Gen Vij was the 21 st Chief of the Army Staff from 31 Dec 2002 to 31 Jan 2005. He was the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) during the very successful operations by Indian Army for eviction of Pakistani Intruders in Kargil in 1999. Subsequently, he was also responsible for coordinating the withdrawal of the Pakistani troops from the War Zone. Another feather in his cap as DGMO was a visit to Sierra Leone to formulate and thereafter execute an operation (OP KHUKRI), wherein over 455 Indian Soldiers serving as part of UN Peace Keeping contingent, who had been taken hostage, were rescued in a dare devil operation His tenure as the Army Chief is remembered for many notable improvements in operational & administrative postures of the Army. The most notable amongst them being the laying of 670 Km long fence along the Line of Control within one year, which brought the infiltration down to insignificant numbers. Also notable is the raising of South-Western Command and 9 Corps to improve the Operational Posture. After his superannuation from the Army, he was appointed Founder Vice Chairman of National Disaster Management Authority, in the rank of Cabinet Minister, for five years from Sep 2005 – Sep 2010.He is the former Director of the Vivekananda International Foundation, a renowned non-partisan leading Think Tank in India since Jun 2014.