66 Medium Regiment is part of the
Regiment of Artillery of the
Indian Army.
Formation
The regiment was raised as 66 Field Regiment on 01 February 1963 at
Jalandhar Cantonment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Bikram Chand .
Operations
The regiment has taken part in the following operations
–
*
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...
: Barely two years after raising, the regiment took part in operations at
Burki near
Lahore and in the
Khemkaran sector. The regiment was under
7 Infantry Division in Khemkaran. The regiment was awarded one
Sena Medal, two
mentioned in dispatches
To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...
and one COAS Commendation Card.
*
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971: The regiment participated in Operation Cactus Lily in the
Shakargarh
Shakargarh ( ur, ), the capital of Shakargarh Tehsil, is a city in the north-eastern part of Narowal District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It borders Jammu, India to the north and Sialkot to the west Its literacy rate is more than 85% wh ...
sector and was part of the 36 Infantry Division. It was awarded two Sena Medals and one mentioned in dispatches.
*
Operation Brasstacks
*
Operation Pawan: The regiment moved to
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
and was deployed in infantry role in
Jaffna town and in the suburb of
Kankesanthurai. Colonel Gurbachan Singh Babbar was awarded the
Vishisht Seva Medal.
* Operation Rakshak: In November 1991, the regiment moved to
Punjab for
counter-insurgency operations. It maintained an incident free period in its area of responsibility and created an environment conductive for peaceful
assembly elections.
*
Counter insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir: During its tenure in
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to:
* Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent
* Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory
* Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...
from 1993, the regiment won one Sena Medal and four GOC-in-C Commendation Cards.
*
Operation Vijay: The regiment was inducted into the
Kargil
Kargil ( lbj, ) is a city and a joint capital of the union territory of Ladakh, India. It is also the headquarters of the Kargil district. It is the second-largest city in Ladakh after Leh. Kargil is located to the east of Srinagar in Ja ...
sector in September 1999 was deployed in the
Line of Control
The Line of Control (LoC) is a military control line between the Indian and Pakistanicontrolled parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir—a line which does not constitute a legally recognized international boundary, but serve ...
.
Observation post officers destroyed enemy posts and a gun position across the line of control.
*
Operation Parakram: The regiment which was located at
Samba
Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...
from November 2001 was mobilised for the operation and destroyed an enemy post, an ammunition dump and an enemy battalion headquarters.
*
Counter insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir: During its second tenure, the regiment took part in counter insurgency operations at
Udhampur and
Kathua
Kathua is a city and municipal council located in Kathua district of Jammu Division of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, near its border with Punjab, India and Himachal Pradesh. The city is headquarters of Kathua district and is ...
between 2001 and 2005. It was also part of road opening parties and quick reaction teams.
* Operation Rhino: The regiment was part of the 2 Mountain Artillery Brigade and took part in counter insurgency operations in
Jorhat
Jorhat ( ) is one of the important cities and a growing urban centre in the state of Assam in India.
Etymology
Jorhat ("jor" means twin and "hat" means market) means two hats or mandis - "Masorhaat" and "Sowkihat" which existed on the opposite ...
and
Sivasagar districts of
Assam between July 2005 and December 2008. During this tenure, the regiment was responsible for 7 kills, 35 apprehensions, 3 surrenders, arrest of 42 over ground workers, destruction of 3 terrorist camps and recovery of arms and ammunition. Nine COAS Commendation Cards and ten GOC-in-C Commendation Cards were awarded during Operation Rhino. The regiment was awarded the GOC-in-C (
Eastern Command) unit citation.
Notable personnel
*Lieutenant General Baljeet Singh . - Chief of Staff,
Western Command was commissioned in the unit.
See also
List of artillery regiments of Indian Army
References
{{reflist
Military units and formations established in 1963
Artillery regiments of the Indian Army after 1947