Sunil Lanba

Admiral Sunil Lanba PVSM, AVSM, ADC
Official portrait
Born	(1957-07-17) 17 July 1957 Palwal, Haryana, India
Allegiance	India
Service/branch	Indian Navy
Years of service	1 January 1978–present
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	Chief of the Naval Staff of India FOC-in-C Western Naval Command FOC-in-C Southern Naval Command Vice Chief of Naval Staff Commandant of National Defence College Chief of Staff Headquarters Eastern Naval Command Chief of Staff, Southern Naval Command Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area
Awards	Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishist Seva Medal
Spouse(s)	Reena Lanba
Relations	2 daughters and 1 son

Sunil Lanba, PVSM, AVSM, ADC (born 17 ^[1] July 1957) is the current and the 23rd Chief of the Naval Staff of the Indian Navy. He assumed the office on 31 May 2016 after Admiral RK Dhowan and will hold office till May 2019. He is also the Chairman of the chiefs of staff committee (CoSC).

Early life and education

Lanba was born on 17 July 1957 and hails from Palwal district, Haryana.^[2][3] He attended Mayo College, Ajmer; National Defense Academy, Pune; Defense Services Staff College, Wellington; College of Defence Management, Secunderabad and Royal College of Defense Studies, London and is a post-graduate in Defense and Management studies.^[4][5]

Military career

National Defense College Commandant Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba gives U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond T. Odierno a tour of the college's archive display

Lanba was commissioned into the Indian Navy as an officer on 1 January 1978 into the Executive Branch of Indian Navy.^[2] He is a Navigation and Direction specialist who has served as the navigation and operations officer onboard various ships in both the Eastern and Western Fleets. He, over four decades, has served as a navigation officer on board INS Sindhudurg (K72) and INS Dunagiri (F36) before serving as the commanding officer (CO) of various ships: minesweeper INS Kakinada, frigate INS Himgiri (F34), INS Ranvijay (D55) and INS Mumbai (D62).^[6] He also served as executive officer of aircraft carrier INS Viraat (R22) and the Fleet Operations Officer of the Western Fleet.^[2][5]

He has also held numerous training positions like training officer at the National Defence Academy; Directing Staff at the College of Defence Management; Commandant of the National Defence College and Flag Officer Sea Training organisation at the Local Workup Team (West), Western Naval Command.

Lanba on being elevated to flag rank, was the flag officer commanding Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area.(FOMAG) and Chief of Staff, Southern Naval Command. On being promoted to vice admiral, he was the Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command; Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern and Western Naval Commands; Fleet Operations Officer of the Western Fleet and the Vice Chief of Naval Staff from 2 June 2014 to 30 March 2015.^{[7][6][8][6][9][10][11]}

On 5 May 2016, the Union Government announced that Lanba will take charge as the Chief of the Naval Staff on 31 May 2016, replacing Admiral Robin K. Dhowan who retired the same day.^[2][7]

He took over as the Chairman of the chiefs of staff committee (CoSC) from outgoing IAF chief Marshal Arup Raha on 29 December 2016.

Admiral RK Dhowan, the outgoing CNS handovers the traditional telescope of the CNS to Admiral Lanba as he takes charge as the chief at Naval Headquarters, New Delhi on May 31, 2016

Bi-lateral Visits as CNS

Country	Date	Purpose	References
2016
Myanmar	1 - 4 November	Bi-lateral discussions with First Vice President, Vice Senior General and Service Chiefs of Army and Navy Vist National Defence College, Defence Services Academy and Naval Training Command	[12]
Sri Lanka	27 November - 1 December	Bi-lateral meetings with President, Prime Minister and 3 Service Chiefs Key note speaker at Galle Dialogue	[13]
Japan	19 - 23 December	Bi-lateral meetings with Chief of Staff(JMSDF), MoS for Defence, Joint Staff	[14]
2017
UAE	26 - 28 February	Bi-lateral meetings with MoS for Defence, Chief of Staff, Commander of Naval force Visit to Ghantoot Naval Base, National Defence College (UAE) and Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum Naval College	[15]
Oman	1 - 2 March	Bi-lateral meetings with MoS for Defence, Service Chiefs Visit to Sultan Qaboos Naval Academy and Said Bin Naval Base	[15]
Malaysia	11 - 15 April	Bi-lateral meetings with Deputy Minister of Defence, Chief of Royal Malaysian Defence Forces and the 3 service Chiefs Visit to submarine base and Royal Malaysian Armed Forces Command and Staff College	[16]
Singapore	15 May - 19 May	Bi-lateral meetings with Defence Minister, Chief of Defence Forces, Chief of Navy Attend International Maritime Review (IMR) and International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (IMDEX) 2017	[17]
Israel	12 - 15 June	Bi-lateral meetings with Defence Minister, Chief of General Staff, Commander-in-Chief of Israeli Navy, Commander of Israeli Air Force and Commander of Israeli Ground Forces Visit to Haifa Naval Base and other military establishments	[18][19]
Mozambique	23 - 25 July	Bi-lateral meetings with Minister of National Defence, Chief of Defence Staff, and the three service Chiefs Visit to Instituto Superior De Estudos De Defesa (ISEDEF) and Hero’s Square	[20]
Tanzania	26 - 30 July	Bi-lateral meetings with President of Tanzania, Minister of Defence and National Service, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief of Defence Forces and the three service Chiefs Visit to the Command and Staff College	[20]

Awards and decorations

Personal life

He is married to Reena Lanba who is a qualified teacher and a home-maker. They have two daughters, named Moneesha and Sukriti, and a son named Adhiraj.^[6][5][21]

References

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