The recommendations for restructuring were made by the army for turning itself into an agile, lethal and capability-based force to tackle the challenges of future warfare.

The Defence Ministry has approved the proposal to restructure the Army Headquarters under which the force would be revamped to face the challenges of modern warfare.

“The Defence Ministry has approved the proposal to restructure the Army Headquarters. Now we will start the implementation of the plans,” Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said.

The recommendations for restructuring were made by the army for turning itself into an agile, lethal and capability-based force to tackle the challenges of future warfare.

Restructuring is part of transformation plans of Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat for the reorganisation of the amy headquarters which would result in saving of 20 per cent officers posted in Delhi who would now be posted to field fighting formations along the borders.

According to defence ministry officials, after the approval, 229 officers would be optimised from army headquarters and would be relocated to units and formations of the field armies.

As per the new plans, the army will get a third deputy chief who would be known as Deputy Chief (Strategy) and who will look after all the important directorates of military intelligence, information warfare and operations in the force.

Currently, there are two deputy chiefs in the Army. The first Deputy Chief is known as Deputy Chief (Planning and Systems) who looks after capital procurement in the force while the second one is known as Deputy Chief (Informations systems and Training), officials said.

As per the new plan which is the brainchild of Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat, the Army will get rid of the post of the Director General of Rashtriya Rifles who would now be shifted to Northern Command in Udhampur and will now be looked after a Major General rather than a Lieutenant General.

In the other significant plans of the restructuring of Army Headquarters and reorganisation of the force, entire modernisation and revenue procurement of the Indian Army is going to be done by the Deputy Chief (Capability Development) who was earlier known as Deputy Chief Planning and Systems.

To look after the cases of corruption and ensure probity and transparency, a new officer of the Major General rank has been appointed under the Army Chief who would report directly to him while another post has been created for the Army who will look after human rights.

Jammu, June 29

An old and rusted anti-tank mine, suspected to be of the 1971 war time, was found lying abandoned along the International Border in the Ramnagar sector of Samba district on Saturday.

Villagers spotted the suspicious object on the Basanter riverbed in Samba and informed the police about it. Soon, the police and Army reached the spot and started investigating the matter.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Samba, Koshal Sharma, said the mine was handed over to the Army. — OC

Srinagar, June 20 The Army on Thursday said its operations in Jammu and Kashmir are conducted in a professional and dedicated manner and the force had a code of conduct which valued human dignity.

“We have a very strong code of conduct which values human dignity and the values of society. So I wish to assure you that all the operations by the Army in Jammu and Kashmir are being carried out in a professional and dedicated manner,” Army’s northern command chief Lt Gen Ranbir Singh told reporters on the sidelines of a function at Wuzur in Anantnag district.

In response to a question, the Army commander said, “Wherever there are actions to be taken, those are taken at appropriate levels.”

Lt Gen Singh was at Army Goodwill School, Wuzur, which has been renamed after Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani, who was awarded Ashok Chakra posthumously in January this year.

Wani was killed in an anti-insurgency operation at Batagund in Kulgam district on November 25, 2018. Six militants were killed, three of them by the militant-turned-soldier, in the operation.

He was awarded Ashok Chakra for his role in the operation, thereby becoming the first person from the Valley to be awarded the highest peacetime gallantry award of the country.

“It is a matter of great pride for us today to be here at Army Goodwill School at Wuzur because today we have dedicated this school to pay homage to our martyr late Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani, who was a recipient of Ashok Chakra.

“He was also two-time recipient of the Sena medal for gallantry by the government,” Lt Gen Singh said.

On the functioning of the Army Goodwill schools in Kashmir, the Army commander said there are always some distractions which work against the interests of the country.

“It is to the credit of our children, their parents and our teachers that we have been able to ensure that there has been no disruption in the education, which we are trying to impart to the children in these schools,” he said.

“The children of Kashmir are our hope. We are sure that in the times to come they will work hard. They have a huge potential and they will become useful members of society and take us on the trajectory of growth and development as far as Kashmir and the nation are concerned,” he added. PTI

Srinagar, June 18

The Jaish-e-Mohammad militant whose car was used in the February 14 Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF troopers, was killed in a gunfight on Tuesday in Anantnag district, police said.

Sajad Ahmad Bhat was among the two militants who were killed in the gunfight on Tuesday morning in the district’s Waghama area.

“Sajad Ahmad Bhat alias Afzal Guru had joined militancy days before the Pulwama terror attack. He belonged to Marhama village in Anantnag,” police sources said.

A soldier was also killed in Tuesday’s gunfight. IANS

After serving for more than four decades, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba passed on the baton to Vice Admiral Karambir Singh, who took over as the Navy chief at a ceremony in South Block on Friday. The switch-over is taking place in the backdrop of a succession row triggered by Andaman and Nicobar command chief Bimal Verma challenging the appointment of Karambir Singh as the new chief. Verma’s plea against overlooking him for the top post despite being the senior-most officer is pending in the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) though the Defence Ministry has rejected his objection.

AFT on Wednesday allowed Karambir Singh to take over till a decision on the petition comes. Lanba’s retirement has led to changes at the top of the defence establishment. Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain took over as the eastern fleet commander from Karambir Singh.

Air Chief B.S. Dhanoa replaced Lanba as Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC), a tri-service integrated body. A total of 49 ships and submarines are currently under construction in Indian shipyards, including the first indigenous aircraft carrier ‘Vikrant’, the statement said.

(With inputs from agencies)

Jerusalem, April 30

Israel on Tuesday honoured Lt. Gen. (retd) Jack Farj Rafael (JFR) Jacob, who negotiated the historic surrender of Pakistani troops in Dhaka after the 1971 Bangladesh’s liberation war, with a plaque on the Wall of Honour at the Ammunition Hill here.

Lt. Gen. Jacob, who died in 2016 at the age of 92, was one of the most prominent members of India’s relatively small Jewish community, serving as a Lieutenant General in the Indian Army and later as a Governor of two Indian states-Goa and Punjab.

The Wall of Honour at the Ammunition Hill pays tributes to the heroism and courage of Jewish soldiers who fought in the defence of their countries they lived in “implementing values of bravery, loyalty, commitment and dedication to a mission, leadership, creativity, camaraderie and sanctity of life”.

“The Wall has plaques honouring more than 340 people comprising privates, high ranking army officers, women, front line fighters and humble members of supporting units who embodied these virtues”, a senior official at the Ammunition Hill told PTI.

Ammunition Hill was a fortified Jordanian military post in the northern part of Jordanian ruled East Jerusalem. It was the site of one of the fiercest battles of the Six Day War in which 21 Israeli soldiers were killed. It is now a national memorial site where young soldiers and officers are inducted into the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and salute the flag.

The 90-feet high structure with a flag was incidentally donated by an Indian Jew, Sam Marshall, who also initiated the move to honour Lt. Gen. Jacob at the Ammunition Hill Wall of Honour, in association with India-born Jewish Judge, Abe Sofaer of the US, who was the personal legal adviser to former US Secretary of State George Shultz.

“It is a wonderful tribute that you are giving to a very fine human being. His beloved India gave him the accolades reserved for people serving the nation with distinction,” Lt. Gen. Jacob’s close friend, Marshall, told the gathering at a ceremony to unveil the plaque reminiscing the funeral ceremony Government of India arranged for its famous son where then President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were also present.

Narrating an incident from 2009 when Marshall, along with Lt. Gen. Jacob, met former Israeli President Shimon Peres, who offered the legendary warrior to immigrate to Israel, he said that prompt came Jacob’s reply, “I am a son of India, I would die on Indian soil, I served my country and my beloved country.”   “He was not only a military strategist and a legendary General but a fine man who cared for fellow human beings. He was very active in charity work with Mother Teresa,” said Marshall, who has been bringing Indian contingents to the Jewish Macabbiah games (commonly referred to as the Jewish Olympics).

India’s Ambassador to Israel, Pavan Kapoor, said, “Lt. Gen. JFR Jacob’s illustrious life will remain a source of inspiration for all Indians. It is my belief that by unveiling the wall plaque here today, the memory of this great soldier and fine man will usher even greater bonds of friendship between the peoples of India and Israel”.

“Ammunition Hill commemorates the memory of the fallen soldiers of Israel as well as Jews living in other countries, in whose defense they fought. It is, therefore, a great privilege for me to be here today to honour the memory of one such soldier who served his mother country India with great distinction,” he said.

Highlighting Lt. Gen. Jacob’s contribution beyond the achievements as a military man, Kapoor said that “he had a strong sense of history and a deep respect for heritage”.

“When he was appointed as the General officer Commanding–in–Chief of the Eastern Command, in Calcutta, he set about restoring several heritage sites at the Headquarters of Eastern Command – Fort William – to their former splendour. One of them was St Peter’s Church, which had stopped being a house of worship for some time. He had the Church ceremonially de-consecrated, and had its facade restored to its original glory. Today, it hosts the Command Library in it,” he said.

“Lt. Gen. Jacob dedicated his entire life in the service of India. Proud as he was of being an Indian, he was also immensely aware of his Jewish heritage,” he said.

Israel’s former Ambassador to India Danny Carmon said, “For me, it was a pilgrimage to go and meet Lt. Gen. Jacob each time at his residence, to get his blessings, to get his encouragement. He was so happy to see what was happening in Indo-Israel relations. He was so much Indian and so much Jewish that it is unbelievable. He was a real inspiration for all of us.

“He was a bridge between India and Israel and contributed immensely to the partnership that we see in the last few decades. He told me, ‘I was born in India, served India, I fought for India and I want to be buried in India’.”    Alon Wald, Director of Ammunition Hill, told PTI, that “the modest plaques for such giants of human beings is an inspiration to us all and adding one more significant name today is like adding an impressive strong link to the chain of values we stand for”.

The Wall of Honour at the Ammunition Hill has one more plaque honouring an Indian Jewish soldier, Lt. Gen. Joseph ‘Jerry’ Jhirad, who died in the 1965 war against Pakistan. – PTI