Suraj Berry

Vice Admiral Suraj Berry, PVSM, AVSM, NM, VSM is a former Flag officer in the Indian Navy. He last served as the Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Forces Command. He previously served as the Chief of Personnel, as the Controller of 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 , the Veer-class corvette , and the Rajput-class destroyers and , and the lead ship of her class of destroyers .

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 , the Kora-class missile corvette and the Talwar-class stealth guided missile frigate . 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. Berry (right) hands over command of INS Vikramaditya to Capt. Krishna Swaminathan in 2015. 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 . 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. 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. He retired from the Navy on 30 September 2025, after 38 years of service.

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.

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