Seniormost naval commander Admiral Sureesh Mehta was appointed Chief of Naval Staff here on Friday.
NEW DELHI: Seniormost naval commander Admiral Sureesh Mehta was appointed Chief of Naval Staff here on Friday.
Mehta assumed the duties of Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command on September 30, 2005.
The admiral is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and was commissioned in the Indian Navy in July 1967. Shortly thereafter, he joined the Fleet Air Arm and flew Sea Hawk aircraft from the INS Vikrant.
He is a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, and carried out instructional duties as a Directing Staff at the institute. In 1994, he attended the National Defence College, India. His earlier important afloat and ashore appointments include command of the INS Beas frigate and the first indigenously-built guided missile frigate of the Indian Navy, INS Godavari.
He commanded the Naval Air Station of the Navy, INS Garuda.
On promotion, to Flag rank he was appointed Flag Officer Naval Aviation, wherein he was responsible for marshalling resources of the aviation fleet of the Indian Navy.
In October 1998, he assumed command of the Western Fleet as Fleet Commander, a post he held till April 2000.
When the incident of piracy of the Alondra Rainbow occurred in November 1999, the ship was stopped by naval units under his command and the pirates were brought to book by his flagship.
During his tenure at the Naval Headquarters as assistant controller of warship production and acquisition and assistant controller carrier projects, he initiated initiatives to revitalise the naval fleet and was responsible for commencement of important and critical ship and aircraft acquisition programmes, in preparation for Blue water operations of the Navy in the 21st century.
In his appointments as the assistant chief of personnel (human resources development), controller personnel services and chief of personnel at the Naval Headquarters, he was responsible for personnel management policy of the Indian Navy.
As Director General Coast Guard since January 2003, he was guided with the vision of establishing a strong, vibrant and visible Indian Coast Guard with linkages the world over to establish common operating doctrines for tackling incidents at sea.
He pursued a vigorous growth for the Coast Guard Fleet and organisation, aided by active modernization programmes.
The admiral is responsible for critically analyzing the issue of piracy in its perspective and accordingly tailoring Coast Guard operations towards adopting a pro-active approach in combating piracy in Indian and neighbouring waters.
Prior to taking over as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command Vice Admiral Sureesh Mehta, PVSM, AVSM, held the office of Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.
Mehta will assume the new post on October 31, on retirement of Chief Admiral Arun Prakash, according to a defence ministry announcement here.
-- With inputs from the Indian Navy web site
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