New Eastern Naval Command chief takes over

Commissioned on July 1, 1983, Vice Admiral Singh is an alumnus of the prestigious National Defence Academy (NDA) Khadakvasla. 

Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh on Monday took over as the Eastern Naval Command's Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, replacing Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain.

Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain moves to New Delhi as Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC).

On the occasion, Vice Admiral Singh inspected the ceremonial guard and reviewed platoons of naval personnel drawn from various ships and establishments of the ENC, followed by paying homage to martyrs who have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.

Commissioned on July 1, 1983, Vice Admiral Singh is an alumnus of the prestigious National Defence Academy (NDA) Khadakvasla. 

A navigation and direction specialist, he has held various Operational Staff and Command Appointments in his career spanning over 38 years.

"The officer has excelled in all professional courses in India and abroad and received his first Masters from Madras University during the Staff Course, where he was awarded the Scudder Medal," Vizag-based defence PRO Captain CG Raju said.

The Flag Officer has also earned a Master's Degree in Global Security from Cranfield University, United Kingdom.

He has commanded naval ships Veer (Missile Vessel), Vindhyagiri (Frigate), Trishul (Guided Missile Frigate) and Viraat (Aircraft Carrier). 

He has rich operational experience of Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka and Operation Parakram on the Western Seaboard as the Fleet Navigating Officer of Western Fleet.  

He has also been the Chief of Staff at Western Naval Command during the period of intense operational activity in early 2019.

He has commanded the Eastern Fleet and is familiar with peculiarities of the Eastern Seaboard, and was closely associated with the response to Super Cyclone Hudhud in 2014.

The officer has a rich tri-service exposure in the jointmanship during the tenures as an instructor at NDA and DSSC Wellington, Deputy C-in-C at Strategic Forces Command and Deputy Chief (Operations & Training) at HQ IDS, he said.

He is the first Alumni of UP Sainik School to achieve the rank of Commander-in-Chief in the Indian Navy.

For his distinguished service, he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2011 and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2016.

On Sunday, Vice Admiral R Hari Kumar took over as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) of the Western Naval Command at Mumbai. He succeeded Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar, who retires upon superannuation, after an illustrious career, spanning forty years, in the Indian Navy.

On Friday, Rear Admiral S Venkat Raman assumed command of the Goa-based Naval War College. The Admiral took charge of the Navy's Apex Training Institution from Rear Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh.