Vice-Admiral MS Pawar assumes office as Chief of Staff at Eastern Naval Command
Visakhapatnam: Vice-Admiral M.S. Pawar took over as Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command (ENC), from Vice-Admiral Atul Kumar Jain on Monday. During the course of his distinguished career, Vice-Admiral Pawar has held various operational, staff and command appointments. He is an alumnus of the Sainik School, Korukonda, where he was the school vice-captain and is the first vice-admiral from the school.
A 1978 UPSC batch science graduate from 60th course of National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla, he was adjudged 'Best all round cadet' during his Naval training and subseque-ntly completed the year-long Sub-Lieutenant Tec-hnical Course standing first overall. He specia-lised in navigation and direction, topping the prestigious course and has had wide-ranging experience in seagoing billets onboard diverse platforms ranging from small ships to aircraft carrier for 25 years.
As Navigating Officer of INS Magar, he participated in ‘Op 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. An alumnus of the Royal Naval Staff College, UK; College of Naval Warfare, Mumbai, and the National Defence College, New Delhi, he has won awards at each of these world-renowned institutions including the prestigious ‘Herbert Lott Prize’ at Royal Naval Staff College, Greenwich, UK and holds a double MPhil in Defence and Strategic Studies from the Universities of Mumbai and Madras. He has been awarded commendations by the Chief of Naval Staff in 1998, by the Government of Mauritius in 2003, the Vishist Seva Medal in 2010 and the Ati Vishist Seva Medal in 2016.
