Lt Gen Harcharan Singh, Director General Medical Services (Army) and Colonel Commandant of the Army Medical College visited the AMC establishments in Lucknow Cantonment.

Addressing the AMC officers, Lt Gen Harcharan Singh commended AMC personnel for their performance during operation Vijay. He asked all ranks of the AMC to keep pace with technological advancement and automation.

Earlier, on arrival at the AMC Centre, Lt Gen Harcharan Singh was presented a guard of honour. The smart contingent was commanded by Maj Amit Saksena. Thereafter, Lt Gen Singh visited AMC war memorial and laid a wreath in homage to those who gave the supreme sacrifice and brought glory to the nation.

At AMC Centre and School, the DGMS (A) had a briefing from Lt Gen RK Sinha, the Commandant. He also visited the training area and saw military as well as technical training activities. Earlier, he was introduced to commanding officers and CHQ Staff officers by the Commandant.

The new Air Officers Commanding took over the command of the two prestigious Air Force Units, 12 Wing and 3 Base Repair Depot (BRD) located in Chandigarh.

Air Cmde Ambrish Kumar took over as AOC, 3 BRD from Air Cmde Arvinda Agrawal who has been posted as Deputy Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters Maintenance Command, Nagpur. Air Cmde V S Govindarajan assumed the charge of AOC, 12 Wing from Air Cmde S K Banerjee.

Both the AOCs assumed their charge at the impressive ceremonial parades held separately at their Units. After taking the general salute, the outgoing AOCs reviewed the parade and handed over their respective commands to the new incumbents. This was followed by the new commanders taking the general salute.

Both of them have successfully completed their National Defence College course prior to present appointments. Commissioned in the technical branch of the Indian Air Force in 1968, Air Cmde Ambrish Kumar is a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College. He served at a bomber squadron during 1971 operation and subsequently held various appointments in field formations and also at Command and Air Headquarters. He was awarded Vishisht Seva Medal in 1996 for his distinguished service.

Air Cmde V S Govindarajan, who was commissioned in the IAF in 1969, is a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College and a Qualified Flying Instructor. He has a flying experience of over 6000 hours in various transport and trainer aircraft. His command and staff appointments include Commander, Para Troopers Training School, Agra, Chief Flying Instructor at the Basic Flying Training Establishment as well as Transport Training Wing. He was awarded Vayusena Medal in 1995.

Alongwith the rest of the country, Army establishments in Shillong celebrated Army Day to commemorate the liberation of Jammu and Kashmir by the Indian Army in 1948. The day also marked the taking over of the command of the Army by late Field Marshal K M Cariappa in 1949.

To mark this august occasion a wreath-laying ceremony was organised at the Shillong war memorial where Brig AK Chakravarty, DDMS, 101 Area laid a wreath in honour of the valiant soldiers of the Indian Army who made the supreme sacrifice.

It may be mentioned that, since Independence the Army has fought three major wars with Pakistan and one with China. In 1999, the Indian Army earned laurels during operation Vijay in the Kargil region of Jammu and Kashmir. The Army has also been involved in internal security duties. During calamities, Army has provided relief and support to the civil authorities.

Vice Admiral Harinder Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, Kochi accompanied by Mrs Meena Harinder Singh called on the Governor of Kerala, Justice Sukhdev Singh Kang (Retd) at Raj Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram. This was the first meeting of the Southern Naval Chief with the Governor after the former took over the command of the Southern Naval Command, Kochi.

The Vice Admiral later held discussion with Air Marshal M S Sekhon, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Air Command at SAC Headquarters, Akkulam. He also visited Keltron and Techno Park in Thiruvananthapuram.

An impressive graduation parade for 55th Aeronautical Engineers Course was held at Air Force Technical College (AFTC), Jalahalli.

Air Marshal S Krishnaswamy AOC-in-C, Western Air Command reviewed the parade commanded by Flying Officer Anil Bajaj. 72 graduating officers including 4 Sri Lankan officers passed out after successful completion of their training.

Speaking on the occasion, Air Marshal called upon the young officers to strive for professional excellence and economic discipline in order to achieve cost effective maintenance.

The Air Marshal awarded trophies and medallions to officers who excelled in the course. The "Hidayatullah Sword of Honour" for the best all round officer was awarded to Flying Officer Anil Bajaj of electronics branch. He also bagged the Chief of Air Staff medal for being first in electronics stream. Flying Officer Manish Agarwal was awarded the "President's Plaque" for being first in overall merit and the Chief of Air Staff medal for being first in mechanical stream.

An impressive fly past was held in different formations by Mi 8, AN-32, Dornier and Chetak aircraft.

Earlier, on arrival Air Marshal Krishnaswamy was received by Air Cmde RC Kakar, Commandant of the college who later presented the course report.

A solemn wreath-laying ceremony at the war memorial marked the Army Day celebrations in Chennai. It was on this day in the year 1949 that Field Marshal K M Cariappa took over the command of Indian Army from General Sir FRR Bucher.

Maj Gen V Jayashankar, General Officer Commanding ATNKK & G Area, Maj Gen Sudhir Mohan, Commandant Officers Training Academy and Brig S C Anand, Station Commander were among the senior Army officers who paid floral tributes to the martyrs.

The Bugler sounded the 'Last Post' and a two-minute silence was observed as a mark of respect towards those who laid down their lives in various wars and operations for protecting the honour and integrity of the country.

The work on the first ever Kargil Smrithi Mandapam sponsored by the Kargil School Houses in the Kerala state has commenced. The twelve Kargil School Houses of the BPM Model School, Perettil near Varkala pilots this project in memory of Kargil war heroes. The school houses have been named after the twelve Kargil martyrs from Kerala.

Brig K Mahadevan, Deputy Director General, NCC (Kerala and Lakshadweep) laid the foundation stone at a solemn function at the school premises.

The function was presided over by Mr R Prakasam, ex-MLA and was addressed by Commander Paul Abraham, Principal, Sainik School Kazhakoottam and Lt Col P Dinesh Kumar.

Mr C K Nanu, Minister for Transport and Forest, Kerala, laid the foundation stone for the multistoreyed school building named 'Kargil Shaheed Smrithi Bhavan'. Mr Ali Hassan, MLA presided over the function. The family members of the Kargil martyrs from Kerala were honoured at the function.

The 237th anniversary of the Army Medical Corps was celebrated by 154 General Hospital at Zakhama. All Officers, JCOs and Jawans took part in special sainik sammelan, badakhana and pagal gymkhana. On this occasion, a volleyball match between hospital team and Kigwema village team was also organised.

The Army Medical Corps works day and night and both during war and at peace. Its units are located in various operational, field and peace areas and provide effective medical cover to troops, their families, ex-servicemen and their families and civilians of border areas.

The 154 General Hospital has performed excellently in providing medical cover to troops deployed in this area and also to civilians of Kohima district of Nagaland and Senapati district of Manipur.

The Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC), an elite and specialised force meant for breeding, training and treatment of military horses, cattles and dogs completed 221 years of service. To mark the occasion, a social get-together was organised for the serving and retired Corps officers at the Shivalik Officers Institute in Chandimandir Cantonment. The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lt Gen Surjit Singh, Chief of Staff, Lt Gen Hrs Mann and other senior officers also attended the function.

Lt Gen Surjit Singh in his message called for rededication by the Corps personnel to service of the Army and the nation. The Director, RVC in the Command, Col A K Sinha also extended his felicitations to all ranks.

The proud history and heritage of RVC dates back to 1779 with rich tradition and remarkable achievements. The Army dogs and their trainers have proved to be a force multiplier by their outstanding performance in counter-insurgency operations.

The Remount Training School and Depots of RVC raised for training of horses and mules for the Army, have also launched a project under which increased number of pups will be reared and trained at each RVC Depot. The Corps today is also engaged in carrying out inspection of food of animal origin for its quality control and has also ensured better health and milk productivity of military farm animals by latest scientific breeding.

The 54th raising day of the Army Physical Training Corps was celebrated at the Army School of Physical Training (ASPT). The badakhana for the staff, their families and students and the pagal gymkhana marked the occasion. The gathering of all serving and retired APTC personnel in an around Pune took the form of a mini-reunion and brought back moments of yesteryears alive. The guests included Lt Gen N C Vij, GOC-in-C South Command, Lt Gen M R Sharma, COS and a large number of military and civil dignitaries.

Addressing the special sainik sammelan, Brig Bir Nath Rawal, Commandant, exhorted all ranks to keep abreast with the latest changes in the area of physical training.

ASPT is a mother institution of the Army Physical Training Corps and is acknowledged as the premier physical training institution of the Army. A total of 13 types of courses in physical training, sports coaching, yoga and martial arts are conducted by the school for Army, para-military forces and students from friendly foreign countries. The sportsmen of the Corps have represented the country in Olympics and Asian Games.

A medical camp was organised by Air Force Wives Welfare Association (AFWWA) of HQrs Central Air Command at village Sheikh Sarvan under the aegis of Mrs Santosh Verma, President AFWWA (Regional) Bamroully. The camp was inaugurated by Mrs Verma who visited each tent housing different faculties for the medical check-up. The arrangements in the camp was very satisfactory as a team of two medical officers and several medical assistants provided comprehensive medical care to the entire village.

The residents of Sheikh Sarvan village were in for a pleasant surprise to see the Air Officer Commanding-in Chief of HQrs Central Air Command, Air Marshal Vinod Kumar Verma who visited the medical camp. The Air Marshal was impressed by the turn out and their enthusiasm for a healthy society. He also distributed blankets amongst the old citizens.

A total of 202 villagers were examined by the medical team. The lady officer carried out extensive medical examination of the ladies. The pregnancy cases were rendered detailed advice and they were also briefed on nutritional deficiency, health education, pre-natal and post-delivery problems and precautions to avoid complications. The villagers were also briefed on the effects of personal hygiene and a clean surrounding. Training charts on malaria, diarrhoea, AIDS etc were extensively used to educate the village folk. The entire village expressed its gratitude towards the gesture shown by the Air Force.

The ex-servicemen residing in and around the districts of Allahabad, Pratapgarh, Kaushambi and Fatehpur flocked at Territorial Army Ground at New Cantonment in Allahabad Sub Area, in a get-together. It was organised by the Allahabad Sub Area under the patronage of Brig P N Mehra, Commander, Allahabad Sub Area. The sole purpose of organising such a get-together was to acknowledge and appreciate the role of ex-servicemen and honour them for their dedicated service.

Speaking on the occasion, Brig Mehra highlighted various welfare activities being undertaken by Allahabad Sub Area for the benefit of the ex-servicemen. He also informed that the ex-servicemen could avail the benefit of Sainik Aramgrrih under Allahabad Sub Area for their stay during their visit to Allahabad at very nominal charges. This accommodation can also be availed for a stay with family. Maj Gen (Retd) MN Rawat who spoke on behalf of the ex-servicemen emphasised that all ex-servicemen should come forward to form an Ex-Servicemen League which would project problems faced by ex-servicemen.

On this occasion, HQrs Allahabad Sub Area had made the services of medical specialist surgical specialist, ENT specialist and eye specialist available at the venue itself. In addition, various other services like placement cell, pension cell and canteen facilities were also made available at the venue which was utilised by the ex-servicemen.

A total of 451 trainees of pre-commission courses of the senior and junior wings of girls division NCC were granted commission as Associate NCC Officers (ANOs) in the NCC in the ranks of Second Lieutenant and Third Officer respectively. The passing out parade was held at the NCC Women Officers' Training School, Gwalior. Donned in smart khaki uniform, the lady trainees presented a very impressive ceremonial parade marching to the tune of the enchanting music of Army Bands. 46 serving ANOs on two refresher-cum-promotion courses also participated in the parade.

Brig Parvinder Singh, Commander 72 Infantry Brigade and Station Commander, Gwalior reviewed the parade. The trainees also presented a colourful cultural pageant. The NCC Women Officers Training School at Gwalior is the only institute of its kind in the country where lecturers and teachers from colleges and schools from all over India are imparted NCC training for obtaining commission in the NCC as Associate NCC Officers. On return to their respective educational institutes, they look after the training and administration of the NCC girl cadets besides teaching.

The Director General's Plaque of Honour, the prize for standing first in order of merit at the pre-commission courses was bagged by Mrs Hemlata of Uttar Pradesh and Mrs P A Gnansilia of Tamil Nadu in the senior and junior wings respectively. On the refresher-cum-promotion courses, the Director General's gold medal were awarded to 2 Lt A Megdalene of Tamil Nadu and Third Officer Poonam of Jammu and Kashmir in the two wings respectively. The prize for the 'Best Firer' selected from all the courses was won by Miss M Ellilatha of Tamil Nadu who also won the coveted "Poise and Grace Medal " for commanding the parade.

Somewhere in the Northern sector, one of the Bengal Engineering Regiments celebrated its 36th raising day. On this solemn occasion, Lt Gen Ravi Chadha, Chief of Staff, Central Command and Colonel Commandant of the Bengal Sappers visited the unit and took part in the celebrations. He also addressed a special sainik sammelan and lauded the regiment's competence and proud heritage.

The regiment headquarters was originally raised in 1939 as a Mountain Division Engineers. Since then, this Headquarters has been redesignated from time to time depending on the formation with which it served. The unit was re-organised and designated on December 14, 1965 with four field companies as its sub-units. This regiment took part in operations Riddle in 1965 and Cactus Lily in 1971.

In December 1996, the regiment assumed its new role as Command Engineers under Headquarters Northern Command. The sub-units of the regiments have been executing operational tasks in counter-insurgency. In addition, the unit also under took work of the Army Development Group in the development of village Ahagom in Pulwama district as part of operation Sadbhavana. It was instrumental in the creation of a beautiful park, named Shradhanjali at Udhampur in the memory of Kargil martyrs.

The regiment has been honoured with the Chief of Army Staff Special Appreciation in 1999, one Shaurya Chakra, one Param Vishisht Seva Medal, one Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, two Vishisht Seva Medals, four Sena Medals, 27 Chief of Army Staff Commendation Cards, one CAS Commendation Card, one CNS Commendation Card and 56 General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Commendation Cards.

The President, Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA), Western Command, Mrs Deep Surjit Singh visited the paraplegic rehabilitation centre, Mohali. She went around physiotherapy room, wards, recreation and information rooms, family quarters and vocational training workshop.

Mrs Deep Surjit Singh appreciated the project on vocational training and the achievements of the inmates at the national and international paraplegic games. She also presented gifts to the inmates.

The Director of the Centre, Col MMS Randhawa (Retd) briefed on the vocational training centre that was recently started with the financial support from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

At present 28 inmates and their families are undergoing training courses on tailoring and knitting at the centre under the guidance of qualified instructors. Good quality sweaters for school uniforms are produced and sold to Army Public Schools.

Hastinapur is a famous historic town. It is visited daily by over 5000 devotees from all over the country. Recently 73 UP Battalion NCC held its annual training camp near this town. Due to lack of proper sanitary arrangements, the drainge system had chocked badly. There were garbage dumps all over the place.

The cadets took it upon themselves as a challenge to clean this town. Over a period of 22 hours, spread in 4 sessions, 570 cadets, officers, JCOs and civilian staff opened the chocked drains. The garbage dumps were removed and was recycled to fill the low-lying areas near the ruins of the old town.