Air Marshal Sandeep Thareja appointed next Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services
New Delhi, Aug 1. The government has appointed Air Marshal Sandeep Thareja, currently serving as Director General Medical Services (Air), as the next Director General Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS). He will take over the post from the afternoon of August 31 following the retirement of the incumbent, Surgeon Vice Admiral Arti Sarin.
Air Marshal Thareja, a recipient of the Sena Medal and the Vishisht Seva Medal twice, is an alumnus of the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune, and was commissioned into the Armed Forces Medical Services in December 1986. He completed his MD in Medicine in 1997 before earning a DM in Gastroenterology from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, in 2005, where he received the Best DM Student Award. He is also a graduate of the National Defence College and secured an ‘A’ grading in all his military courses.
With nearly four decades of service, Air Marshal Thareja has held several key clinical, academic, operational and administrative appointments within the Armed Forces Medical Services. His previous assignments include Senior Consultant (Medicine) at the Office of the DGAFMS, Commandant of Military Hospital Pathankot, Commandant of Command Hospital Lucknow, Director and Commandant of AFMC, Pune, and Director General Medical Services (Air).
As DGMS (Air), he has overseen a series of initiatives aimed at strengthening the operational medical preparedness of the Armed Forces. His tenure saw enhanced medical support for India’s Gaganyaan Human Spaceflight Mission and the operationalisation of the BHISHM Cube, a rapid-response medical capability designed to improve support during military operations and humanitarian assistance missions.
An accomplished gastroenterologist and academician, Air Marshal Thareja has mentored numerous postgraduate and super-speciality students and has authored more than 50 research papers published in national and international medical journals.
He will assume charge as the head of the Armed Forces Medical Services upon the retirement of Surgeon Vice Admiral Arti Sarin on August 31.
