India's seniormost submariner takes over as chief of the Andaman & Nicobar Command

Vice Admiral Pradeep Kumar Chatterjee, the senior-most submariner in the Indian Navy has taken over as Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman & Nicobar Command (CINCAN). Originally from Kolkata, Chatterjee studied at the La Martiniere School for Boys till Class-VII before joining the Rashtriya Indian Military College, Dehradun.

"He passed out from the National Defence Academy and was commissioned into the Indian Navy on January 1, 1977. He has commanded the Type-1500 submarines Shankush and Shankul, the latter of which he commissioned. His other ship commands include Training Ship INS Krishna and the guided missile destroyer INS Rajput. He has also been Commodore Commanding Submarines (West), Principal Director, Submarine Operations and Principal Director, Submarine Acquisition at Naval Headquarters," a senior official said.

Vice Admiral Chatterjee has also been the Flag Officer Submarines (FOSM), Flag Officer Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area (FOMAG) and Inspector General Nuclear Safety (IGNS) before taking over as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff. From that post, he took over as chief of the tri-services Andaman and Nicobar Command in June.

"The A&N Command is a strategic one and the Vice Admiral's experience will prove helpful in the days to come. Though a tri-services command, the Navy is the key element in ANC and his taking over will help in better co-ordination," the official added.  - Times of india