Lt Gen Sharma succeeds Lt Gen Paramjit Singh who became the first DCOAS(strategy) earlier this year. Lt Gen Singh superannuated on Wednesday after 39 years of service in the Army. Lt Gen Sharma, serving as the Director-General of Military Intelligence, will take up the new assignment on Thursday, officials said. The DCOAS(Strategy) was created as part of mega reforms in the Army headquarters, nearly three years after its need was felt during the 73-day Doklam standoff with the Chinese military in the Sikkim sector. Lt Gen Sharma is an alumnus of Rashtriya Military School, Bengaluru and was commissioned into the Rajputana Rifles in December 1983.