Surgeon Vice Admiral Manish Honwad, VSM assumed the appointment of Director and Commandant of the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune on 01 Sep 2026. Having completed his MBBS from Armed Forces Medical College in 1989. He completed his MD (Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine) from Armed Forces Medical College in 1998. He is a WHO Fellow in Neuro-Anesthesiology from National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore. The Flag Officer is also an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi where he was awarded an M.Phil in Public Administration.
In an exemplary career spanning over 37 years, the Flag Officer has held prestigious academic, clinical and administrative appointments including Chief Staff Officer (Medical) at A&N Islands, Additional Director General Medical Service (Navy) at the Naval HQ, Commanding Officer INHS Sanjivani and Commanding Officer INHS Asvini before assuming the appointment of Director and Commandant, AFMC Pune. During his tenure as Commanding Officer INHS Asvini, Western Naval Command, the hospital was awarded the runners-up award in the ‘Raksha Mantri Trophy’ in 2025 for Best Command Hospital in Armed Forces.
The Flag Officer is a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator from Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSIH), USA and International speaker on Healthcare Simulation at various National and International conferences. The Admiral is also a qualified American Heart Association Instructor for Basic and Advanced Cardiac Life Support.
In recognition for his dedication to patient care and service, the Flag Officer has been awarded CNS Commendation twice in the years 2006 and 2013, Flag Officer Commanding - in- Chief (Southern Naval Command) Commendation in 2007, Flag Officer Commanding - in- Chief (Western Naval Command) Commendation in 2011 and was conferred with ‘Vishisht Seva Medal’ in 2025 by the President of India.