Admiral Sureesh Mehta, took over as the 19th Chief of
the Naval Staff from Admiral Arun Prakash, who laid
down office today after 40 years of distinguished
service. In the morning, Admiral Mehta paid tribute to
the country's martyrs by laying a wreath at the Amar
Jawan Jyoti and then inspected an impressive Guard of
Honour at the lawns of South Block. Later, the
outgoing Chief formally handed over the baton to
Admiral Mehta in his office.
Interacting with the media on the sidelines of the
'taking over' ceremony, the new Navy Chief said that
it was a great "priveledge and honour" to take command
of such a fine service. Outlining his priorities as
the new Naval Chief, he stated, "enhancement of
maritime surveillance capability will be an area of
immediate attention." He also stressed the need to
augment connectivity between naval platforms in order
to facilitate the exchange of real-time information,
thus underlining the Navy's focus on network-centric
operations. The Admiral brought out that with India's
emergence as an economic power in the region, the
"Indian Navy is poised to play a major role".
Recalling the Navy's participation and contribution in
the relief operations in the aftermath of tsunami in
Dec 04, humanitarian assistance to earthquake victims
in Indonesia, and, the recent evacuation of stranded
civilians from war-torn Lebanon - not just Indian
nationals, but also those from neighbouring countries,
the Navy Chief said that we need ships with "longer
legs - which can reach out and sustain themselves for
long periods away from our shores". When asked how the
induction of Vikramaditya and Trenton (being acquired
from USA) would impact upon the Navy, Admiral Mehta
stated that these inductions would "add different
dimensions to the Navy's capability and enhance its
ability to influence the battle on land". In his Navy
wide message upon assuming charge, the new CNS said,
"I look forward to your wholehearted support in
pulling together in these exciting times so that the
Navy can continue to Sail with Pride."
Admiral Sureesh Mehta was born on 18 Aug 1947. He is
an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and was
commissioned in the Indian Navy in July 1967. He is
an aviator of the 'old mould', having joined the Fleet
Air Arm early, and, has extensively operated from our
earlier aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, flying the Sea
Hawk jet aircraft. The CNS is a graduate of the
prestigious Defence Services Staff College,
Wellington, and the National Defence College, New
Delhi. Included among his long list of earlier
important afloat and ashore appointments are the
command of the frigates INS Beas and INS Godavari, as
also that of the premier Naval Air Station - INS
Garuda.
Promoted to Rear Admiral in 1995, he has served as
the Flag Officer Goa Area, the Assistant Controller
Carrier Projects, and the Assistant Chief of
Personnel. He commanded the Western Fleet, the 'sword
arm' of the Indian Navy, during Operation Vijay. In
the rank of Vice Admiral, his prestigious appointments
include those of the Chief of Personnel, the Director
General Coast Guard and the Deputy Chief of the Naval
Staff.
Just prior to his taking over the helm of the Navy,
Admiral Mehta was the Commander-in-Chief of the
Eastern Naval Command (ENC. During his tenure, the ENC
was involved in numerous operational missions in the
Bay of Bengal and South East Asia. He was responsible
for the spectacularly successful 'President's Fleet
Review', which was conducted for the first time ever
on the eastern seaboard of the country in Feb 06, and
which saw the participation of over 66 ships and 50
aircraft of the combined Indian Fleet.
VG/AK
(Release ID :21655)