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{{short description|Indian admiral}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = [[Vice admiral (India)|Surgeon Vice Admiral]]
| name = Sheila S. Mathai
| honorific_suffix = [[Nao Sena Medal|NM]], [[Vishisht Seva Medal|VSM]]
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| allegiance = {{flag|India}}
| branch = {{navy|India}}
| serviceyears = 1985 – present
| rank = [[File:Indian Vice Admiral.gif|20px]] [[Vice Admiral (India)|Vice Admiral]]
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| commands = INHS Asvini<br/>Institute of Naval Medicine
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| awards = [[File:Nao_Sena_Medal_ribbon.svg|20px]] [[Nao Sena Medal]]<br />[[File:Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svg|20px]] [[Vishisht Seva Medal]]
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[[Vice Admiral (India)|Surgeon Vice Admiral]] '''Sheila Samanta Mathai''', [[Nao Sena Medal|NM]], [[Vishisht Seva Medal|VSM]] is a serving [[flag officer]] in the [[Indian Navy]]. She currently serves as the Director General (Organisation & Personnel) of the [[Armed Forces Medical Services]]. She is the fourth woman in the [[Indian Armed Forces]] to be promoted to a [[three-star rank]], after Surgeon [[Vice Admiral (India)]] [[Punita Arora]], [[Air Marshal (India)|Air Marshal]] [[Padma Bandopadhyay]] and Lieutenant General [[Madhuri Kanitkar]].

==Early life and education==
Mathai was born into an Armed Forces family. Her father was a surgeon in the [[Army Medical Corps (India)|Army Medical Corps]]. She attended the [[Loreto Schools, Kolkata]]. She lost her parents early and joined the [[Armed Forces Medical College]], Pune (AFMC), her father's alma mater. At AFMC, she completed her [[Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery|MBBS]] and was awarded the Kalinga Trophy for the best outgoing student.<ref name="Femina">{{cite web |title=#DefendersOfOurFreedom: Surgeon Rear Admiral Sheila Samanta Mathai, NM, VSM |url=https://www.femina.in/trending/achievers/defendersofourfreedom-surgeon-rear-admiral-sheila-samanta-mathai-203228.html |website=femina.in |language=en}}</ref>

==Military career==
Mathai was commissioned in the Indian Navy in 1985. She subsequently did her post-graduation, earning the [[Doctor of Medicine]] degree in [[Pediatrics]] from the [[University of Mumbai]]. She then earned a DM degree in [[Neonatology]], also from the University of Mumbai. She was awarded a Commonwealth Visiting Fellowship to the UK in Neonatology in 2003, and was conferred a [[Fellowship]] of the [[Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research]] (FAIMER) in 2014.

[[File:Surgeon Rear Admiral Sheila Samanta Mathai, NM, VSM, was promoted to the rank of Surgeon Vice Admiral on 26 August 2021 and assumed the post of Director General (Organization and Personal) of the Armed Forces Medical Services.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Surgeon Vice Admiral Sheila S. Mathai (left) with the DGAFMS Surgeon Vice Admiral Rajat Datta.]]

Mathai has set up the paediatric departments at INHS Dhanvantari in [[Port Blair]] and at the INHS Jeevanti in Goa. She has also set up the neonatal intensive care units in service and cantonment hospitals in Mumbai and Pune. As a Surgeon [[Commodore (India)|Commodore]], she served as the [[Professor]] and Head of Department of Paediatrics at the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune. She subsequently served as the Director & Dean of the Institute of Naval Medicine in Mumbai, an institute headed by her husband in the past.<ref name="INM">{{cite web |title=INSTITUTE OF NAVAL MEDICINE, INHS ASVINI |url=https://www.indiannavy.nic.in/sites/default/files/Self_Study_Report_Institute_Naval_Medicine_INHS_Asvini_Mumbai_04Nov16.pdf |website=indiannavy.nic.in |access-date=9 May 2022}}</ref><ref name="IN - DG (O&P)">{{cite web |title=Indian Navy gets its first direct lady Vice Admiral {{!}} Indian Navy |url=https://www.indiannavy.nic.in/content/indian-navy-gets-its-first-direct-lady-vice-admiral |website=www.indiannavy.nic.in}}</ref>

===Flag rank===
[[File:Western Naval Command COVID-19 vaccination drive for Indian Naval personnel begins at INHS Asvini (2).jpg|thumb|right|300px|Surg RAdm Mathai receives the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at INHS Asvini.]]
Mathai was promoted to the rank of [[Rear admiral (India)|Rear Admiral]] and appointed Command Medical Officer, [[Eastern Naval Command]]. She was subsequently appointed [[Commanding Officer]] of the naval hospital [[INHS Asvini]] in Mumbai. She was in command of the naval hospital during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name="Femina" /> On 31 January 2021, she relinquished command of ''Asvini'', handing over to Rear Admiral Arti Sarin, in a rare event of a change of command between two women flag officers. On 1 February, she took over as the Command Medical Officer of the [[Western Naval Command]].<ref name="PIB-CMO WNC">{{cite web |title=Surgeon Rear Admiral Arti Sarin takes over command Of INHS Asvini |url=https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1693806 |website=pib.gov.in}}</ref>

On 26 August 2021, she was promoted to the rank of [[Vice Admiral (India)|Surgeon Vice Admiral]], only the fourth woman to be promoted to [[three-star rank]] in the [[Indian Armed Forces]]. She assumed the post of Director General (Organisation and Personnel) of the [[Armed Forces Medical Services]] under the [[Director General Armed Forces Medical Services (India)|Director General Armed Forces Medical Services]] (DGAFMS).<ref name="IN - DG (O&P)"/>

==Personal life==
Mathai is married to a retired officer of the Indian Navy, [[Commodore (India)|Surgeon Commodore]] K. I. Mathai, [[Vishisht Seva Medal|VSM]], a neurosurgeon who served in the navy for 35 years. The couple have a daughter.<ref name="Femina" />

==Awards and decorations==
Mathai has been awarded the [[Chief of the Naval Staff (India)|Chief of the Naval Staff]] [[Awards and decorations of the Indian Armed Forces#Commendation Card|Commendation Card]] in 1993, the [[Vishisht Seva Medal]] in 2012, and the [[Nao Sena Medal]] in 2021.

{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Nao_Sena_Medal_ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Vishisht_Seva_Medal_ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=IND_Sainya_Seva_Medal_Ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=IND_50th_Anniversary_Independence_medal.svg|width=106}}
|-
|colspan="4"|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=IND 30 Years Long Service Ribbon.svg|width=106}} {{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=IND 20YearsServiceMedalRibbon.svg|width=106}} {{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=IND 9YearsServiceMedalRibbon.svg|width=106}}
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|[[Nao Sena Medal]]
|[[Vishisht Seva Medal]]
|[[Sainya Seva Medal]]
|[[Indian military decorations#Service and campaign medals|50th Anniversary of Independence Medal]]
|-
|[[Indian military decorations#Service and campaign medals|30 Years Long Service Medal]]
|colspan="2"|[[Indian military decorations#Service and campaign medals|20 Years Long Service Medal]]
|[[Indian military decorations#Service and campaign medals|9 Years Long Service Medal]]
|}

==See also==
* [[Women in the Indian Armed Forces]]
* [[Punita Arora]]
* [[Padma Bandopadhyay]]
* [[Madhuri Kanitkar]]
* [[Rajshree Ramasethu]]
* [[Arti Sarin]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathai, Sheila}}
[[Category:Indian Navy personnel]]
[[Category:Indian Navy admirals]]
[[Category:Female admirals of the Indian Navy]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Women in 21st-century warfare]]
[[Category:Women in warfare post-1945]]
[[Category:Indian female military personnel]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Nau Sena Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Vishisht Seva Medal]]

Sheila S. Mathai - Revision history

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