Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha,

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...

AVSM Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime Di ...

, NM & Bar,

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is a former Three star Admiral of the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

Military career

Sinha joined the Navy in 1974 in the Executive Branch of the Indian Navy. He was a Naval aviator. A

Fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare an ...

, he flew the

Sea Harrier The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval short take-off and vertical landing/vertical take-off and landing jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft. It is the second member of the Harrier family developed. It first entered servic ...

. He commanded two Sea Harrier Squadrons as well as Air Station Hansa. Adm Sinha has commanded the first INS Saryu, the INS Shakti and the

guided-missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers who have a pri ...

INS Delhi.

Flag Rank

Ashore as a

Flag Officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countr ...

, he served as Flag Officer Naval Aviation, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Air) as well as Controller Personnel Services. As a

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

, Sinha served as the

Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF) is the title of the Indian Navy Officer who commands the Western Fleet, headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The FOCWF is a two star admiral holding the rank of Rear Admiral. The appointment is consi ...

from 2007 to 2008. In a short stint in 2011, he served as the 6th

Chief of Integrated Defence Staff The Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) is the head of the Integrated Defence Staff which acts as the point organisation for jointmanship in the Ministry of Defence. In November 2019, government sou ...

. In 2012, Vice Adm Sinha was appointed Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief

Western Naval Command The Western Naval Command is one of the three command–level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. As the senior–most of the three formations, the command is responsible for the all naval forces in the ...

Supersession & Retirement

In 2014, the Government accepted the "voluntary retirement" of Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha, who had put in his papers after Admiral

Robin K. Dhowan Admiral Rabinder "Robin" Kumar Dhowan PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC was the 22nd Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy. He assumed office on 17 April 2014, succeeding Admiral D.K. Joshi. Military career Dhowan graduated from the National Defenc ...

, six months junior, superseded him to become the 22nd Chief of the Naval Staff. The Ministry of Defence's junking of the seniority principle has sparked some concern in military circles because successive governments have almost always stuck to it in appointing service chiefs. The chain of seniority in Indian military is considered virtually sacrosanct, with supersession being exceptionally rare. The incumbent Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral D K Joshi, resigned after a series of accidents involving ships of the Indian Navy. Adm Sinha was passed over as the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

felt that some of the blame for the mishaps should be attributed to him. After being passed over, Adm Sinha requested voluntary retirement.

Decorations and medals

References

Living people Indian Navy admirals Flag Officers Commanding Western Fleet Naval War College alumni 1954 births Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Indian naval aviators Recipients of the Nau Sena Medal {{India-mil-bio-stub