Sainik sammelans and barakhanas were organised in all ADA units where messages of greetings received from dignitaries were read. In his message, Lt Gen Ram Subramanyam, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Command commended all ranks of the corps for their professional competence and devotion to duty. He said that the Air Defence Artillery units, in addition to their primary role, have contributed immensely to counter insurgency operations and effectively engaged enemy along the Line of Control.

An impressive passing-out parade was held at MEG and Centre in which 515 recruits passed out to join Madras Sappers after completion of their training.

The parade was commanded by Sapper R Sakthivel who also received the Bakhthachalan Trophy for being best in all spheres of training. During his training, Sapper R Sakthivel was awarded four blue cards. He also received award for best in physical training during the parade. Sapper Ganga PD received award for best in drill, Sapper Hanumant Gowda for best in weapon training and Sapper Mahesh Kumar for best in combat engineering.

The parade was reviewed by
Brig JJ Manavalan, Commandant, MEG and Centre. A large number of officers, JCOs, ORs and parents were also present on the occasion.

A two-day biennial conference of Military Police was held at CMP Centre and School in Bangalore.

Lt Gen A Natarajan, the then Adjutant General of the Indian Army and Colonel Commandant of the CMP inaugurated the conference. Lt Gen Bhopinder Singh, Provost Marshal and other senior Provost Officers attended the conference. Important matters were discussed during the conference and certain decisions were taken.

On his arrival at the CMP Centre and School, Lt Gen Natarajan was given a guard of honour and he placed a wreath at the war memorial to pay homage to war heroes.

An investiture ceremony was organised by Central Command at Bareilly. Lt Gen Ram Subramanyam, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Command presented Sena Medals, Vishisht Seva Medals and Yudh Seva Medals to awardees on the occasion. A number of awardees from all over the country visited Bareilly to attend the presentation ceremony. The two-day celebrations included a horse show, dog show, band display, a demonstration of hot air balloon and Beating the Retreat ceremony. A social evening and investiture barakhana in honour of the recipients were also organised.

Lt Gen GS Sihota, GOC-in-C Southern Command visited Artificial Limb Centre, Pune. He interacted with patients in the wards and exhorted them to overcome their disabilities and contribute towards to the social fabric of the country. He said that the Army would always ‘look after their own’. He expressed satisfaction over the efforts of the centre to provide good quality limbs. The Army Commander promised that he would provide a DVD projection system for patients.

An Army recruitment rally was conducted at Sujanpur Tirah for the candidates from Hamirpur, Bilaspur and Una districts in Himachal Pradesh. The rally attracted over 10,000 candidates.

Brig DS Kullar, Commander, 55 (Independent) Mechanised Brigade visited the venue to oversee the arrangements. He interacted with the candidates. He also apprised all of the elaborate arrangements made by the Army to ensure fair and transparent recruitment.

Military School, Bangalore celebrated its Annual Day. Lt Gen A Natarajan, the then Adjutant General, Army took the salute at the passing-out parade. Cdt Alok Mishra, captain of the school commanded the parade.

During the parade, three awards were presented by the Reviewing Officer. Cdt Alok Mishra was awarded Sword of Honour for being the best all round cadet. Cdt Imran Alam received gold medal for being best in academics. Cdt T Shekhar was awarded silver medal for being the second best all- round cadet.

The auspicious ceremony, which began with the invocation song, marked the begining of the journey of 12 students in nursing profession.

Speaking on the occasion, Maj Gen M Kesavan, Commandant, Command Hospital asked the new entrants to be kind, considerate and courteous in thoughts and deeds and to follow the ideals of Florence Nightingale. Maj Gen Kesavan also felicitated Ms Anita Rai, Ms N Shobana and Ms Gouri Thappa for securing meritorious positions in qualifying examinations.

Earlier, Brig Sunita Sehgal, Principal Matron of the Hospital and officiating Deputy Director, Military Nursing Service, Central Command, lit the lamp to be passed on to the students signifying the transfer of knowledge from teacher to taught.

The foundation stone of Birhon Bridge on bye-pass road passing through the Udhampur Cantonment area was laid by Prof Chaman Lal Gupta, Minister of State for Defence.

The total length of this bye-pass comes around 19 kms. Two major permanent bridges-one at Dudhar Nallah and another at Birhon Nallah are proposed to be constructed. The span of these bridges are 60 mtrs and 65 mtrs respectively. These major bridges are planned to be constructed within 18 months.

The function was attended by senior Army officers, civil dignitaries and a large number of civil residents of the area.

Lt Gen Satish Prakash Kalra, Commandant, Army Medical Corps (AMC) Centre, School and Officer in Charge Records, inaugurated a multipurpose facility Jagriti at Records Office of AMC at Lucknow Cantonment. The General Officer appreciated the effort put in to create the infrastructure par excellence and hoped that everyone would be immensely benefitted by the noble concept. He wished that Jagriti would infuse an awakening among all functionaries of Record Office for better services to 50,000 serving JCOs and ORs.

A guest house was inaugurated by Brig RK Sharma, Commander, 21 Sub Area, in JCOs Club of 9 Field Ordanance Depot (FOD). This well-equipped guest house will accommodate families for short duration to reduce stress.

Air Vice Marshal RD Limaye laid the foundation stone for the construction of 58 married quarters for the Defence Services Corps (DSC) personnel deployed at Air Force Station, Jammu.

Air Vice Marshal Limaye extended his warm greetings to all the personnel of the station and their families. Speaking on the occasion, Gp Capt SK Bhattacharya, Station Commander emphasised that this step would go a long way in improving the quality of life of DSC personnel.

A Punjab National Bank extension counter was inaugurated by Brig RK Sharma, Commander, 21 Sub Area at the main gate of 9 Field Ordnance Depot. This has enabled disbursement of pay and allowances to the 1400- strong task force through bank. Plans are underway to issue ATMs for jawans and civilians of the Depot.

Army Public School, Jalandhar Cantt conducted the annual sports meet. Lt Gen S Pattabhiraman, GOC, 11 Corps presided over the closing ceremony. A colourful display of aerobics, gymnastics, karate and dances of various states enthralled the audience. Lt Gen S Pattabhiraman reviewed the parade of the four houses. The guest of honour, Mrs Lakshmi Raman gave away the prizes and medals to the winner students.

Air Force Hockey Championship 2003-2004 was held at Air Force station, Jammu. Headquarters Western Air Command lifted the trophy beating Headquarters Training Command by 2-0. Headquarters Maintenance Command stood third in the final team tally.

Air Marshal SP Tyagi, AOC-in-C, Headquarters Western Command felicitated the Western Air Command team.

It was a great day for Nb Sub Mahavir who underwent an intense training at the Army Marksmanship Unit of Infantry School before participating in the national championship.

Nb Sub Mahavir and Rana had a tie at 579 points. In the final shoot-out, Nb Sub Mahavir shot 141 out of 150 while Rana shot 136.

The overall championship trophy was won by Army Red after a gap of 30 years. Air Vice Marshal KS Chaturvedi, Senior Maintenance Staff Officer Training Command gave away prizes to the winning body builders. Four teams namely Army Red, Army Green, Navy and Air Force took part in the three day championship.

Air Force Lawn Tennis Championship 2003-2004 was held at Air Force station, Palam Headquarters. Western Air Command team lifted the trophy beating Headquarters Training Command by 2-1. Headquarters Eastern Air Command stood third in the final team tally.

Air Marshal SP Tyagi, AOC-in-C, Headquarters Western Command felicitated the Western Air Command team. Speaking on the occasion, Air Marshal Tyagi emphasised the need to further improve the standard of sports so as to bring more laurels to the service and the nation.

A graduate of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and Higher Command Course at Army War College, Mhow, the General Officer has held various prestigious command and staff appointments which include command of an Infantry Battalion of Punjab Regiment, a Mountain Brigade in the Kashmir Valley, an Infantry Division in western sector and Counter-Insurgency Force in Jammu and Kashmir. He was Defence Adviser at Lagos, Nigeria from July 1990 to July 1994 and Deputy Master General of Ordnance at Army HQs.

Gen Jamwal was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery on December 16, 1967 in 14 Field Regiment. An alumnus of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, he attended higher command and National Defence College courses. The General has held many important staff and command appointments in his illustrious career.

Lt Gen Jamwal has had a tenure at United Nation Angola as COS, Regional Commander (Southern Region) and Deputy Chief Military Observer from December 1991 to December 1993.

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Air Marshal AK Singh was commissioned in the IAF as a pilot in June 1967. He is an alumnus of St John’s College and St Peter’s College, New Delhi.

Air Marshal AK Singh has rich operational experience of flying both fighters and transport aircraft. He was the youngest pilot to take part in the Tangail operations due 1971 war. A qualified flying instructor, he has flown more than 5000 hours on 17 different types of aircraft and this fact has been recorded in the Limca Book of Records. Air Marshal AK Singh was incharge of all air operations during Kargil conflict.

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Air Cmde R Kacker was commissioned into the IAF in 1972 into the flying branch. An experienced and versatile officer, he has more than 3000 hours of flying on various fighter aircraft. He commanded a front-line fighter squadron in the Western Sector and was also Chief Operations Officer of a Fighter Base. He was on the staff of the College of Air Warfare and was Staff Officer to the Chief of Air Staff. He is an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College and National Defence College.

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A graduate of National Defence College, Air Vice Marshal Rane was commissioned in 1969 into IAF as a figher pilot. In his long service career, he has held many command and staff appointments which include command of a frontline fighter squadron, Chief Operation Officer and, later, Air Officer Commanding of Air Force Station, Gwalior. As a qualified flying instructor, he has instructional tenure at various flying training institutions. He has flown many frontline fighter aircraft such as Mirage, MiGs and Canberra.