# Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet

Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF) is the title of the Indian Navy Officer who commands the Western Fleet, headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The FOCWF is a two star admiral holding the rank of Rear Admiral. The appointment is considered to be an important and a coveted one. The Current FOCWF is Rear Admiral Rahul Vilas Gokhale, who assumed office on 23 August 2024.

## History

After the independence and the partition of India on 15 August 1947, the ships and personnel of the Royal Indian Navy were divided between the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. The Chief of the Royal Indian Navy was designated Flag officer Commanding Royal Indian Navy (FOCRIN). Serving under him was the Commodore Commanding Indian Naval Squadron (COMINS), the precursor to the Fleet Commander. In 1951, the appointment was upgraded to Two-star rank and was designated Rear Admiral Commanding Indian Naval Squadron (RACINS). In 1952, with the increase in number of naval vessels, the appointment was designated Flag Officer (Flotillas) Indian Fleet (FOFIF) and Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet (FOCIF) in 1957.
With the establishment of the Eastern Naval Command on 1 March 1968, the Indian Fleet was renamed as the Western Fleet and the Commander was designated Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF).
The designations over time:
* 1947 – 1951 – Commodore Commanding Indian Naval Squadron (COMINS)
* 1951 – 1952 – Rear Admiral Commanding Indian Naval Squadron (RACINS)
* 1952 – 1957 – Flag Officer (Flotillas) Indian Fleet (FOFIF)
* 1957 – 1968 – Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet (FOCIF)
* 1968 – present – Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF)

## Organisation

The FOCWF is assisted by the fleet staff, headed by the Fleet Operations Officer (FOO), a one-star appointment. The Fleet Communications & Electronic Warfare Officer (FCO), Fleet Gunnery Officer (FGO), Fleet Navigation Officer (FNO), Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer (FASWO), Fleet Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Damage Control Officer (FNBCDO),Fleet Armament Officer (FARMO), Fleet Naval Architecture Officer (FNAO), Fleet Engineering Officer (FEO) and Fleet Electrical Officer (FLO) make up the rest of the fleet staff.

## List of Commanders

| S.No. | Name | Assumed office | Left office | Notes |
| Commodore Commanding Indian Naval Squadron (COMINS) |||||
| 1 | Commodore John Talbot Savignac Hall CIE | August 1948 | April 1949 | |
| 2 | Commodore H N S Brown | April 1949 | 16 March 1950 | Seconded from the Royal Navy. |
| 3 | Commodore Geoffrey Barnard CBE, DSO & Bar | 16 March 1950 | 1 June 1951 | Seconded from the Royal Navy, later promoted Vice Admiral. |
| Rear Admiral Commanding Indian Naval Squadron (RACINS) |||||
| 4 | Rear Admiral Geoffrey Barnard CBE, DSO & Bar | 1 June 1951 | 4 October 1951 | Seconded from the Royal Navy, later promoted Vice Admiral. |
| 5 | Rear Admiral N V Dickinson DSO & Bar, DSC | 5 October 1951 | 30 April 1952 | Seconded from the Royal Navy. |
| Flag Officer (Flotillas) Indian Fleet (FOFIF) |||||
| 5 | Rear Admiral N V Dickinson DSO & Bar, DSC | 1 May 1952 | 26 November 1953 | Seconded from the Royal Navy. |
| 6 | Rear Admiral F A Ballance | 27 November 1953 | 19 April 1955 | Seconded from the Royal Navy. |
| 7 | Rear Admiral Sir St John Tyrwhitt Bt, CB, DSO, DSC | 20 April 1955 | 2 October 1956 | Seconded from the Royal Navy, later promoted Admiral. |
| 8 | Rear Admiral Ram Dass Katari | 2 October 1956 | 30 December 1957 | First Indian flag officer and first Indian appointee. Later first Indian Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet (FOCIF) |||||
| 8 | Rear Admiral Ram Dass Katari | 30 December 1957 | 2 April 1958 | Later First Indian Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 9 | Rear Admiral Ajitendu Chakraverti | 3 April 1958 | 16 April 1960 | |
| 10 | Rear Admiral Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman | 17 April 1960 | 22 May 1962 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 11 | Rear Admiral Adhar Kumar Chatterji | 22 May 1962 | 7 January 1964 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 12 | Rear Admiral Benjamin Abraham Samson | 8 January 1964 | 31 May 1966 | Later Chief executive officer of Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders. |
| 13 | Rear Admiral Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda PVSM, AVSM | 1 June 1966 | 20 December 1967 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff, during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. |
| 14 | Rear Admiral Sourendra Nath Kohli PVSM, AVSM | 21 December 1967 | 29 February 1968 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF) |||||
| 14 | Rear Admiral Sourendra Nath Kohli PVSM, AVSM | 1 March 1968 | 1 January 1969 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 15 | Rear Admiral V. A. Kamath PVSM | 2 January 1969 | 2 November 1970 | Later served as the First Director General of the Indian Coast Guard. |
| 16 | Rear Admiral Elenjikal Chandy Kuruvila PVSM, AVSM | 2 November 1970 | 27 March 1973 | Fleet Commander during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. |
| 17 | Rear Admiral Kirpal Singh PVSM, AVSM | March 1973 | November 1973 | Became a successful businessman after leaving the navy. Founded Dolphin Offshore Enterprises. |
| 18 | Rear Admiral Swaraj Parkash MVC, AVSM | November 1973 | 22 April 1974 | Captain of INS Vikrant during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard. |
| 19 | Rear Admiral Nar Pati Datta AVSM | 22 April 1974 | 9 October 1975 | Later Deputy Chief of Naval Staff |
| 20 | Rear Admiral R K S Ghandhi VrC | 20 October 1975 | 2 March 1976 | Also commanded the Eastern Fleet. Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. |
| 21 | Rear Admiral M. R. Schunker | 3 March 1976 | 2 February 1977 | Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command. |
| 22 | Rear Admiral Manohar Prahlad Awati VrC | 3 August 1977 | 4 March 1979 | Later served as Commandant of the National Defence Academy and Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command |
| 23 | Rear Admiral Radhakrishna Hariram Tahiliani AVSM | 4 March 1979 | 12 May 1980 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 24 | Rear Admiral Subimal Mookerjee AVSM | 12 May 1980 | 30 May 1981 | Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 25 | Rear Admiral Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni NM, VSM | 30 May 1981 | 11 August 1982 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 26 | Rear Admiral K K Nayyar AVSM | 11 August 1982 | 28 March 1983 | Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 27 | Rear Admiral I J S Khurana | 28 March 1983 | 12 February 1985 | Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard. |
| 28 | Rear Admiral S C Chopra AVSM | 12 February 1985 | 26 February 1986 | Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command. |
| 29 | Rear Admiral Vijai Singh Shekhawat AVSM, VrC | 26 February 1986 | 9 July 1987 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 30 | Rear Admiral KASZ Raju AVSM, NM | 9 July 1987 | 7 March 1989 | Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. |
| 31 | Rear Admiral I Bedi AVSM | 7 March 1989 | 12 September 1990 | Later Fortress Commander Andaman & Nicobar Islands (FORTAN) |
| 32 | Rear Admiral K K Kohli AVSM | 12 September 1990 | 31 October 1991 | Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard. |
| 33 | Rear Admiral A R Tandon AVSM | 31 October 1991 | 8 October 1992 | Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. |
| 34 | Rear Admiral Madhvendra Singh AVSM | 8 October 1992 | 11 January 1994 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 35 | Rear Admiral R N Ganesh AVSM, NM | 11 January 1994 | 28 April 1995 | Later Fortress Commander Andaman & Nicobar Islands (FORTAN) |
| 36 | Rear Admiral John Colin De Silva AVSM | 29 April 1995 | 18 September 1996 | Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 37 | Rear Admiral Madan Jit Singh AVSM | 19 September 1996 | 16 October 1997 | Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. |
| 38 | Rear Admiral Yashwant Prasad AVSM | 17 October 1997 | 20 October 1998 | Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 39 | Rear Admiral Sureesh Mehta AVSM | 20 October 1998 | 1 April 2000 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 40 | Rear Admiral Sangram Singh Byce AVSM | 1 April 2000 | 10 September 2001 | Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. |
| 41 | Rear Admiral Jagjit Singh Bedi AVSM, VSM | 10 September 2001 | 15 January 2003 | Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. |
| 42 | Rear Admiral Vijay Shankar AVSM | 15 January 2003 | 3 May 2004 | Later Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command and Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Forces Command. |
| 43 | Rear Admiral Pratap Singh Byce AVSM | 3 May 2004 | 11 May 2005 | |
| 44 | Rear Admiral R. F. Contractor AVSM, NM | 11 May 2005 | 15 March 2006 | Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard. |
| 45 | Rear Admiral Anup Singh AVSM, NM | 15 March 2006 | 13 March 2007 | Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command. |
| 46 | Rear Admiral Shekhar Sinha NM & bar | 14 March 2007 | 24 January 2008 | Later Chief of Integrated Defence Staff and Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. |
| 47 | Rear Admiral Anil Chopra AVSM | 24 January 2008 | 27 November 2008 | Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command and Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. |
| 48 | Rear Admiral Surinder Pal Singh Cheema AVSM, NM | 27 November 2008 | 31 August 2009 | Later served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command, Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Forces Command, Chief Of Integrated Defence Staff and Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. |
| 49 | Rear Admiral Rama Kant Pattanaik YSM | 1 September 2009 | 17 January 2011 | Later served as the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 50 | Rear Admiral Girish Luthra AVSM, VSM | 18 January 2011 | 25 May 2012 | Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. |
| 51 | Rear Admiral Abhay Raghunath Karve AVSM | 25 May 2012 | 15 August 2013 | Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command. |
| 52 | Rear Admiral Anil Kumar Chawla NM, VSM | 15 August 2013 | 30 September 2014 | Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command. |
| 53 | Rear Admiral R. Hari Kumar VSM | 1 October 2014 | 12 October 2015 | Current Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 54 | Rear Admiral Ravneet Singh NM | 12 October 2015 | 15 October 2016 | Later Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 55 | Rear Admiral R. B. Pandit | 15 October 2016 | 22 January 2018 | Later Commander-in-Chief Strategic Forces Command . |
| 56 | Rear Admiral M A Hampiholi AVSM, NM | 22 January 2018 | 22 March 2019 | Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command. |
| 57 | Rear Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh NM | 22 March 2019 | 14 February 2020 | Current Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. |
| 58 | Rear Admiral Krishna Swaminathan VSM | 14 February 2020 | 24 February 2021 | Current Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 59 | Rear Admiral Ajay Kochhar NM | 24 February 2021 | 27 December 2021 | Current Chief of Staff, Western Naval Command. |
| 60 | Rear Admiral Sameer Saxena NM | 27 December 2021 | 15 November 2022 | Current Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command. |
| 61 | Rear Admiral Vineet McCarty | 16 November 2022 | 10 November 2023 | Current Controller Personnel Services. |
| 62 | Rear Admiral C. R. Praveen Nair NM | 10 November 2023 | 23 August 2024 | Current Commandant of Indian Naval Academy. |
| 63 | Rear Admiral Rahul Vilas Gokhale NM | 23 August 2024 | Present | |