New Delhi, September 1
In key appointments in Armed Forces, seniormost naval officer and fighter pilot, Vice Admiral Sureesh Mehta was today named as the country's new Chief of Naval Staff and Let Gen Thomas Mathew along with Let Gen Arvind Mahajan were appointed Adjutant General and Director General of the Electrical & Mechanical Engineering Corps.
Admiral Mehta, currently Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command, will assume the new post on October 31 on retirement of the present Chief Admiral Arun Prakash, according to a defence ministry announcement here.
Born on August 18, 1947, Admiral Mehta, an alumnus of National Defence Academy, has held many prestigious onboard and staff appointments, including having commanded the Western Fleet, the sword arm of the navy during Operation Parakaram.
An aviator like the present chief, Admiral Mehta has extensively operated from aircraft carriers, including INS Vikrant. Promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral in 1995, the
new chief has served as Flag Officer Goa area.In the rank of Vice Admiral, he has served as Director General of Coast Guard and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff.
His other important assignments include the command of the frigates INS Beas and INS Godavari and also the premier Naval air station - INS Garuda in Goa.
He is a recipient of Ati Vishist Seva Medal in 1995 and Param Vishist Seva Medal in 2005 for exceptional meritorious service.
The Admiral assumed command of the premier Eastern Naval Command in 2005 and it was during his tenure that the first-ever President Naval fleet review was held on the country's east coast, which saw participation by over 66 warships and 50 aircraft of combined Naval fleet.
It was also under his command that Navy despatched warships on
humanitarian missions to various countries post-Tsunami disaster in December 2004.
In his new appointment as a Principal Staff Officer to Army Chief, Let Gen Mathew will be responsible for overseeing various extremely important functions of the Indian Army which include manpower requirements, services conditions, recruitment, discipline and various other functions, a Ministry of Defence press release said here.
An alumnus of National Defence Academy, the General Officer Commanding was commissioned into the Rajput Regiment on December 23, 1968 and joined 2 Rajput (Kalichindi). He has held many important staff, command and instructional appointments during his long career.
A Graduate of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, he has done Senior Command and Long Defence Management Courses. In addition, he has had the unique distinction of representing the country as Military Atache in the Indian Embassy in France.
Let Gen Mahajan assumed charge of the EME as its Director General while Let Gen I J Koshy took charge as Director Ceremonial, Welfare and Discipline (CWD) of the Indian Army.
Let Gen Mahajan was hitherto Commandant of Military College of EME.
Let Gen Koshy, who is from
Artillery, was till recently General Manager and Chairman of the Canteen Stores Department (CSD) at Mumbai. He assumes the present appointment on promotion.
