First Submariner Becomes Deputy Chief of Indian Naval Staff

Vice Admiral Pradeep K Chatterjee, AVSM, NM, took over as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (DCNS) at the Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence (Navy) on May 29. He is the first ever submariner to have become Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.

Commissioned on 01 January 1977, the Flag Officer specialised as a submariner, and went on to command the Shishumar class (Type 1500) submarines, INS Shankush and INS Shankul, the latter of which he commissioned. His ship commands include the training Ship INS Krishna, and Guided Missile Destroyer, INS Rajput.

Vice Admiral Pradeep K Chatterjee has held various senior Staff appointments such as Commodore Commanding Submarine (West), COMCOS(W) at Mumbai; Principle Director Submarine Operation (PDSMO) and Principal Director Submarine Acquisition (PDSMAQ) at Naval Headquarters, New Delhi. In the Flag rank he has held the posts of Flag Officer Submarines (FOSM) at Visakhapatnam, Flag Officer Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area (FOMAG) at Mumbai, and Inspector General Nuclear Safety (IGNS) at Naval Headquarters, New Delhi.

In his long and illustrious career, the Flag Officer has walked through the portals of the Defence Service Staff College, Wellington, the College of Naval Warfare, Mumbai and the National Defence College, New Delhi.

Interestingly Vice Admiral Chatterjee becomes the first ever submariner to be at the helm of the Operations Branch of the Indian Navy at the Integrated Headquarters Ministry of Defence (Navy) at New Delhi. This at a time when the Indian Navy stands at the threshold of integrating a nuclear attack submarine INS Chakra and inducting a nuclear ballistic missile submarine viz the indigenously built ‘Arihant’.

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Naval Today Staff, June 1, 2012; Image: Indian Navy