Late Vice Admiral P J Jacob retired in 2001 as the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College, and the National Defence College, he has held a variety of key Operational and Training assignments in a career spanning forty years. He has commanded the Eastern Fleet and also been Director General of the Indian Coast Guard and was active in strategic planning and charting the future development of the Indian Navy. He has overseen numerous training initiatives and has led several Ministry of Defence / Navy delegations to negotiate intergovernmental agreements on strategic issues with various countries. A former member of the National Security Advisory Board to the Prime Minister, he has also served as the Advisor on Maritime Security to the Sri Lankan Government and was consulted on a number of security issues, especially those connected with the Norwegian sponsored peace negotiations with the LTTE. The Admiral is a recipient of the Param Vishist Seva Medal, Ati Vishist Seva Medal and the Vishist Seva Medal for distinguished service of an exceptional order. He was lastly a Director in Dua Consulting, an Independent Director in Sundaram Clayton Ltd, and the Chairman of the Global India Foundation He continued until the end to participate in seminars on Geo-Strategic and Maritime Security issues conducted by Asia Centre, Bangalore International Centre and the National Institute of Advanced Studies.

Vice Admiral P.J. Jacob brethed his last on 22 January 2023.