Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan named chief of Western Naval Command

Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan has been appointed the next chief of the Western Naval Command. Vatsayan, currently serving as the vice chief of the Naval Staff, will succeed Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan at the operationally crucial command. Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan has been appointed as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command, said an official.

Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan has been appointed the next chief of the Western Naval Command. Vatsayan, currently serving as the vice chief of the Naval Staff, will succeed Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan at the operationally crucial command. Swaminathan was named the next Navy Chief on Saturday. He will assumed the charge of the top post as present Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi will retire from service on May 31. ''Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan has been appointed as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command,'' said an official. The Western Naval Command has its headquarters in Mumbai. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Pune, Vice Admiral Vatsayan was commissioned into the Indian Navy on January 1, 1988. A specialist in gunnery and missile systems, he has held a wide range of command, operational and staff assignments during his distinguished career spanning more than three decades. At sea, the flag officer has served onboard various frontline warships, including as the commissioning crew of the guided missile destroyer INS Mysore and INS Nishank He has commanded Coast Guard ship C-05, missile vessels INS Vibhuti and INS Nashak, missile corvette INS Kuthar and guided missile frigate INS Sahyadri. In February 2020, he took over as the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, and led numerous operational deployments and exercises during the time of heightened maritime activity. He is graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Naval War College, Goa and the prestigious National Defence College, New Delhi. His appointments at Naval Headquarters include joint director and director of personnel (policy), director of naval plans (perspective planning) and principal director of naval plans. Prior to taking over as the vice chief, he served as deputy chief of the Integrated Defence Staff (Operations).