New Delhi. Vice Admiral Gurcharan Singh took over as the Commandant of the National Defence Academy on Saturday, May 25. As an artillery and missile expert, he has served on Indian Navy ships Ranjit and Prahar. He also has the distinction of being part of the commissioning crew of three indigenous warships. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (Khadakvasla). He was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 1990. He has served in several positions both at sea and ashore.
Singh has served as INS Brahmaputra (Gunnery Officer), as Executive Officer on INS Shivalik and as Commanding Officer on INS Kochi. He has also commanded INS Vidyut and INS Khukri. He has been an instructor at INS Dronacharya (Gunnery School) and Deputy Commandant of the Naval War College, Goa. His staff tenures include appointments in Directorate of Personnel/NHQ Assistant Chief of Personnel, Directorate of Naval Intelligence/NHQ and Indian Naval Work-up Team.
According to the Ministry of Defense, on 29 November 2022, he took over as the Flag Officer Commanding of the Eastern Fleet. He was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral on 15 January 2024. He took various initiatives to improve the working conditions of the personnel and the naval community. He has been awarded the Admiral Katari Trophy for securing ‘first position in overall merit order during initial training’ in his batch.
Under his command, INS Khukri was awarded the ‘Unit Citation’ of the Chief of Naval Staff for successful conduct of overall operations and anti-piracy operations in December 2011. He has also been awarded the FOC-in-C Commendation (2002), Navy Medal (2020) and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (2024). His educational qualifications include MSc and MPhil (Defense and Strategic Studies).
Apart from the Staff Course at DSSC Wellington, Higher Command at Naval War College and NDC courses in India, Singh has attended the Maritime Intelligence Course at National Intelligence University (NIU), Washington and the United Nations Staff Officers Course (UNSOC) at Stockholm, Sweden.
Tags: Indian Defence, Indian Navy
FIRST PUBLISHED : May 25, 2024, 22:29 IST