Mohammad Mainul Islam (general)

• United States Army War College
• Bangladesh University of Professionals

Military Training

Bangladesh Military Academy

Lieutenant General Mohammad Mainul Islam SBP, OSP
Mainul in 2015
Principal Staff Officer of Armed Forces Division
In office 1 July 2015 –31 January 2016
Awards	Senabahini Padak(SBP) Oshamanno Sheba Padak(OSP) Independence Day Award
Military service
Allegiance	Bangladesh
Branch/service	Bangladesh Army Bangladesh Rifles
Years of service	1977–2016
Rank	Lieutenant General
Unit	East Bengal Regiment
Commands	PSO of Armed Forces Division Chief of General Staff of Bangladesh Army Director General of Bangladesh Rifles Commander of 46th Independent Infantry Brigade
Battles/wars	Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict UNOCI UNIIMOG

Mohammad Mainul Islam SBP, OSP, psc (born 4 December 1959) is a retired lieutenant general of the Bangladesh Army. He is the former principal staff officer of the Armed Forces Division and chief of general staff (CGS) of the Bangladesh Army. He also served as director general of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), later renamed as Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). ^{[1] [2]} He is currently the president of the Bangladesh Archery Federation. ^[3]

Education

Mainul was commissioned from Bangladesh Military Academy in the East Bengal Regiment in 1977. Mainul completed his master's degree in strategic studies in 2003 from United States Army War College, Pennsylvania. He did his second master's in business studies in 2004 from The Trinity University, in the United States. He also completed his third master's in defence studies in 2005 from National University. As of 2020, he is pursuing a PhD under Bangladesh University of Professionals. ^[4]

Career

Bangladesh Army

Mainul instructed at East Bengal Regimental Centre, School of Infantry and Tactics and was the chief instructor of Armed Forces War College. He commanded one infantry company, one infantry battalion and the 46th Independent Infantry Brigade. He was appointed as director general of Bangladesh Rifles and rechristened it to Border Guard Bangladesh on 4 May 2010. Mainul then returned to National Defence College as college secretary. He was promoted to lieutenant general in 2013 and was made chief of general Staff at the Army Headquarters. In July 2015 he was made the principal staff officer of the Armed Forces Division. He was a part of modernization of the Bangladesh Armed Forces as part of Forces Goal 2030 scheme. ^[5] Mainul went to leave per retirement on February 2016. ^{[6] [4]}

Bangladesh Rifles

He was hand picked as brigadier general to manage the catastrophic situation of the 2009 Bangladesh Rifles Mutiny. He served as the director general of the Bangladesh Rifles from 28 February 2009 to 9 May 2010 and was given the responsibility of reorganizing the mutiny devastated force. He had replaced Director General Shakil Ahmed who was killed in the mutiny. ^[7] He re-established the chain of command in the force and initiated the trial of the mutiny in a very short time. He transformed working environment of the traditional border force with new laws and positive culture. ^[4] He oversaw the change in name of Bangladesh Rifles to Border Guards Bangladesh. During his directorship, the uniform was changed and an intelligence unit was added to the border forces. ^[8] He produced a new organisational structure upon which the force operates today. ^[9]

United Nations

After forced withdrawal of Bangladesh Battalion Headquarters from UN camps in Ivory Coast, Bangladeshi peacekeepers faced image crisis; by negative branding like "armed tourists" in the mission area. He was assigned to bring change in ways of professional peace keeping duty. He could turn the tide in favor of Bangladeshi peace keepers. ^[9] He was also a proud member of 1st milestone group of 15 Peace Keepers deployed under United Nations Iran–Iraq Military Observer Group (UNIMOG) to Iraq in 1988, immediately after Iraq-Iran War. This group paved the way of present-day peace keeping. ^[4]

Honours

References

1. "Lt Gen Mahfuzur new principal staff officer of Armed Forces Division". The Daily Star. 3 February 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
2. "Policy friendly, BSF unfriendly". The Daily Star. 7 March 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
3. "President of Bangladesh Archery Federation Lieutenant General (Retd) Md Mainul Islam speaking as the chief guest at the opening ceremony of the Teer 3rd National Youth Archery Championship at Shaheed Ahsan Ullah Master Stadium in Tongi, Gazipur on Saturday". The New Nation. 21 July 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
4. "Md. Mainul Islam". cgs-bd.com. 21 July 2020. Archived from the original on 21 July 2020.
5. "Lt Gen Moinul Islam takes over as new Armed Forces Division PSO". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
6. "Lt Gen Mahfuzur Rahman appointed as new Armed Forces Division PSO". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
7. "Border Guard Bangladesh". bgb.gov.bd. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
8. "BDR to get new name, uniform, intelligence unit". The Daily Star. 19 August 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
9. "Leaders, troops to bridge gap". The Daily Star. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2020.