Vice Admiral Sameer Saxena AVSM, NM took over as the Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command from Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, AVSM, NM at Visakhapatnam recently.

Vice Admiral Sameer Saxena is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and the Naval War College Newport, USA. 

Having excelled as a Navigation and Direction specialist with top honours, he served in the Direction team onboard the Aircraft Carrier INS Viraat, followed by significant roles as the Navigating Officer of INS Kuthar, Godavari, Delhi and as the Executive Officer of INS Mumbai.

 Prior to taking over as the Chief of Staff, the Admiral was Flag Officer Commanding Gujarat Naval Area.

He has earned commendations from the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Commissioner of Police of Mauritius and an Honourable Mention at the Naval War College, USA. 

The Admiral has been awarded the Nau Sena Medal in 2017 and Ati Vishist Seva Medal in 2023 by the President of India.

Vice Adm Sanjay Vatsayan, AVSM, NM the outgoing Chief of Staff, ENC, will take over as Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Operations), Headquarters Integrated Defence Services at New Delhi.