NEW DELHI: Lieutenant General Noble Thamburaj Thursday took over as the vice chief of the Indian Army from Lt. Gen. M.L. Naidu, who retired Wednesday.
A 1969 batch officer, Thamburaj has seen action during the 1971 India-Pakistan War and has participated in counter-insurgency operations in the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir. His last posting was as general officer commanding-in-chief of the Pune-based Southern Command.
During his career spanning 38 years Thamburaj has held many important assignments, including brigade major of a mountain brigade, command of 411 Parachute Field Company, and command of his parent unit 109 Engineer Regiment in a high altitude area in the eastern region.
Thamburaj has commanded a Rashtriya Rifle Sector in a counter-insurgency environment during Operation Vijay in 1999 and an infantry division in the desert during Operation Parakaram in 2001. ides, he has been an instructor at the Defence Services Staff College at Wellington and the Officers Training Academy at Chennai.
For his distinguished service, Thamburaj has been awarded the Sena Medal and twice the Chief of the Army Staff Commendation Card.