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Vice Admiral Sureesh Mehta, PVSM, AVSM Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command
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Vice Admiral Sureesh Mehta, PVSM, AVSM, assumed the duties of Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command on 30 Sep 05.
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 extensively flew Sea Hawk aircraft from the carrier, INS Vikrant.
The Flag Officer is a graduate of the prestigious Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, and has also carried out instructional duties as a Directing Staff in that institute. At a subsequent stage, in 1994, he attended the National Defence College, India. His earlier important afloat and ashore appointments include the command of the frigate INS Beas and the first indigenously-built guided missile Frigate of the Indian Navy - INS Godavari. He has also had the distinction of commanding the premier 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 the resources of the entire aviation fleet of the Indian Navy. In Oct 1998, he assumed the command of the Western Fleet as the Fleet Commander, a post he held with distinction till Apr 2000. During this period, when the incident of piracy of Alondra Rainbow occurred in Nov 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 Naval Headquarters as Assistant Controller of Warship Production & Acquisition and Assistant Controller Carrier Projects, the Flag Officer initiated wide ranging initiatives to revitalise the Naval Fleet and was responsible for commencement of a host of important and critical ship and aircraft acquisition programmes, in preparation for Blue water operations of the Indian Navy in the 21st century.
In his further appointments as the Assistant Chief of Personnel (Human Resources Development), Controller Personnel Services and Chief of Personnel at Naval Headquarters, he was responsible for the entire Personnel Management Policy of the Indian Navy.
During the course of his tenure as the Director General Coast Guard since Jan 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.
On the issue of piracy, the Admiral is responsible for critically analyzing the subject in its correct 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 held the office of Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.