Vice Admiral (VAdm) Dinesh K Tripathi has assumed charge as Chief of Personnel on Tuesday. He is an alumnus of National Defence Academy Khadakwasla and was commissioned in the Navy on 1 July 1985. The Flag Officer is a specialist in Communication and Electronic Warfare and has served on frontline warships of the Navy as Signal Communication Officer and Electronic Warfare Officer and later as the Executive Officer and Principal Warfare Officer of Guided Destroyer INS Mumbai. A graduate of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, where he was awarded the Thimmaiya Medal, Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi has attended Naval Higher Command Course and Naval Command College at the US Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island in 2007-08, where he won the prestigious Robert Bateman International Prize.
He has commanded INS Vinash, INS Kirch and INS Trishul and has held various important operational and staff appointments which include Fleet Operations Officer of the Western Fleet at Mumbai, Director of Naval Operations, Principle Director Network Centric Operations, Principal Director Naval Plans, and Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Policy and Plans) at Naval Headquarters. The Flag Officer has commanded the Eastern Fleet from 15 January 2018 to 30 March 2019.
On promotion to the rank of Vice Admiral in June 2019, the Flag Officer was appointed as the Commandant of the prestigious Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala, Kerala. The Academy was awarded the President’s Colour in November 2019 by the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. He was the Director General of Naval Operations, from 29 July 2020 till 31 May 2021, a period that witnessed a very high tempo of naval/ maritime operations. He ensured that the Navy remained a Combat Ready, Cohesive and Credible force, ready to tackle security challenges in the wake of the situation on the LAC, in the Western Arabian Sea/ Gulf region and other hot spots despite the all-round severity of the Covid-19 pandemic. Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi is a recipient of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Nausena Medal for devotion to duty. The Flag Officer is a keen student of international relations, military history, and art & science of leadership.