MANGALORE TRANSFORMS INTO A NAVAL BASE
Dear Friends,
I've known Naval Veteran Capt SS Sethi for over 3 Years after I first met him in Amby Valley, courtesy NFMC AGM planned and executed by Cdr Vijay Vadhera in INS Shivaji, Lonavala in Jun 2016. The takeaways of this AGM were a Sham-e-Gazhal and visit to Amby Valley the next Day. We then interacted closely during the Superb Tri-nation Tour to Singapore-Malaysia-Thailand in Aug-Sep last year, during which Capt Sethi was our SOPA (Senior Offr Present Afloat/Ashore). Our group of 40 Veterans became so close-knit that we have since been wishing each other on Birthdays and Anniversaries, after having celebrated 3 Birthdays during the Tour - those of Mrs Padma Chary, Cdr Joseph Sukumar and Mrs Kanaga Chermakani.
Today on the eve of Capt Surinder Sethi's 73rd Birthday (though he defies age and appears to be in his young 60s), I would like to reproduce an article from his Archives, with his due permission, for the benefit of our esteemed Veterans and friends....Regards.
MISSION-BASED DEPLOYMENT: MANGALORE TRANSFORMS
INTO A NAVAL BASE
BY CAPT S.S SETHI (RETD)
The Tri-services exercise, Brass Tacks held from early Dec ’86 to Mar ’87 was one of the largest post Independence coordinated services manoeuver. Wikipedia says, Operation Brass-tacks was bigger than any NATO exercise and the biggest since World War 2. The impact of the exercise on our neighbour was so electric that it forced him to go into high alert and redeploy its own forces into a defensive mode.
INTRODUCTION
One of the major objectives was to conduct a series of amphibious assault landings of an infantry brigade from our landing ships. The operational and mounting phase for the above exercise, though planned for Kochi, was shifted to Mangalore.
It never dawned on me, during my appointment as Oi/c ND School and NOIC(NM), that I would get the opportunity to conduct an exercise of this magnitude and carry out the duties of the Theatre Commander. The reason was all the more surprising since I was still a Commander, posted to ND School on the anticipatory appointment for donning my Next Rank.
This job was suddenly entrusted to me with zero logistic support at Mangalore, except the Port Trust for which I was the de-facto trustee. The requirement was to make arrangements for the 91 Infantry Brigade comprising of nearly 3300 troops and approx. 450 Vehicles including Tanks and APCs. In addition to the Army, 13 Naval Ships, 4 merchant vessels of SCI, 2 Kiran aircraft and 1 Islander aircraft were to be accommodated. Not to be left out was a full-fledged requirement to accommodate COMCEN Det from Mumbai, BMU from Vizag, aircraft maintenance and ground support team from Goa, with a total of more than 80 Naval and civilian personnel. Also, Maritime Operations Room had to be established and commissioned from where the Operations could be conducted round the clock. AlBesidesso the NOIC was tasked with the Local Naval Defence of the Port and the VAs and VPs. All this had to be organised from scratch with zero infrastructure and very limited resources at New Mangalore.
A competent leader can get efficient service from poor troops, but first, he needs to be provided with troops. The team available with me, for this Herculean task, was my Staff Officer and Lt Cdr KP Ramachandran . When the Command Headquarters was approached for resources, the curt reply was, “You have been entrusted with a job, go and do it.”
Gen MacArthur’s words, “Duty, Honor, Country. Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be.”, provided me with enough courage to march ahead.
PREPARATION PHASE
Handing over the reins of the ND School to my competent CI, Cdr Sam Mohammed, I came down to Mangalore. The only letter with me from command HQ, was an authority to hire a car. Well, I took solace in the fact that at least I was mobile. Sitting in the make shift office in the Port Trust guest house, with the colossal requirement in my hands, I did not know from where to start my appreciation of the situation.
Realizing the need for early action and decisions, I decided to go around Mangalore to carry out a Survey and try and arrange accommodation for the personnel, who would descend on the city within a few days. There were no empty schools or buildings available. The Deputy Commissioner promised to look into the requirement, but I had my reservations of any support from him. The only recourse was the Port Trust, and the only expediency was to barge into the Chairman's office. Fortunately my predecessor, late Capt. KMS Rajan, had maintained a very congenial relationship with the Port Trust, which had been preserved by me.
The Chairman on being briefed on the importance and enormity of the Exercise, with a war like a scenario, was jolted to the core. His words still vividly resound me, 'Cdr Saheb, the entire port trust is at your disposal; point a facility and its yours; anything for a national cause; we are with you'. His reassurance boosted my self-confidence sans barriers. It galvanized me into a fearless decision maker throughout the exercise. In accordance to his directive, the NMPT port facilities and land became mine for that period, at no cost to the Navy. When an idea becomes your obsession and purpose — and it is highly personal to you — then you can take that idea and quickly turn it into a reality.
New Mangalore was neither a Naval Base, nor it had a Dockyard, Ship repair or base logistics facility. It was a busy, deep water port dealing with large sized cargo ships, transporting oil, iron ore and other large bulk cargo. However, being a major port, how it could handle Naval Maritime operations by day and night, was yet to be evaluated.
THE SETUP & DEPLOYMENT
At the outset, a new two-story building, which was yet to be inaugurated, became my office. The MOR, COMCEN, BMU office, Victualling Office and the Aircraft Control Room, were set up in this building. The COMCEN Det was set up by COMCEN (B). For the MOR, I got a young officer from Cochin to man it. The BMU facility was manned by a team from Vizag.
The Port Trust provided open land at Mangalore and Suratkal, for the Army to pitch their tents and accommodate the 3300 plus troops. In addition, there was enough space to accommodate the awaited 450 vehicles. A separate camouflage area for the Tanks and APCs was earmarked at Suratkal. The Brigade HQ and the Battalion locations were identified. As the train loads of troops and vehicles kept arriving, they were marshalled to their designated areas. The Army cherished its location next to the sea.
The Airport manager was quite efficacious and supportive. He readily allocated a zone on the dispersal for parking our Kirans and Islander. Though there was no night flying facility available at Mangalore, the airport management allowed us to lit up the runway with goosenecks and operate at night. The ATC was manned by them to meet our requirements. This aspect became more significant, considering the fact that the airport was open only from 0830 to 1500 hours daily for civil aircraft operations.During the Exercise phase of the Operations, the following tasks and beachings at Suratkal could be accomplished;
• Beaching’s by Day (Including 19 stand off ) ................... 67
• Beaching’s by Night (Including 12 stand off )................... 27
• Number of Vehicles/Tanks loaded and transported ........220
• Number of Troops Transported ................................... 7200
The Landing Ships would embark the Troops and Vehicles from the berth at Mangalore, transit to Suratkal , and disembark the Vehicles and troops at the Suratkal beach. Since Suratkal beach was only around 5 miles from NMPT, it became a win-win situation. The area in front of one of the berths was modified by the Army, enabling the Vehicles and Tanks to Roll in and Roll out. It was a pleasure watching the Jawans manoeuvring the vehicles in the restricted space for loading the tanks. The Exercise gave them tremendous confidence, and more than 200 vehicles were loaded without a single major accident.
The 94 beaching operations by day and night went off without a Single mishap, except INS Shardul losing the anchor, which was also located later and secured to the Ship's cable. The credit for the safe operations goes to the planning and conduct by CATF, Capt. JMS Sodhi (now Retd Rear Admiral) and late Capt. TL Rattan and his small team.
During the operational phase of the Exercise, the MOR had to be manned round the clock. The team included me, staff officer, LCdr Shyam Rao , and a young raw Lt on Ty duty from Cochin. The messages from the Comcen next door were coming every few minutes round the clock. Some of them required operational action and response on our part. The only way to run the operations was to perform in the true naval manner, not to leave the Bridge as the Captain. During this operational phase of the Exercise, I could never leave the MOR before at 1 AM at night, to return back at 5 AM, fully fresh for the next day. After 32 years, when I glance back in footprints of time, I wonder where the physical and mental strength came from ? It was the spirit of keeping the Naval Ensign flying high with the olive green all around.
During the operational phase, it was essential to man the MOR with a war like scenario. But the requirement to provide the support to the 13 naval ships and 4 SCI vessels apart from Army and the aircraft detachment could not be ignored. To relieve myself of administrative distractions, I called LT GB Singh from ND School, Cochin. This officer was asked to liaise with Port Trust/Civil Aviation/Civil Adm/CISF/IOC/Supt of Police/DC etc. He was also asked to take care of the Logistics requirement of the 17 ships and other formations in station. I had no option but to ask him to take independent decisions and not disturb me during the Ops phase. He was true to his word, working more than 18 hrs a day, and never troubled me on Adm requirements.
There was also a Threat of infiltration both from Land and sea. The CISF were able to apprehend the infiltrators trying to sneak into the port. Later, got to know that Lt GB Singh was issuing hand-written passes, and nobody without the pass could enter the port.
CULMINATION
The highlight of the operation was as follows.
• INS Amba and the amphibious task Force was totally loaded with the troops, tanks, and vehicles well in time and sailed out as scheduled. The mounting operation went off without any hitch.
• 13 Naval ships and 4 SCI ships operated safely from the port during the period of the operations
• The surveillance by the lone Islander Aircraft resulted in the detection of the opposing force gearing class destroyer and its subsequent prosecution by aircrafts and ships from Mangalore.
• The surveillance by the Islander Aircraft also resulted in the detection of the OTG with Chariots and subsequent prosecution of the Group by aircrafts and ships from Mangalore
• Detection of opposing force submarine, resulting in timely deployment of Forces from Mangalore for its prosecution and destruction.
The above is just a summary and it is untenable to elaborate in detail. New Mangalore got converted into a Major Naval base. Mangalore and Suratkal had never seen a Naval Exercise of this magnitude. It seemed that New Mangalore, Penambur and Suratkal had been taken over by the Indian Navy and the Army. The fresh fruits and Vegetables became a scarce supply in the city. The Mangalorians would wonder what happened to all the fish on Friday, since the total catch available in the market would be picked up by our victualling department.
Though 32 years have elapsed, but still today, it is hard to believe how a small NOIC organisation took on the Challenge and delivered with flying colours. In retrospect, It was the zeal and enthusiasm, single-minded grit, fearless decision making. self-belief and above all the aim to maintain the highest traditions of the Service, which helped the miniscule organisation to deliver with resounding winning success.
The personal signal from the FOCINC (South), Vice Admiral Hiranandani, on completion of the Ops is reproduced below.
FROM : FONIC SOUTHTO : NOIC(NM)NSN (.) THE GOOD WORK DONE BY NOIC (NM) NUCLEUS ORGANISATION TO MEET THE OPERATIONAL, TRAINING AND LOGISTICS REQUIREMENT OF EXCERCISE BRASS TACKS AT THE NEW MANGALORE HAS BEEN WIDELY RECOGNISED (.) PLEASE CONVEY MY APPRECIATION TO ALL CONCERNED (.)
2. (.)BRAVO ZULU(.) KEEP IT UP (.) 301815/ MAR
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Capt SS Sethi, an alumnus of 28th NDA is a post-graduate in Military Studies from DSSC, Willington. He has had an illustrious career in the Indian Navy, most of which was sea-time on various warships, including the command of INS ……….and INS Ranjit. He has also commanded Navigation and Direction School as a Commander. Post-retirement he has headed the Operations of the Dolphin Offshore.
