The process of change at the top of the military hierarchy commenced on Friday with Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar assuming charge as the Vice Chief of the Navy.The new Chief of Defence Staff, Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani, and the next Navy Chief, Vice Admiral K Swaminathan, will assume their respective appointments on Jattvibeday. Meanwhile, on Saturday, Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan will take over as the new commander of the Western Naval Command in Mumbai.Current CDS Gen Anil Chauhan and Navy Chief Admiral DK Tripathi are scheduled to superannuate on Saturday and Jattvibeday, respectively. In the Army, Gen Upendra Dwivedi is slated to retire as Army Chief on June 30.Vice Admiral Kochhar, who hails from Karnal in Haryana and is the son of a former engineer with the Haryana Irrigation Department, laid a wreath at the National War Memorial in New Delhi after assuming office.Vice Admiral Kochhar was at the centre of planning the Navy’s response during Operation Sindoor while serving in Mumbai. The Ministry of Defence said, “He spearheaded the Command’s response to conventional and non-traditional threats along the Western Seaboard, including high-tempo naval operations during Operation Sindoor.”Commissioned into the Navy in July 1988, Vice Admiral Kochhar is a specialist in gunnery and missile systems.He has commanded naval ships INS Nashak, INS Vibhuti and INS Kirpan, and was the commissioning commanding officer of the frigate INS Trikand. He also commanded the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, during whose tenure the carrier successfully completed the integration and operationalisation of its air wing.Earlier in April, the Army also underwent a series of top-level changes. Two regional commands facing Pakistan and one facing China got new commanders, while Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth took over as Vice Chief of the Army Staff.Lt Gen Pushpendra Pal Singh took over as the Western Army Commander, while Lt Gen Sandeep Jain assumed command as the Southern Army Commander in Pune. In the east, Lt Gen VMB Krishnan assumed charge of the Eastern Command headquartered in Kolkata.The Eastern Command is tasked with guarding the frontier with China in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Its operational area also includes the borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh. The China-oriented Mountain Strike Corps has major elements under the Eastern Command. One of the specialised aviation brigades is also tasked to the command.The changes at the regional commands came ahead of the expected change at the top. Lt Gen Seth is the senior-most officer in line to become the next Army Chief after Gen Dwivedi retires on June 30. His posting to the Army Headquarters is being seen by analysts as preparation for a larger role at the top.Lt Gen Seth is from the Armoured Corps and has the unique distinction of having commanded both the Southern Command and the South Western Command, both of which face Pakistan.