India’s 20th Navy Chief: Admiral Arun Prakash

Born in October 1944 in Anantnag in Kashmir Valley, young Arun Prakash was struck by “sea fever” from an early age, and joined the National Defence Academy as a Naval Cadet at the age of 16. On being commissioned into the Indian Navy in1966, he decided to specialize in aviation, and qualified as an aircraft carrier pilot on the Sea Hawk jet fighter from the deck of INS Vikrant in 1968.

As a naval pilot, he served in four air squadrons, where he flew a variety of aircraft ranging from fighters to multi-engine reconnaissance aircraft. He has commanded two Naval Air Squadrons, and the Naval Air Station INS Hansa.

While in command of 300 Indian Naval Air Squadron, he supervised the conversion and operational training of the crew on the Sea Harrier fighter, popularly known as the "jump jet" in the United Kingdom in 1983, and flew the aircraft back to India. He has flown over 2500 hours on 16 types of fixed wing aircraft, as well as helicopters.

While at sea, he served on a variety of ships, and commanded the missile boat INS Chatak, the frigates INS Beas and INS Vindhyagiri, and the aircraft carrier INS Viraat.

As a Rear Admiral, he served on the staff in Naval Headquarters, and then went on to command the Eastern Fleet, based in Vishakhapatnam. On promotion to Vice Admiral, he was Commandant, National Defence Academy and Chief of Personnel at Naval Headquarters. In October 2001, he was appointed the first Commander-in-Chief of the newly created Unified Andaman & Nicobar Command in Port Blair, and subsequently took over as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command in Mumbai. After a brief spell, as the Vice Chief, he took over as the 20th Chief of the Indian Navy Staff in July 2004.

Admiral Prakash is a graduate of the IAF Test Pilots School, the Defence Services Staff College and the United States Naval War College.

As a young Lieutenant, he served with an IAF fighter squadron flying Hunters in Punjab, and was awarded the Vir Chakra for gallantry in air action over West Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir, during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. He is the recipient of the Vishisht Seva Medal, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished services rendered.

The Admiral comes from a family with a strong military tradition: his two elder brothers, having retired, after distinguished careers in the Indian Army. Admiral and Mrs. Kumkum Prakash have one daughter, who is married to a former IAF pilot. He retired in October 2006, after 40 years of service, and is now settled in Dehra Dun, where his time is occupied with reading, writing on strategic issues and occasional golf.