Vice Admiral Sanjay Bhalla, AVSM, NM is a serving flag officer in the Indian Navy. He currently serves as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command.
Early life and education
He is an alumnus of Guru Nanak Public School,
Chandigarh and Government Post Graduate College, Sector 11,
Chandigarh. He is also an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, the Naval War College, Goa and the Royal College of Defence Studies,
London. The flag officer holds a MPhil degree in Defence and Strategic Studies, Masters in International Security and Strategic Studies from the King's College, London and MSc (Telecom) from CUSAT.
Naval career
Bhalla was commissioned into the
Indian Navy on 1 January 1989. He is a specialist in Communication and Electronic Warfare. Bhalla has commanded the Veer-class missile vessel , and the Nilgiri-class anti-submarine warfare frigate . He subsequently commanded the Brahmaputra-class guided-missile frigate .
Bhalla, in his staff appointments, has served as the training commander at the Indian Naval Academy. He also served as the Director at Maritime Doctrine and Concepts Centre. As a Captain, he served as the Naval adviser at the High Commission of India, Islamabad.
Flag rank
On promotion to Flag Rank, Bhalla took over as the Assistant Chief of Personnel (Human Resource Development) (ACOP HRD) at naval headquarters. ACOP is an assistant principal staff officer appointment. On 20 December 2021, he assumed the office of the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF), taking over from Rear Admiral
Tarun Sobti who commanded the Eastern Fleet from February to December 2021. On 26 January 2022, he was awarded the Nao Sena Medal for devotion to duty.
As FOCEF, he was the officer in tactical command during the President's fleet review (PFR) held in February 2022.
On 1 April 2023, he was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral and appointed Chief of Staff, Western Naval Command, taking over Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan.
Awards and decorations
Bhalla was awarded the Nao Sena Medal for devotion to duty in 2022 and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2024.
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| Ati Vishisht Seva Medal | Nao Sena Medal | Samanya Seva Medal | Operation Vijay Star |
| Operation Vijay Medal | Operation Parakram Medal | Sainya Seva Medal | 75th Anniversary of Independence Medal |
| 50th Anniversary of Independence Medal | 30 Years Long Service Medal | 20 Years Long Service Medal | 9 Years Long Service Medal |
See also
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Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet
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Eastern Fleet
