Lieutenant General Pyar Jung Thapa took over as acting chief of the Royal Nepal Army from Friday, the day the outgoing Chief of Army Staff General Prajwalla SJB Rana began his traditional month-long leave of absence. King Gyanendra, who is Supreme Commander, appoints a new chief at the end of the month. Lieutenant General Thapa is a graduate of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and was also trained at the British Army Staff College in Camberlay, UK.