Article Posted on : - Sep 03, 2012

NEW DELHI (PTI): Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne Friday took over as the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, from Admiral Nirmal Verma on the latter's superannuation.

In another senior appointment, Vice-Admiral S P S Cheema took over as chief of the tri-services Integrated Defence Staff.

The IAF Chief, who is the senior-most of the three Services heads, was handed over the charge of Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, by Admiral Verma at a ceremony here.

It was due to this ceremony that ACM Browne could not go to Jamnagar Thursday itself after nine IAF personnel lost their lives there in a mid-air collision involving two helicopters.

The Air Force Chief is taking over as the COSC at a time when the three Services are working towards increasing coordination in their operations and procurement procedures.

Meanwhile, Vice-Admiral Cheema, a specialist gunnery officer, also assumed office Friday as the head of the tri-services organisation.

He was commissioned into the Navy in January 1977 and is a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington and the College of Naval Warfare (CNW), Mumbai.

The Vice-Admiral has spent majority of his time on afloat appointments. He also commanded missile corvette INS Khanjar and India's only aircraft carrier INS Viraat.