commanded the 1st Battalion of the 8th Gorkha Rifles, the 'Mechanized Battalion' of the Gorkhas. Having attended important courses like the 'Higher Command' and 'National Defence College Course' where he was also an instructor, he went on to command the 26 Infantry Division in Jammu and Kashmir. On 31st March 1998, he took retirement from the Army when he was Chief of Staff at 12 Corps.

On retirement, Gen. Sood worked as 'Chief Executive Officer' for "AVIS Rent a Car" in India, from where he retired in 2003. Post retirement he has been busy writing books. Another book published in December 2004 is titled 'Younghusband, Troubled Campaign' about the "Tibet Mission" led by Colonel, Sir FE Younghusband into Lhasa in 1904, in which the battalion that he commanded participated and won a 'Victoria Cross' in addition to six 'IOM' (Indian Order of Merit).

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