Overview

• Attri, 39, becomes the service’s first non-Christian chaplain following his commissioning last week.
• He completed a chaplain-specific 13‑week pathway comprising six weeks of officer instruction, four weeks at sea aboard HMS Iron Duke, and three weeks of chaplaincy training.
• He passed out of Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth as one of 148 new officers and one of two chaplains in the intake.
• He will join the chaplaincy at HMS Drake to serve personnel in and around Devonport Naval Base, both ashore and at sea.
• The Hindu Council UK welcomed the appointment, and MoD Hindu adviser Anil Bhanot said the Navy created the post in 2023, with the role reflecting a modest but present Hindu cohort of about 40 in the Royal Navy and more than 1,550 across the armed forces.