Asif Sandila

Mohammad Asif Sandila (Urdu: ; born: 1954), is a retired four-star admiral in the Pakistan Navy who was the 19th Chief of Naval Staff of the Pakistan Navy. Prior to this command appointment, Sandila briefly tenured as the Vice Chief Naval Staff in the Pakistan Navy which he assumed in 2010.

In 2011, President Asif Ali Zardari, on the request of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, promoted Sandila to four-star admiral and appointed him as the Chief of the Naval Staff on 7 October 2011 upon retirement of the then Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir.

Biography Early life and education Asif Sandila was born into a Punjabi Jat family in a village at the Sangla Hill located in Sheikhupura District, Punjab in Pakistan in 1954.

After his matriculation from a local high school in 1967, Sandila went to attend Cadet College Kohat where he secured his FSc, and went to join the Pakistan Navy in 1972. He was selected to attend the Pakistan Naval Academy, initially focusing on mathematics, and was directed to attend the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in the United Kingdom in 1974. In England, he was trained in navigation and qualified as a surface warfare officer in 1975. He later went to attend the National Defence University where he graduated with MSc in War studies. He was later posted at the Pakistan Naval Academy in Karachi where he instruct courses on military navigation. In 1990s, Capt. Sandila later commanded , a guided-missile destroyer, and did a tour of duty when he visited Middle East and the Europe.

In 2005, Cdre. Sandila commanded the mission through the Moawin and visiting on a bilateral missions in Mediterranean countries (Tunisia), Europe (France and the Britain), and later ending his voyage in United States (New York). In April 2005, Cdre. Sandila took participation in Mine hunter exercises with the French Navy, Royal Navy, and the U.S. Navy before reporting back to Pakistan.

In 2005, Cdre. Sandila was eventually promoted to two-star rank in the Navy, first serving as the Director-General of the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) until 2007, during which, he also served as the command of the Naval Observatory located in Jinnah Naval Base.

In 2007, R-Adm. Sandila was posted in the Navy NHQ in Islamabad as DCNS (Projects) and later as DCNS (Operations), for a brief time until being posted as senior fleet commander as Commander Pakistan Fleet (COMPAK) in 2008.

Chief of Naval Staff

On 1 January 2010, R-Adm. Sandila was promoted to the three-star rank in the Navy while serving on the command assignment. In 2011, Vice-Admiral Sandila was later appointed as Vice-Chief of Naval Staff (VNCS) under Adm. Noman Bashir.

At the time of the promotion to the four-star appointment in 2011, V-Adm. Sandila was in a race along with four senior admirals in the Navy, though V-Adm. Sandila was the most senior among all:

Vice-Admiral Asif Sandila., DCNS (Projects) at the Navy NHQ in Islamabad. Vice-Admiral Abbas Raza. The change of command ceremony was held at Naval Headquarters, Islamabad. Admiral Sandila received the guard of honor prior to the assuming the navy's command.

In 2014, the Government of Pakistan confirmed his retirement from the 42-year military service, and after retiring from the Navy after, Adm. Sandila went to established the Moawin Foundation, an organization focused toward promoting the literacy and building schools all over the country.

Upon his retirement, he handed over the command of the Navy to Admiral Muhammed Zakaullah.

Awards and decorations

Pakistan Navy Operations Branch BadgeCommand at Sea insigniaNishan-e-Imtiaz (Military)

(Order of Excellence)Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military)

(Crescent of Excellence)Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Military)

(Star of Excellence)Tamgha-e-Baqa (Nuclear Test Medal)

1998Tamgha-e-Istaqlal Pakistan (Escalation with India Medal)

Wiladat-e-Quaid-e-Azam

(100th Birth Anniversary of

Muhammad Ali Jinnah)

1976Hijri Tamgha (Hijri Medal)

1979Jamhuriat Tamgha (Democracy Medal)

1988Qarardad-e-Pakistan Tamgha (Resolution Day

Golden Jubilee Medal)

1990Tamgha-e-Salgirah Pakistan (Independence Day

Golden Jubilee Medal)

1997National Order of Merit (Knight)

(France)|Order of King Abdul Aziz(1st Class)(Saudi Arabia)2017|Turkish Legion of Merit(Turkey)Order of Muleege Dynasty (Maldives)

2013The Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander)

(USA)|Bintang Jalasena Utama(Indonesia)

2014Bintang Yudha Dharma Utama (Indonesia)

2014

Foreign Decorations Foreign AwardsNational Order of Merit - Knight (Chevalier)Order of King Abdul Aziz (1st Class)Turkish Legion of MeritOrder of Muleege Dynasty The Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander)Bintang Jalasena Utama Bintang Yudha Dharma Utama