Cherish Mathson

Lieutenant General Cherish Mathson, PVSM, SM, VSM is the current General Officer Commander-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), South Western Command of the Indian Army and assumed office on 1 August 2017. He assumed the post from Lt General Abhay Krishna.

Early life and Education
Mathson is an alumnus of Sainik School, Trivandrum and Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. He has also attended Senior Command Course at Army War College, Mhow; Long Defence Management Course, Secunderabad and National Defence College, New Delhi.

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 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, Trivandrum Brigade in an amphibious Role, an infantry Division in the Southern Command, Inspector General of the Special Frontier Force and GOC-in-C of XXI Corps (Bhopal) He has also held staff positions including Deputy Assistant Quarter Master General Operations of an Independent Infantry Brigade, Colonel Administration of a Mountain Division, Brigadier Administration of 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). He is also the Colonel of the Regiment of Garhwal Rifles.

During his career, he has been awarded a Sena Medal, Vishist Seva Medal in 2010 and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2018.