Aziz Ahmed (general)

Aziz was born on 1 January 1961 in Narayanganj.^[3] His ancestral home is in the village of Tarki in Sultanabad Union at Matlab Uttar Upazila of Chandpur District. He is the third child of Abdul Wadud, who was a retired Master warrant officer of Bangladesh Air Force and senior ground manager of Biman Bangladesh Airlines in his later career, and Renuja Begum who was a homemaker. He completed his secondary school from Mohammadpur Government High School in 1977 and high school from Notre Dame College. He also attained the engineering seminar in Textile Technology from Bangladesh University of Textiles in 1980. And in 1983, he obtained his Bachelor of Science from Chittagong University. Aziz enlisted to Bangladesh Military Academy on 7 August 1981 in 8th BMA long course, and was commissioned in the 2nd field artillery regiment on 10 June 1983. He is a graduate of Defence Services Command and Staff College and furthermore completed his three master's degrees, in defence studies (MDS), in Master of Science at Technical engineering from National University and also Masters in Business Administration at Executive from American International University-Bangladesh.^[3] He earned his PhD degree on Border Management Challenges of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB): Issues in Transnational Threat from Bangladesh University of Professionals under supervision of Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah.^[4][5][6]

Aziz served during Chittagong Hill Tracts insurgency as an artillery troop leader, gun position officer, and furthermore general staff officer (operations) in 69th Infantry Brigade at Bandarban Cantonment. Aziz attended the Junior Command Course in Army War College, Mhow in his initial career days. He served as a brigade major in an infantry brigade and a general staff officer at the military training directorate and the pay pension & allowance directorate of army headquarters. He also served as instructor for more than seven years until 2008 at the Artillery Center & School and the School of Military Intelligence.

Aziz commanded one artillery battery, one artillery regiment and was one of the pioneer officers of Border Guard Bangladesh at the unforeseen emergence of Bangladesh Rifles revolt, where he commanded one rifles battalion in 2009 and then a BDR Sector in 2010. Aziz returned to army for brief moment in which he was ameliorated to brigadier general and commanded two artillery brigades including the sole Independent air defence artillery brigade.

Aziz was soon ameliorated to major general and commanded the 33rd infantry division in Comilla. He then returned to Border Guard Bangladesh and appointed as director general on 5 December 2012.^[7] Under his command, Aziz cited that border guard raised four regional headquarters, 15 battalions and established 108 new border outposts covering 310 kilometres (190 mi) unguarded border with India and Myanmar along the border in Chittagong Hill Tracts area, and furthermore two floating outposts in the Sundarbans.^[8] During his tenure, a total of 18,000 new soldiers were recruited, including the first 100 female recruits for border guard. Aziz played a prominent role in normalizing the border guard force after the Bangladesh Rifles revolt.^[9] He reinstated credence on the newly formed border guard forces and took initiative to launch of Shimanto Bank a welfare project for the betterment of Border Guard Bangladesh.^[10]

n 16 November 2016, Aziz was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed general officer commanding of ARTDOC.^[11][12] On 9 January 2018, Aziz was re-assigned to army headquarters as quarter master general of the army.

Aziz also served as an observer for the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM) and a military adviser to the force commander of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).^[7]

On 25 June 2018, Aziz was promoted to the rank of general and was appointed as the 16th chief of army staff replacing general Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq.^[13] As army chief Aziz was critical during superseding five senior generals including Sheikh Mamun Khaled and Mahfuzur Rahman.^[14]

During his tenure, the army witnessed important reforms that includes participation in 54 United Nations peacekeeping missions in 40 countries and furthermore facilitation the signing of a non-binding agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia^[15] for military cooperation and support that includes the deployment of Bangladeshi troops in Saudi Arabia.^[16]

He retired from the army on 24 June 2021 succeeded by general Shafiuddin Ahmed as chief of army staff.^[9][17][18]