Lieutenant General Noble Thamburaj has been appointed as the new vice chief of the Indian Army. Thamburaj replaced Lt Gen M.L. Naidu who retired on December 31, 2008. Before being appointed as the vice chief of Indian Army, Thamburaj was serving as general officer commanding-in-chief of the Pune-based Southern Command. The 1969 batch officer, Thamburaj has witnessed the actions during the 1971 India-Pakistan War. The officer has played an important role in counter-insurgency operations in the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir.

 

Apart from holding several important assignments, Thamburaj has offered his services as the 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. During Operation Vijay in 1999, Thamburaj has commanded a Rashtriya Rifle Sector in a counter-insurgency environment. 

 

He has been an instructor at the Defence Services Staff College at Wellington and the Officers Training Academy at Chennai. Besides claiming several laurels, Thamburaj has been awarded the Sena Medal and twice the Chief of the Army Staff Commendation Card for his distinguished service.