Cherish Mathson

Lieutenant General Cherish Mathson, PVSM, SM, VSM is a retired officer of the Indian Army who served as General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), South Western Command. He assumed office on 1 August 2017 taking over from Lt General Abhay Krishna, and was succeeded by Lt General Alok Singh Kler on 1 September 2019.^[1][2][3][4]

Lieutenant General Cherish Mathson PVSM, SM, VSM
Allegiance	India
Service / branch	Indian Army
Years of service	June 1980 – 31 August 2019
Rank	Lieutenant General
Service number	IC-38722
Unit	Garhwal Rifles
Commands	South Western Army XXI Corps Special Frontier Force 54th Infantry Division
Awards	Param Vishisht Seva Medal Sena Medal Vishisht Seva Medal

Early life and education

Mathson is an alumnus of Sainik School, Kazhakootam and the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington. He has also attended Senior Command Course at Army War College, Mhow, the Long Defence Management Course at the College of Defence Management, Secunderabad and the National Defence College, New Delhi.^[2][5]

Career

Mathson was commissioned into Garhwal Rifles in June 1980. He has vast experience in rural and urban insurgencies and has served two tenures in Siachen Glacier, in Operation Blue Star, in Mizoram against the Mizo National Front (MNF) and as a UN observer in Somalia.

He has commanded a battalion on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir during Operation Parakram, the Trivandrum Brigade in an amphibious Role, the 54th Infantry Division in the Southern Command, Inspector General of the Special Frontier Force and the XXI Corps in Bhopal.

He has also held staff positions including Deputy Assistant Quarter Master General Operations (DAQMG) of an Independent Infantry Brigade, Colonel Administration (Col Adm) of a Mountain Division, Brigadier Administration (Brig Adm) of the XII Corps, Deputy Technical Manager (Land Systems) in Army HQ, Senior Defence Specialist (Military) in the National Security Council Secretariat and in the Defence Acquisition Wing (Ministry of Defence).^{[2][1][6][7][8][9]} He was also the Colonel of the Regiment of Garhwal Rifles.^[10]

During his career, he has been awarded the Sena Medal, the Vishist Seva Medal in 2010 ^[11] and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2018.^[12]

Honours and decorations

Param Vishisht Seva Medal	Sena Medal	Vishisht Seva Medal	Samanya Seva Medal
Special Service Medal	Siachen Glacier Medal	Operation Vijay Medal	Operation Parakram Medal
Sainya Seva Medal	High Altitude Service Medal	Videsh Seva Medal	50th Anniversary of Independence Medal
30 Years Long Service Medal	20 Years Long Service Medal	9 Years Long Service Medal	UN Mission in Angola Medal

Dates of rank

Insignia	Rank	Component	Date of rank
	Second Lieutenant	Indian Army	7 June 1980[13]
	Lieutenant	Indian Army	7 June 1982[14]
	Captain	Indian Army	7 June 1985[15]
	Major	Indian Army	7 June 1991
	Lieutenant-Colonel	Indian Army	31 December 2002[16]
	Colonel	Indian Army	1 February 2005[17]
	Brigadier	Indian Army	2 May 2008 (seniority from 12 January 2008)[18]
	Major General	Indian Army	1 January 2013 (seniority from 6 April 2011)[19]
	Lieutenant-General	Indian Army	10 November 2015 (substantive)[20]