Vice Admiral Gurcharan Singh Assumes Charge As The Chief of Personnel

Vice Admiral Gurcharan Singh AVSM, NM assumed charge as the chief of personnel on November 1. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy (Khadakwasla), he was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 1 July 1990.

The Flag Officer has held several appointments, both afloat and ashore. As a specialist in Gunnery and Missiles, he has served onboard Indian Naval Ships Ranjit and Prahar. He has the distinction of being part of the commissioning crew of three indigenously constructed warships, such as, INS Brahmaputra as the gunnery officer, INS Shivalik as the executive officer, and INS Kochi as the commanding officer. He has also commanded INS Vidyut & INS Khukri.

He has been an instructor at INS Dronacharya (Gunnery School) and the Deputy Commandant of Naval War College, Goa. His staff tenures include Assistant Chief of Personnel (HRD) and in the Directorate of Naval Intelligence in NHQ and also the Indian Naval Work-up Team.

He took over as the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet in November 2022. During this tenure, the fleet maintained high tempo of operational preparedness with a focus on the mission of ‘Ordnance on Target’. On elevation to the rank of Vice Admiral in January 2024, the Flag Officer was appointed as Controller Personnel Services wherein various initiatives were undertaken to improve working conditions of personnel and naval community. Prior assuming charge as Chief of Personnel, the Flag Officer was the Commandant, National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla.

He was awarded the Admiral Katari Trophy for standing ‘First in Overall Order of Merit’ of his batch during ab initio training. Under his command, INS Khukri was awarded the Chief of Naval Staff ‘Unit Citation’ in December 2011 for overall operational effectiveness and successful conduct of anti-piracy operations. He has also been awarded the FOC-in-C Commendation (2002), the Nausena Medal (2020), and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (2024).

His academic qualifications include an MSc and MPhil (Defence & Strategic Studies). In addition to the Staff Course at DSSC Wellington, Higher Command at Naval War College, and NDC courses in India, he has attended the Maritime Intelligence Course at National Intelligence University (NIU), Washington, and the United Nations Staff Officers Course (UNSOC) at Stockholm, Sweden.