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Rahul Vilas Gokhale

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Rahul Vilas Gokhale

Allegiance India
Service / branch Indian Navy
Years of service1992 – present
Rank Rear Admiral
CommandsWestern Fleet
INS Circars
INS Kolkata (D63)
INS Khukri (P49)

Rear Admiral Rahul Vilas Gokhale, NM is a serving Flag officer in the Indian Navy. He currently serves as the Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet. He earlier commanded the naval base INS Circars and the guided missile destroyer INS Kolkata (D63).

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Gokhale attended the National Defence Academy and was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 1 January 1992. He later specialized in Navigation and Direction. He has served on board, as the navigating officer, the Sukanya-class patrol vessel INS Subhadra (P51), the Nilgiri-class frigate INS Udaygiri (F35), the Kora-class corvette INS Kirch (P62) and the Godavari-class frigate INS Gomati (F21).[1]

Gokhale served as the executive officer of the Kora-class corvette INS Khukri (P49) and commanded the lead ship of her class of corvettes, INS Khukri (P49). He attended the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. He was the navigating officer of her class of guided missile destroyers INS Delhi (D61).

Gokhale attended the Naval higher command course at the Naval War College, Goa. He served as the Director of Personnel Policy at naval headquarters. He also served as the Naval Advisor at the High Commission of India, Islamabad. He also attended the Australian Defence College, Canberra. He commanded the lead ship of her class of stealth guided-missile destroyers, INS Kolkata (D63).[2] During his tenure as Commanding Officer, Kolkata sailed on a two-month deployment to the Western Indian Ocean and called on multiple African ports to promote maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region.[3]

RAdm Gokhale taking over as FOST from RAdm Rajesh Dhankhar.

As a Commodore, Gokhale served as the Fleet Operations Officer (FOO) of the Eastern Fleet. On 29 May 2020, he took over as the 23rd Commanding Officer of the naval base INS Circars and as the station commander, Visakhapatnam. The oldest naval establishment on East Coast, INS Circars is the base depot ship providing administrative and logistics support to the Headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command and a large number of units based in and around Visakhapatnam.[4][5] On 26 January 2021, he was awarded the Nao Sena Medal for devotion to duty.[6]

Flag rank

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Gokhale was promoted to flag rank in May 2022 and was appointed Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST), at Kochi.[7][8] As FOST, his charter included the conduct of the operational sea training of all ships of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard.[1] After a year-long tenure, he relinquished charge and handed over to Rear Admiral Susheel Menon. He then moved to naval headquarters as the Assistant Chief of Personnel (HRD) (ACOP HRD).[9][10] On 23 August, he took command of the Western Fleet as the Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet from Rear Admiral C. R. Praveen Nair.[2]

Awards and decorations

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Gokhale was awarded the Nao Sena Medal (Devotion to duty) in 2021.[11]

Nao Sena Medal Samanya Seva Medal Operation Vijay Star Operation Vijay Medal
Operation Parakram Medal Sainya Seva Medal 75th Independence Anniversary Medal 50th Independence Anniversary Medal
30 Years Long Service Medal 20 Years Long Service Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Rear Admiral Rahul Vilas Gokhale is new FOST". The Hindu. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Western Naval Command". x.com. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Good will visit by Indian naval ships to Kenya". hcinairobi.gov.in. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Vizag Appointments - Commodore Rahul Vilas Gokhale takes over INS Circars". vizagcityonline.com. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  5. ^ Bhattacharjee, Sumit (21 April 2022). "Commodore A.S. Dadwal takes over command of INS Circars". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  6. ^ "President Shri Ram Nath Kovind approves 455 Gallantry & other defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel on Republic Day". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  7. ^ India, The Hans (22 April 2022). "Visakhapatnam: Commodore Dadwal new co of INS Circars". www.thehansindia.com. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Southern Naval Command". x.com. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Spokesperson Navy". x.com. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  10. ^ "15th IndianNavy-Republic of Singapore Navy Staff Talks". alumni.indiannavy.gov.in. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Medal Winners". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
Military offices
Preceded by Flag Officer Sea Training
2022 – 2023
Succeeded by
Preceded by Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet
2024 – Present
Incumbent