 Chawla joined the Navy in 1982 and has commanded , INS "Kora", INS "Tabar" and INS "Viraat".He commanded the Western Fleet from 16 August 2013 to 1 October 2014 before being promoted to Vice Admiral and appointed as the Director General Naval Operations on 31 December 2014.He served as Chief of Personnel, Indian Navy from 28 May 2016 to 30 July 2018.