Southern Naval Command gets new Chief of Staff

KOCHI: Rear Admiral Atul Kumar Jain today assumed office as Chief of Staff of Southern Naval Command here.

He has taken over the charge from Rear Admiral M S Pawar, who is appointed as the Flag Officer, Maharashtra and Gujarat area (FOMAG), a Naval press release said.

Commissioned in July 1982, and an alumnus of National Defence Academy (Pune), Defence Services Staff College (Wellington), College of Naval Warfare (Mumbai) and the National Defence College, Pretoria, South Africa, Rear Admiral Atul Kumar Jain is a Gunnery and a missile specialist.

His tenures include, command of INS Nirghat (missile boat), INS Khukri (missile corvette), INS Rajput (destroyer) and the indigenous destroyer INS Mysore, Commissioning Executive Officer of INS Brahmaputra, Fleet Operations Officer of the Eastern Fleet, Visakhapatnam, Director, Naval Intelligence (Protocol), Director Foreign Liaison and Principal Director, Staff Requirements, at Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence (Navy), the release said.

Rear Admiral Atul Kumar Jain has served as the first Flag Officer Commanding, Karnataka Naval area, Karwar. During this tenure, he was instrumental in setting up of base support facilities for INS Vikramaditya at the Naval Base Karwar.

Recipient of Vishisht Seva Medal in 2009, he was commanding the Eastern Fleet of the Indian Navy at Vishakhapatnam prior to his present appointment.