Anil Chauhan is a retired lieutenant general of the Indian Army. He made headlines in September 2022, after the Indian government appointed him as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) after the former CDS General Bipin Rawat died when his helicopter crashed in December 2021.On 13 June 1981, after completing his training at the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, Anil Chauhan was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles (11 GR) as a second lieutenant.After joining his battalion in 1981, Anil Chauhan attended the Indian Army’s Young Officers (YO) course and commando course, held in Belgaum, Karnataka.In 1983, Anil Chauhan became a platoon officer in his battalion after getting promoted to the rank of lieutenant.In 1986, Anil Chauhan was promoted and made a captain, and in 1992, he became a major and was made a commander of a company in his battalion.Anil Chauhan became a second in command of his battalion after getting promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in December 2004.As a colonel, Anil Chauhan assumed the command of a battalion of the 11 Gorkha Rifles in 2005.From 1 June 2009 to 1 January 2014, Anil Chauhan served in the Indian Army as a brigadier. As a brigadier, he was appointed as the commandant of the 11 Gorkha Rifles Regimental Center located in Lucknow after which he was sent to the Directorate of Indian Army Veterans (DIAV), where he drafted policies related to the welfare of the veterans of the Indian Army.Anil Chauhan wrote a book titled Aftermath of a Nuclear Attack: A Case Study on Post-strike Operations in 2010 in which he briefly talked about the nuclear fallout, i.e., the events that would take place after the end of a nuclear war. Cover page of Anil Chauhan’s book that was published in 2010.On 1 January 2014, Anil Chauhan was promoted and made a major general after which he was posted as chief of staff of the Kashmir-based 15 Corps, also known as the Chinar Corps, where he served till 2015.