the substantive rank of major-general on 1 April 1974. He subsequently moved to Army Headquarters as Director Military Operations (DMO). After a stint as DMO, he took over as the Master General of Ordnance at Army HQ. Vaidya was promoted to lieutenant-general on 25 January 1980, with seniority from 16 August 1978. On 1 July 1980, he was appointed GOC IV Corps. He was also elected as Honorary ADC to the President of India. After a short tenure, he was promoted Army Commander and appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command on 3 May 1981. Chief of Army Staff On 31 July 1983, Vaidya became the 13th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army, taking over from General K.V. Krishna Rao. The appointment was subject to controversy as the senior-most general, Lt Gen S K Sinha was super-ceded. Sinha was the Vice Chief of the Army Staff and was being groomed to take over as the next Chief. With the appointment of Vaidya as the 13th COAS, Sinha resigned in protest. Operation Blue Star In 1984, Vaidya designed and supervised Operation Blue Star - a military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, against militants commanded by Maj. Gen. Shabeg Singh, a former Officer of the Indian Army, under Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Chief of Damdami Taksal, in June 1984 at the Shri Harmandir Sahib complex. Bhindranwale was killed and all militants were cleared out of the gurudwara complex. He retired on 31 January 1986, one of India's most decorated officers. He had completed over 40 years of service. Assassination As the principal organiser of Operation Blue Star, Vaidya was well aware of being a high-profile target for assassins, but never regretted his role, stating in a 1985 interview: "I do not see any difference in taking up arms against a foreign enemy or an enemy from within...one who takes up arms against his own brother-citizens, against his own Constitution and legally-constituted government is enemy enough, deserving the most ruthless punishment." Despite numerous death threats being sent to his offices in the months before his retirement, he remained equally calm about the very real danger to his life: "After seeing two wars I can't run away from danger. If a bullet is destined to get me, it will come with my name written on it." Following Vaidya's retirement, he took up residence in Pune, India, where he built