Western Command celebrated 54th anniversary of its raising in Chandimandir Cantonment. Homage was paid to the martyrs at a solemn ceremony held at the Command War Memorial, Veer Smriti.

The GOC-in-C, Western Command, Lt Gen Surjit Singh, on behalf of all ranks, laid a wreath at the memorial on this occasion.

As part of the celebrations, a social get-together was held in the Command Officers' Mess which was graced by the Governor of Punjab, Lt Gen (Retd) JFR Jacob and a large number of retired officers residing in and around Chandigarh. A barakhana for the troops was also organised.

The 15th battalion of Bihar Regiment celebrated its 21st Raising Day. To mark the occasion, Lt Col Tejinder Singh, Commanding Officer of the battalion, addressed a special sainik sammelan at Unit Lines. A number of retired and serving officers and jawans were present on this occasion.

A barakhana and Bihar Mela depicting caltural heritage of Bihar were organised as part of Raising Day celebrations. A cultural function was also organised at the Officers’ Mess . Maj Gen VS Yadav, General Officer Commanding Maharashtra & Gujarat Area, Brig RC Sharma, Deputy GOC, Maharashtra & Gujarat Area, Brig PK Rampal, Commander Mumbai Sub Area and a number of other Army officers attended the function.

Thirtyfour defence officers passed out of the 24-week Qualified Flying Instructors' Course at the Flying Instructors School, IAF, Tambaram. Among those passed out, 25 were from Air Force, four from Army, three from Navy and one from Coast Guard.

Air Marshal B K Pandey, Senior Air Staff Officer, Training Command who was the chief guest, gave away trophies to those who completed the course with distinction. Speaking on this occasion, the Air Marshal stressed the necessity of imparting a high level of knowledge, flying skill and, more importantly, the right attitude to service to realise that military aviation had become a very complex and technology-intensive activity.

Gp Cap V K Yajurvedi, Station Commander, IAF, Tambaram who read the course report, said that 111th course consisted of 250 hours of studies and 4000 hours of flying task in Kiran and HPT aircraft. It laid emphasis on situational awareness and emergency handling, he added.

Five misguided youth laid down their arms before senior officials of Army and other security forces at a solemn ceremony held at Manasbal under the aegis of Counter Insurgency Force (Kilo).

These hardcore militants had joined the militant organisations few years back and now realise the futility of their decision to continue with the gun culture. The security forces motivated them to shun the path of violence and lead a peaceful life with their near and dear ones.

Three militants belonging to HM and TJI who had been apprehended at Wanagam and Dabran Forest in Baramulla district during operations conducted by security forces were also produced before the newspersons. These captured militants confirmed to mediapersons that Army meted out a friendly behaviour once they were captured during an operation. "There is no question of human rights violations even with the confirmed terrorists. Therefore, the question to any such violations with the general public does not arise" said one of the captured terrorists.

An Artillery Regiment celebrated its 36th Battle Honour Day, Asal Uttar somewhere in Central India. The celebrations started with Mandir parade in which all the Asal Uttarians, both serving and retired led by the Commanding Officer of the Regiment, Col O S Rekhra, offered prayers at the unit temple. A special sainik sammelan was organised on the occasion to pay homage to the martyrs who laid down their lives during the Indo-Pak war in September 1965. Messages received on the occasion from the Colonel of the Regiment, General Officer Commanding and other senior officers were read out. The Commanding Officer also conveyed his good wishes to all officers, JCOs, jawans and their families on this occasion. A barakhana, pagal gymkhana and other functions were organised to mark the occasion.

Directorate General Resettlement organised a seminar on ‘Human Resource in ex-Defence Officers’ at Vadodara. Air Chief Marshal AY Tipnis, Chief of Air Staff was the chief guest at the seminar. This was the eighth seminar on the subject which was attended by more than 250 retired and retiring defence officers. The response from the corporate sector was quite encouraging and forthcoming. Eminent personalities from the corporate sector participated in the seminar. They were happy to note at the vast potential available in the retired and retiring officers and expressed their keenness in absorbing some of them in various fields depending upon the qualification. They also assured that they would interact with the DGR for requirement of officers in future.

- A N Srivastava

A recruitment rally was organised at Boniyar by the Pir Panjal Brigade of the Dagger Division. The rally was inaugurated by the officiating General Officer Commanding of Dagger Division. A large number of civil and Army dignitaries, the village elders and numberdars of the adjoining villages were present on the occasion. The officiating GOC, while addressing the guests, advised the youth of the surrounding villages to make full use of the opportunity to join the nation's defence forces.

On the very first day, approximately 300 youths turned up for the rally from the villages of Rampur, Chandanwari, Mohra, Salamabad, Trikhnjan, Hundinaushehra, Btangi, Bernate, Girdnawa and Boniyar. The village elders thanked the GOC for organising the rally and requested to organise such rallies from time to time. The recruitment rally has been a step forward to meet the aspirations of the people in this region.

The Naval Hospital INHS Sanjivani conducted a free medical camp at the Primary Health Centre, Ettikulam near Naval Academy Project, Ezhimala. Surg Capt MK Ravindran, senior advisor in medicine at INHS Sanjivani, inaugurated the medical camp.

A medical team comprising six specialists including a physician, opthalmologist, ENT surgeon, dentist and a lady doctor and 17 medical assistants rendered medical services to about 788 patients. Free consultation and treatment were made available to all the patients. Besides, seventytwo specific and deserving cases which required further investigation and follow-up treatment were advised to visit the naval hospital at Kochi naval base for further treatment. The close liaison between the Navy and the civil administration and the co-operation extended by the staff of the Primary Health Centre and the local public resulted in an overwhelming response. People from different parts of Kannur district made use of the facilities provided by the Navy.

A medical and veterinary camp was organised at Quazigund in Anantnag district by a unit of Rashtriya Rifles and an Army Dog Unit. The medical camp met a long-standing demand of locals living in villages around Quazigund as these remote areas of Anantnag district are deprived of medical facilities. The medical and veterinary camp was organised jointly by the Army and civil administration.

Over 3000 patients including women and children and about 400 animals were provided free treatment and medicines by a team comprising medical specialist, dentist, lady doctor and veterinary doctor. Free medicines worth over Rs 50, 000 were distributed at the camp. Free dental care, medical advice to the women folk and veterinary care were major highlights of the camp. The medical camp was inaugurated by Col AS Negi, officiating Commander Sector Rashtriya Rifles.

The Army personnel operating in this area have resolved to organise many more such camps more frequently in remote areas to meet the demands of the local public. The people who attended the medical camp expressed their deep gratitude and appreciation for this humane gesture of the Army.

The 16 Corps dental unit has recently been upgraded with modern and latest dental equipment like orthopantographic radiographic machine which is essential for diagnosis and treatment planning and other apparatus to provide latest dental treatment.

The 16 Corps dental unit is a four-chair dental centre presently commanded by Col Rajesh Madan who is also the Corps Dental Adviser of 16 Corps. Having two detachments at Nagrota and Ratnuchak, the unit has a clientele of approximately 17000 including troops, ex-servicemen and their families.

The unit being a special referral centre receives large number of patients from various places in the corps zone. It has been providing modern dental care to the troops in the corps zone and forward areas.

Lt Gen Jitendra Singh Varma assumed the charge of GOC for the command of 4 Corps. He is also the operational head of the Unified Command Structure. He joined the National Defence Academy (NDA), Dehra Dun in 1961 and was commissioned into 63 Cavalry of Armoured Corps in 1964.

Lt Gen Varma, during his 36 years of service, has held very important appointments. Besides holding various appointments in the regiment, the General Officer has commanded an Independent Armoured Squadron in Nagaland. He has also actively participated in 1965 and 1971 operations.

Lt Gen Varma also held instructional appointments at the Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun, Armoured Corps Centre and School, Ahmednagar and with the Indian Military Training Team in Iraq. He has attended prestigious courses including the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) at Wellington, Higher Command (HC) course at Mhow and National Defence College (NDC) in New Delhi. He has the unique distinction of taking over the command of a corps for the second time.

To mark the occasion of the Territorial Army (TA) Day, a colourful parade was organised at the Army Parade Ground, Delhi. The then Defence Minister Mr Jaswant Singh reviewed the parade and presented medals.

The Territorial Army Decoration was presented to Commandant (ex Capt) P K Mohla. The Territorial Medal was presented to Sub Goraknath, Sub S Shekaran, Nb Sub Bir Singh Thaku, Hav Dundappa Navi, Hav Janak Rao, Hav Birju Singh, Hav K Ramesh, Nk Yasmant Kandapa, Nk Kaval Singh, Nk Hari Rudrappa and L/Nk Amar Singh.

Among those present at the parade were Mr U V Krishnam Raju, Minister of State for Defence, Gen S Padmanabhan, Chief of the Army Staff and Lt Gen Surjit Singh, GOC-in-C, Western Command.

The School for Naval Airmen (SFNA) , a premier training institution for personnel of Naval Aviation, celebrated its 45th anniversary recently. As part of celebrations, various cultural and welfare activities were conducted. The officers and sailors of the school visited Sneha Sadan, a centre run by Mother Teresa Foundation for the mentally challenged and destitute. The school donated ration, clothes and toys for the inmates of the sadan.

The staff of SFNA also visited Bal Kendra, a play school for the tinytots run by the Navy Wives Welfare Association (NWWA) at the Naval Base. The school donated 50 chairs for use by the children of the school to Mrs Meena Harinder Singh, President, NWWA, Southern Region.

Lt Gen Gurbaksh Singh Sihota took over as the GOC-in-C, Southern Command. The General Officer was commissioned in the Regiment of Artillery in 7 Field Regiment. He is an aviator and had served with the Air Observation Post Squadron during 1971 operations in Bangladesh. He has been a Brigade Major of an Infantry Brigade and later served as a Colonel General Staff of an Infantry Division in Leh. After commanding an Independent Infantry Brigade in Western Sector, he was General Officer Commanding of Victor Force in Jammu and Kashmir. On promotion to the rank of Lieutenant General, he commanded a Strike Corps in Western Sector. Before taking over as GOC-in-C, Southern Command he was the Director General of Military Operations at Army Headquarters.

Lt Gen G S Sihota is a highly decorated soldier with Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vir Chakra, Vayu Sena Medal and Mention-in-Despatches.

As a part of its golden jubilee celebrations, INHS Asvini organised a ‘Run for Health’ which was flagged off by Vice Admiral RKS Gandhi (Retd) from Kohli Stadium, Navy Nagar.

The ‘run’ was terminated at INHS Asvini after covering a distance of 19 kms from Navy Nagar to Girgaon Chowpatty and back. Over 1300 people including athletes from the Indian Navy, jawans from the Army and students from various schools and colleges took part in the ‘run’. ‘The aim of the ‘run’ was to propagate the message of health and spirit of adventure among the community in Mumbai’, said Surg Cmde VK Singh, Executive Officer INHS Asvini. Attractive prizes were given to the winners in various categories.

An Army trekking expedition was flagged off from the Shivalik foothills by Brig Ram Pratap, Station Commander, Chandimandir. The expedition was conducted by 151 AD Regiment (SP) in the salubrious and challenging Shivalik hills around Narkanda in Himachal Pradesh.

The team comprising three officers, three JCOs and 12 jawans was led by Capt S Bose and covered a total distance of 120 km in a week. The area is scarcely populated and full of nullahs, jungles and gorges. The expedition also climbed the Hathu peak, the highest feature in the area.

The Kerala leg of all-India car rally was flagged off by Brig S N Handa, Station Commander, Pangode Military Centre from Military Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram.

The rally, organised to commemorate the golden jubilee year of INHS Asvini, was sponsored by Tata Engineering. The motto of the rally was to spread the message of 'Health for All'. The rally, on its arrival from Kanyakumari, was received by Col BLT Joseph, Commanding Officer, Military Hospital. The rally, comprising ten members, was headed by Surg Cdr V K Mohindra.

Canteen Stores Department, Bathinda Cantt organised the CSD Northern Region Sports Meet at Bathinda recently. Brig A K Sakhuja, Station Commander, Bathinda Military Station inaugurated the sports meet. Mr L K Klare, Area Manager, CSD Depot, Bathinda was the incharge for conducting the CSD Northern Region Sports Meet. One hundred and twentyfour participants from Leh, Srinagar, Udhampur, B D Bari, Pathankot, Jalandhar and Bathinda Depots participated in different events like athletics, volley ball, kabaddi, table tennis and badminton. The overall trophy was won by the Sringar Depot. The Bathinda Depot won the kabaddi match. Mr N S Negi, Regional Manager (North) gave away the prizes to the winners.

The 3 Guards (1 Rajputana Rifles) lifted the Black Mace Sports Trophy for the second consecutive year. The battalion virtually made a clean sweep of all sports competitions conducted by the Armoured Brigade in its true tradition of Pehla Hamesha Pehla.

The trophy was presented to the battalion by Brig B S Grewal, Brigade Commander at a special sainik sammelan organised on the occasion of the Brigade Raising Day. The trophy was received by Col K R Bhatnagar, Commandant.