Vice Admiral M.S. Pawar took over as the Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command, from Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain here on Monday.
He is an alumnus of the Sainik School, Korukonda, and a 1978 UPSC batch science graduate from 60th Course of National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla.
He specialised in Navigation and Direction, topping the prestigious course and has had wide ranging experience in sea going billets onboard diverse platforms ranging from small ships to aircraft carrier for 25 years.
As the Navigating Officer of INS Magar, he participated in ‘Operation Pawan’ (Sri Lanka) in 1989-90. He was the Fleet Navigating Officer of the Western Fleet during the ‘Kargil War’ in 1999. He was the Fleet Operations Officer, Western Fleet, when the Indian Navy undertook its largest deployment to the Atlantic Ocean and also commenced anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden.