# Suraj Berry

Vice Admiral Suraj Berry, AVSM, NM, VSM is a serving Flag officer in the Indian Navy. He currently serves as the Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Forces Command. He previously served as the Chief of Personnel, as the Controller Personnel Services and as Chief of Staff of the Andaman and Nicobar Command. He has also commanded the Eastern Fleet and was the Commissioning Commanding Officer of the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.

## Naval career

Berry was commissioned in the Indian Navy on 1 January 1987. He is a specialist in Gunnery and Missile Warfare. He served on board the Sukanya-class patrol vessel INS Subhadra (P51), the Veer-class corvette INS Pralaya (K91), and the Rajput-class destroyers INS Ranjit (D53) and INS Ranvir (D54), and the lead ship of her class of destroyers INS Delhi (D61).
He has also served as the flag lieutenant to the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command, as the operations officer of a Mobile Missile Coastal Battery, and as the fleet gunnery officer of the Western Fleet.
Berry has commanded the Veer-class missile vessel INS Nirbhik (K88), the Kora-class missile corvette INS Karmuk (P64) and the Talwar-class stealth guided missile frigate INS Talwar (F40). He served as the defence advisor to the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka and Maldives. In the rank of Captain, he also served as a Director at the Directorate of Staff Requirement at Naval Headquarters.
As a commodore, he served as naval advisor (NA) to the Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma. He then was appointed the commissioning commanding officer of the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (R33). As CO, he commissioned Vikramaditya on 16 November 2013 at Severodvinsk in Russia and brought her home to Karwar. He then moved to naval headquarters as the Principal Director Strategy, Concepts and Transformation at NHQ.

### Flag rank

In October 2016, Berry was promoted to the rank of rear admiral and appointed Assistant Chief of Personnel (Human Resource Development) (ACOP HRD) at Naval HQ. After a two-and-a-half year stint, he was appointed Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF) on 30 March 2019. For his tenure as the FOCEF, he was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal on 26 January 2020. In February 2020, he moved to Port Blair as the Chief of Staff of the Andaman and Nicobar Command.
On 2 August 2021, he was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral and appointed Controller of Personnel Services (CPS) at NHQ, succeeding Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh On 1 April 2023, he was appointed Chief of Personnel. After a short stint as COP, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Forces Command (C-inC SFC) on 6 October 2023. The SFC is responsible for the management and administration of the country's tactical and strategic nuclear weapons stockpile.

## Awards and decorations

Berry was awarded the Vishist Seva Medal in 2006 for services during the tsunami relief operations in Sri Lanka and Maldives. He is also the recipient of the Nao Sena Medal in 2015 (awarded for devotion to duty). He was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2020. He has also been awarded the Chief of Naval Staff Commendation card once and the FOC‑in‑C Western Naval Command commendation card twice.
| Ati Vishisht Seva Medal | Nau Sena Medal | Vishisht Seva Medal | Samanya Seva Medal |
| Operation Vijay Medal | Operation Parakram Medal | Sainya Seva Medal | Videsh Seva Medal |
| 75th Anniversary of Independence Medal | 50th Anniversary of Independence Medal | 50th Anniversary of Independence Medal | 30 Years Long Service Medal |
| | 20 Years Long Service Medal | 9 Years Long Service Medal | |

## Personal life

Berry is married to Kangana Berry. The couple have two children.