The 78th Raising Day of Military Nursing Service (MNS) was celebrated in MNS Officers Mess of Northern Command Hospital, Udhampur. On this occasion Nursing Officers rededicated themselves to this esteemed and noble profession by taking the 'Florence Nightangle' pledge. This was followed by reading of messages received from Chief of the Army Staff, GOC-in-C Northern Command, DGMNS, DGMS (Army) and Additional DGMNS by Col MF Fabiola, Principal Matron. The ceremony ended with exchange of wishes and felicitations among the officers of the service.

On the occasion, Col MF Fabiola mission of nursing in society. She stressed that as nurses learn to live selflessly and work together with tender care and concern they become a lasting force in national life.

The Defence authorities are contemplating to introduce super speciality services for cancer and heart diseases at Command Hospital, Air Force in Bangalore at a cost of Rupees 100 crore.

Inaugurating the Sainik Guest- Rooms near the Command Hospital, Air Marshal BK Pandey, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Headquarters Training Command said that the super speciality services would be introduced in a phased manner. The guest-rooms are meant for ex-servicemen and their dependents who come from outstation to avail medical facilities at the Command Hospital. The guest rooms will be maintained by Headquarters Karnataka, Kerala and Goa Sub-area.

Air Marshal SK Jain, Air Vice Marshal BAK Shetty, Brig MP Singh, Commander of Karnataka, Kerala and Goa Sub-area and Commandants of various Army establishments were also present on the occasion.

A wide array of topics was included for deliberation during this update. Eminent persons from civil and Armed Forces were on the panel. The delegates, especially the postgraduate residents, interacted actively with the panel and found the proceedings to be very informative.

At the conclusion, Lt Col CS Narayanan thanked the faculty and all delegates for their active participation and contribution in making the update a grand success.

The Artillery Regiment celebrated its 176th raising day at Headquarters, ATNKK & G Area.

Maj Gen Paramjit Singh, Area GOC, was the chief guest. Maj Gen SD Awasthi, Commandant, Officers Training Academy and other senior officers from Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard participated in the celebrations. Ex-Army Chief, Gen S Padmanabhan, conveyed his felicitations.

A two-day seminar on "Emerging Technologies for Defence Preparedness" was inaugurated by Lt Gen JJ Singh, GOC-in-C, Army Training Command, at the Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering (MCEME), Secunderabad. About two hundred delegates from Armed Forces, academic institutes, DRDO, PSUs and private sector took part in the seminar.

The proceedings commenced in the MCEME Auditorium with a welcome address by Maj Gen Rajendra Singh, Deputy Commandant, MCEME. Lt Gen R K Mehta, Commandant, MCEME delivered the inaugural address. He called upon the Armed Forces, DRDO, academicians and industry to join hands and use the synergy so obtained for enhancing the defence potential of the country.

Lt Gen JJ Singh gave the keynote address. He stressed the need for identifying the threats being faced by the country and asked all units active in the field of defence technology to work in unison to counter the threats effectively.

Lt Gen NP Aul, Chief of Staff, Northern Command, carried out the annual administration inspection of Northern Command Hospital. He was received by Maj Gen SC Sood, Commandant of the hospital, who gave a detailed briefing on functioning of the hospital. He also discussed with him various services of the hospital and project of a new hospital to come up near Ashok Vihar, Udhampur.

After briefing, Lt Gen Aul was taken to Polyclinic, Physiotherapy Department, Blood Bank, ICU, Battle Casualty Ward, MRI and CT Scan Centre. The Chief of Staff appreciated the modern cooking equipment in cook houses. He interacted with the officers and Nursing Officers at the Nursing Officers Mess. A website of the Northern Command Hospital and CD on chronicles of 25 cases of battle casualties and a cardiac care van were also launched on the occasion.

Pune Union of Working Journalists (PUWJ) handed over a cheque for Rs 53,800 to Lt Gen Satish Satpute, Chief of Staff, Southern Command, Pune as relief towards victims of the Kargil conflict.

Speaking at a press meet, Lt Gen Satpute said the long coastal belt and the western border would continue to be vulnerable to smuggling of contrabands including arms and explosives.

Underlining the fact that militancy cannot exist without local support, Lt Gen Satpute said, "On our part, we can tighten the security and maintain a tight vigil but our experience has shown that militancy can only be rooted out with active support from the people. Speaking on the changing role of the Indian Army, he said state governments are seeking help from the Army to tackle law and order problems. The Army has also started playing a major role in relief and rescue operations.

Lt Gen Satpute gave an assurance that he would soon initiate steps to organise workshops to educate journalists on various aspects of the Defence Forces and their establishments.

Brig MP Singh, Commander, Karnataka, Kerala and Goa Sub-area inaugurated a three-day Pentangular Meet involving Military Schools of Ajmer, Belgaum, Dholpur, Chail and Bangalore.

Held for the first time in Bangalore, the event included competitions boxing, basketball, one-act play, debate for juniors and seniors and painting. Each school was represented by 30 cadets, 2 staff members and Principal. Aim of the programme was to improve the technical skills in sports and games and other co-curricular activities so that the cadets could in contest state and national level competitions. The event is conducted every year and responsibility to host is given to every school on rotation.

Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) of 16 Corps organised a welfare meet at Usman Auditorium, Nagrota to felicitate next of kin (NoK). of ex-soldiers residing around Nagrota. Mrs Deepa Bhardwaj, officiating President, AWWA 16 Corps honoured the war widows and next of kin, of soldiers.

A medical camp for ex-servicemen and their families was also organised. Lectures were also delivered on various benefits applicable to next of kin.

In her address, Mrs Deepa Bhardwaj said that families of ex-soldiers are very important to the community as they belong to a society which everyone is proud of. She said, "This is the first ever NoK meeting organised by 16 Corps AWWA but henceforth such meetings will be held after every three months".

HQ Eastern Air Command, IAF celebrated Hindi Fortnight. The celebration was inaugurated by Air Marshal MB Madon, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command. In his address, Air Marshal Madon stressed the importance of Hindi and urged the personnel and civilians of HQ EAC to use Hindi in their day-to-day works.

Competitions in recitation, essay writing, noting and drafting, translation, extempore speech and typing marked the occasion.

The closing function was graced by Air Vice Marshal HS Garkal, Senior Officer Incharge Administration, Eastern Air Command. He gave away certificates to winners of various competitions.

A New Vocational Training Centre Pragati, under the aegis of AWWA, Bhuj was inaugurated at Bhuj Military Station by President AWWA, Ahmedabad, Mrs Anita Thamburaj. Newly constructed Pragati aims at providing training to all members of AWWA in knitting, embroidery and sewing. Facilities of creche, beauty parlour and medical clinic have also been provided by Pragati. Other facilities catering to day to day requirements are also available at Pragati for the families residing in married accommodation. It has been financed by the AWWA Southern Command.

Army Public School in Lucknow Cantonment organised its annual prize distribution function with great fervour.

Maj Gen DN Kathuria, MG EME, HQ Central Command and Chairman of the School was the chief guest on the occasion. Addressing the function, he commended the teachers who helped students in winning the prizes. Meritorious students were awarded scholarships for excelling in various categories.

The coveted AWWA scholarships constituted by Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) were received by 36 students. Syed Mehmood Memorial Scholarship, Lt Col Mukesh Chandra Sharma, Memorial Scholar-ship, Amrish Kumar Memorial Scholarship and Brig VHM Prasad Scholarship were also presented on the occasion.

'Trishul House' bagged study and English debate trophies while 'Nanda House' lifted the Hindi debate trophy. 'Kamet House' annexed Hindi elocutions and house assembly trophies and 'Dhaulgiri House' lifted the discipline cup. Class assembly trophies were awarded to Class X-A and VI-B. The overall Cock House Trophy was bagged by Kamet House.

Sainik School, Kazhakootam won the Championship Trophy in boys' category at the Eighth All Kerala CBSE Athletic Meet.

As many as 700 students including 300 girls represented 60 CBSE schools from all the districts of Kerala participated in this meet held at the Sainik School, Kazhakootam.

Air Vice Marshal CS Gill, officiating Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Air Command was the chief guest at the closing ceremony and presented medals and trophies to the winners.

Around 30 officials from All India Amateur Athletic Federation, Kerala Sports Council and Kerala University joined hands for the conduct of this 4-day event.

Coimbatore Area lifted the Inter-area Basketball Championship held at Southern Air Command Sports Complex.

In the finals, Coimbatore Area team, led by Sgt Pankaj, defeated Thiruvananthapuram Area team, captained by Junior Warrant Officer KJ Jacob, by 52-31. Surya Lanka Area team, led by Col Moorthy, came third. Leading Aircraftsman Pankaj of Southern Air Command Area was selected as the best upcoming player. Air Cmde AK Bharadwaj, Senior Officer-in-Charge Administration , Southern Air Command, gave away the trophies.

The Army Cluster-II Football Championship was held in Shillong. The championship was conducted under the aegis of Assam Regimental Centre (ARC) for the selection of four teams for the Army Football Championship. Altogether eight teams participated in the championship.

Assam Regimental Centre, Shillong lifted the championship trophy. In the finals played at Garrison Ground, Shillong, Assam Regimental Centre defeated Garhwal Rifles Regiment, Lansdown by three goals to nil.

Lt Gen (Retd) SK Pillai, ex-Colonel of Assam Regiment who was the chief guest on the final day, gave away the championship trophy to Col JS Bawa, Commandant, ARC.

Chennai-Bangalore-Chennai Air Force Cycle Expedition, was conducted as a part of the on-going awareness campaign to attract youth towards IAF. The expedition was flagged off at Avadi by Gp Capt CM Jaitly, Commanding Officer, Mechanical Transport Training Institute, Air Force.

The six-member expedition team led by Flt Lt TS Khan touched IAF Training Command, Bangalore and returned to Avadi, covering 750 km in 12 days. The expedition was aimed at developing the spirit of adventure among the trainees.

After a distinguished tenure at Headquarters Southern Command, Brig Sawani took over charge from Brig VP Franklin, who retired from Service. Brig Sawani was commissioned in the Mechanised Infantry in 1968 and has served in various capacities during his career spanning over 35 years.

Brig UW Deshmukh is an alumnus of the Officers Training Academy, Madras and was commissioned in 1971. He is a graduate of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. During his distinguished career of over 32 years, he also commanded 27 Rajput Regiment.

Brig Deshmukh served in all types of terrain along the border and has held other prestigious appointments during his formative years. He was an Instructor at Junior Command Wing at Army War College. He held various staff appointments such as Colonel General Staff Headquarters at Northern Command and Colonel Quartermaster General (Operations) at Headquarters Southern Command. He was Brigadier Personnel and Administration at Infantry School, Mhow before this appointment.