Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Vijai Singh Shekhawat,

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 Dis ...

, VrC,

ADC ADC may refer to: Science and medicine * ADC (gene), a human gene * AIDS dementia complex, neurological disorder associated with HIV and AIDS * Allyl diglycol carbonate or CR-39, a polymer * Antibody-drug conjugate, a type of anticancer treatm ...

is a former Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy. He was 15th Chief of Naval Staff and served as Navy Chief from September-30 1993 to September-30 1996. Admiral Shekhawat is a Patron of the General K.S. Thimayya Memorial Trust.

Early life and education

Shekhawat attended the St. Joseph's Academy and

Colonel Brown Cambridge School Colonel Brown Cambridge School is one of the oldest residential schools in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. It is an English medium school affiliated to the Indian Council of School Certificate Examination (CICSE) board of Education. The school ...

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

Bishop Cotton Boys' School Bishop Cotton Boys' School is an all-boys school for boarders and day scholars in Bangalore, India, founded in the memory of Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton, Bishop of Calcutta. The school has been described as "The Eton of the East". Th ...

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, and St Joseph's College in

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...

. He later attended the

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together before they go on ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

and the

US Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

. Shekhawat was selected for the Joint Services Wing of the National Defence Academy (NDA) in 1952, and was awarded the President Gold Medal for the best all-round cadet in December 1953. He was commissioned in 1956.

Naval career

Early career

Shekhawat received submarine training in the UK from 1963–1964 and the USSR from 1966–1967, He served as Executive and Commanding Officer for several submarines, including the INS ''Kalvari'' and the INS ''Karanj'', which he commissioned and sailed from the Baltic Sea to India. He received the

Vir Chakra Vir Chakra (pronunciation: ʋ iː ɾ a tʃ a kɾa) is an Indian wartime military bravery award presented for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy on the battlefield and is third in precedence in wartime gallantry awards a ...

gallantry award for his service as commander of the ''Karanj'' during the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...

Vir Chakra

The citation for the

reads as follows: Promoted to substantive commander on 31 December 1971, Shekhawat served as director of the Indian Navy Submarine Arm from 1975 to 1977. After attending the US Naval War College from 1977 to 1978, Shekhawat was promoted captain on 1 July 1978, and served from 1979 to 1981 as the Chief Instructor at the National Defence Academy.

Flag Rank

Shekhawat was promoted to acting

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 regarde ...

on 21 June 1984 (substantive from 30 June), and served as the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff. He was given command of the

Western Fleet The Red Sea Fleet Command or officially Western Fleet (WF), also called ''" West Coast Fleet ",'' is a regional naval fleet and one of the two main formations of the Saudi Arabian Navy, with headquarters at Royal Naval Base at Jeddah, Western Pr ...

during

Operation Brasstacks Operation Brasstacks was a major combined arms military exercise of the Indian Armed Forces in Rajasthan state of India, that took place from November 1986 to January 1987 near Pakistan border. As part of a series of exercises to simulate th ...

. He was promoted Vice Admiral on 8 August 1988, with appointment as Director General of the tri-service Defence Planning Staff. and obtained the rank of Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command in December 1990. In 1992, Shekhawat was promoted to the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, and in September 1993 he was again promoted to Chief of the Naval Staff. Shekhawat retired in 1996. Admiral Shekhawat is married to Mrs. Binu Shekhawat and has two sons, one of whom is a pilot with the Indian Navy.

Awards and decorations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shekhawat, Virendra Singh Chiefs of the Naval Staff (India) Vice Chiefs of Naval Staff (India) Indian Navy admirals Flag Officers Commanding Western Fleet Shekhawat, V.S. Bishop Cotton Boys' School alumni Living people 1933 births Indian submarine commanders Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Vir Chakra