New Delhi, Jan 3 : Vice Admiral Sanjay J Singh on Wednesday took over as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) of the Western Naval Command (WNC). The Ministry of Defence said that Singh took charge from Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi at a ceremonial parade held at INS Shikra. Singh served as the Vice Chief of Naval Staff at Naval Headquarters in New Delhi. He is a graduate of the National Defence Academy, Pune, and was commissioned in 1986 in the Executive Branch of the India Navy. In his career spanning 37 years, he has served on most class of ships of the Indian Navy and has held a range of command, training, and staff appointments, including Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Communications, Space and Network-Centric Operations (CSNCO)), Flag Officer Sea Training, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet, Commandant Naval War College, and Controller Personnel Services and Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Operations). He was the lead drafter for the Indian Navy's Maritime Doctrine, 2009, Strategic Guidance to Transformation, 2015, and the Indian Maritime Security Strategy, 2015. The MoD said that Singh has specialised in Navigation and Direction in 1992 and attended the Advanced Command and Staff Course in the UK in 2000. He has also undergone the Naval Higher Command Course in 2009 at Naval War College, Mumbai, and the National Security Strategy Course in 2012 at the National Defence College, Delhi. He holds MSc and MPhil in Defence and Strategic Studies from Madras University, MA in Defence Studies from Kings College, London, and MA (History), MPhil (Pol) and PhD (Arts) from Mumbai University. Singh was also awarded the Nau Sena Medal in 2009 and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2020. The ministry has said that Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi will take over as the Vice Chief of Naval Staff at Naval Headquarters, New Delhi. /IANS