India-UK Maritime Drill A Homecoming For This Royal Navy Staffer

As the UK's Carrier Strike Group enters the Indian Ocean to conduct maritime exercises with the Indian Navy, Jagjeet Singh Grewal is more excited than the others in the crew.

Mr Grewal is an Indian-origin Royal Navy personnel whose family connections with Indian defence forces go back to World War II.

"My grandfather and grandfather-in-law served alongside the British Army in the Second World War and received a Mention in Dispatches, Burma Star, Africa Star, War Medal and Defence Medal. My father served in the Indian Air force and currently my wife's brother and uncle are serving in the Indian Navy," he said.

Set to begin training in the waters near his ancestral home, he said, "I am focused on doing my job to the highest standards, but it is good to know I am maintaining my family links while working with the Indian military."

Mr Grewal serves aboard a fifth generation aircraft carrier as a Leading Engineering Technician in the Marine Engineering Department and is responsible for maintaining aviation fuel. He also maintains fuelling pumps on the flight deck so aircraft and helicopters can operate to their optimum capacity.

The Carrier Strike Group, led by the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier, has come to the Indian Ocean following a series of engagements and operations in the Mediterranean.

According to the British High Commission, its deployment represents the UK's commitment to deepening diplomatic, economic and security ties with India and in the Indo-Pacific region. It also demonstrates both the UK's support for the freedom of passage through vital trading routes and for a free, open and inclusive order in the Indo-Pacific, the High Commission has said.