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Vice Admiral Vineet McCarty on Monday assumed charge as the 20th Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), India’s only integrated tri-service operational command, at Sri Vijaya Puram. He leads the strategically important command that sits astride critical sea lanes in the eastern Indian Ocean and plays a key role in India’s maritime security architecture in the Indo-Pacific.
Before assuming command of ANC, Vice Admiral McCarty held two successive tri-service assignments at Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS). During 2025-26, he served as Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Policy, Plans and Force Development) and later as Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Doctrine, Organisation and Training), contributing to joint force planning and capability development.
His international experience includes a tenure as Directing Staff at the Naval and Maritime Academy in Sri Lanka and a four-year diplomatic assignment as Defence Advisor to Singapore and the Philippines from 2011 to 2015.
Speaking after assuming command, Vice Admiral McCarty highlighted the Andaman and Nicobar Command’s growing strategic importance in securing India’s maritime interests and maintaining stability across the Indian Ocean Region.
He reaffirmed his commitment to enhancing operational readiness and deepening integration among the Army, Navy and Air Force within the command structure.
“The Andaman and Nicobar Command remains a vital pillar of India’s national security framework in the Indo-Pacific,” he said, while stressing the need to further strengthen jointness and inter-service synergy to meet emerging security challenges.
Established in 2001, the Andaman and Nicobar Command is India’s first and only theatre-level tri-service command. Located near the Malacca Strait, one of the world’s busiest maritime chokepoints, the command plays a crucial role in surveillance, maritime domain awareness, force projection and humanitarian assistance operations across the eastern Indian Ocean and the wider Indo-Pacific region.
Commissioned into the Indian Navy on July 1, 1989, the Flag Officer is a specialist in gunnery and missile warfare and brings more than 36 years of operational, staff and training experience to the appointment. He is an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, and the National Defence College, New Delhi.
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