Major General Jai Shanker Menon of the Indian Army, a veteran of peacekeeping operations, has been appointed as the head of a key United Nations force stationed in Golan to maintain the ceasefire between Israeli and Syrian forces.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has named Major General Menon as the Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). He succeeds Nepal’s Lt Gen Purna Chandra Thapa, who will complete his assignment on February 7.
Extensive command and knowledge
The U.N., in a statement, said Major General Menon brings to his new position extensive command experience and knowledge of peacekeeping affairs at the national and international levels.
Till now, Major General Menon was Additional Director General Equipment Management in the Indian Army. From 2012 to 2013, he was General Officer, Commanding an Infantry Division. The UNDOF was established on May 31, 1974, by the U.N. Security Council following the agreed disengagement of the Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan.
To maintain truce
Since then, UNDOF has remained in the area to maintain the ceasefire between the Israeli and Syrian forces and to supervise the implementation of the disengagement agreement.
Major General Menon has held a number of command positions in the Indian Army, including Commandant of Regimental Training Centre, Brigade Commander and Battalion Commander.
He has served at international level
He has also served at the international level, including in the United Nations as a Military Observer in the United Nations Operation in Mozambique (ONUMOZ) in 1993 and United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) from 2007 to 2009. He holds a Master of Management Studies degree from the Osmania University in Hyderabad, a Master of Defence Studies degree from the Madras University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Jawahar Lal Nehru University.
Major General Menon graduated from the National Defence Academy in Khadakvasla, Army War College in Mhow, Defence Services Staff College in Wellington, and the College of Defence Management in Secunderabad.
