Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet Explained

Post:	Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF)
Flag:	File:Rear_Admiral_ensign_of_Indian_Navy.svg
Flagsize:	150
Flagborder:	yes
Flagcaption:	Flag of the FOCWF (Rear Admiral's flag)
Incumbent:	Rear Admiral C. R. Praveen Nair, NM
Incumbentsince:	10 November 2023
Department:	Indian Navy
Abbreviation:	FOCWF
Reports To:	Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command
Seat:	Mumbai
First:	Rear Admiral Sourendra Nath Kohli, PVSM (as FOCWF)

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.^[1] The Current FOCWF is Rear Admiral C. R. Praveen Nair, who assumed office on 10 November 2023.

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.^[2] 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.^{[3] [4]}

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).^{[5] [6] [7]}

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 Engineering Officer (FEO) and Fleet Electrical Officer (FLO) make up the rest of the fleet staff.^[8]

List of Commanders

S.No.	Name	Assumed office	Left office	Notes
Commodore Commanding Indian Naval Squadron (COMINS)
1		August 1948	April 1949
2	Commodore H N S Brown	April 1949	16 March 1950	Seconded from the Royal Navy.^[9]
3		16 March 1950	1 June 1951	Seconded from the Royal Navy, later promoted Vice Admiral.^[10]
Rear Admiral Commanding Indian Naval Squadron (RACINS)
4		1 June 1951	4 October 1951	Seconded from the Royal Navy, later promoted Vice Admiral.^[11]
5	Rear Admiral N V Dickinson	5 October 1951	30 April 1952	Seconded from the Royal Navy.
Flag Officer (Flotillas) Indian Fleet (FOFIF)
5	Rear Admiral N V Dickinson	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.^[12] ^[13]
7		20 April 1955	2 October 1956	Seconded from the Royal Navy, later promoted Admiral.^[14]
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.^[15]
Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet (FOCIF)
8		30 December 1957	2 April 1958	Later First Indian Chief of the Naval Staff.^[16]
9		3 April 1958	16 April 1960	^[17] ^[18]
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.^[19]
12	Rear Admiral Benjamin Abraham Samson	8 January 1964	31 May 1966	Later Chief executive officer of Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders.^[20]
13		1 June 1966	20 December 1967	Later Chief of the Naval Staff, during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.^[21]
14		21 December 1967	29 February 1968	Later Chief of the Naval Staff.^[22]
Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF)
14		1 March 1968	1 January 1969	Later Chief of the Naval Staff.^[23] ^[24]
15		2 January 1969	2 November 1970	Later served as the First Director General of the Indian Coast Guard.^[25]
16		2 November 1970	27 March 1973	Fleet Commander during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.^[26] ^[27]
17		March 1973	November 1973	Became a successful businessman after leaving the navy. Founded Dolphin Offshore Enterprises.^[28]
18		November 1973	22 April 1974	Captain of during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard.^[29] ^[30]
19		22 April 1974	9 October 1975	Later Deputy Chief of Naval Staff	^[31]
20		20 October 1975	2 March 1976	Also commanded the Eastern Fleet. Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.^[32]
21	Rear Admiral M. R. Schunker	3 March 1976	2 February 1977	Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command.^[33] ^[34]
22		3 August 1977	4 March 1979	Later served as Commandant of the National Defence Academy and Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command^[35] ^[36]
23		4 March 1979	12 May 1980	Later Chief of the Naval Staff.
24	Rear Admiral Subimal Mookerjee	12 May 1980	30 May 1981	Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.^[37]
25		30 May 1981	11 August 1982	Later Chief of the Naval Staff.^[38]
26	Rear Admiral K K Nayyar	11 August 1982	28 March 1983	Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.^[39]
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	12 February 1985	26 February 1986	Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command.^[40]
29		26 February 1986	9 July 1987	Later Chief of the Naval Staff.
30		9 July 1987	7 March 1989	Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.^[41]
31	Rear Admiral I Bedi	7 March 1989	12 September 1990	Later Fortress Commander Andaman & Nicobar Islands (FORTAN) ^[42] ^[43]
32	Rear Admiral K K Kohli	12 September 1990	31 October 1991	Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard.^[44]
33	Rear Admiral A R Tandon	31 October 1991	8 October 1992	Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.
34		8 October 1992	11 January 1994	Later Chief of the Naval Staff.
35	Rear Admiral R N Ganesh	11 January 1994	28 April 1995	Later Fortress Commander Andaman & Nicobar Islands (FORTAN)^[45]
36		29 April 1995	18 September 1996	Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.
37	Rear Admiral Madan Jit Singh	19 September 1996	16 October 1997	Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.^[46] ^[47]
38	Rear Admiral Yashwant Prasad	17 October 1997	20 October 1998	Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.^[48]
39		20 October 1998	1 April 2000	Later Chief of the Naval Staff.^[49]
40	Rear Admiral Sangram Singh Byce	1 April 2000	10 September 2001	Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.^[50]
41		10 September 2001	15 January 2003	Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.^[51]
42		15 January 2003	3 May 2004	Later Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command and Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Forces Command.^[52]
43	Rear Admiral Pratap Singh Byce	3 May 2004	11 May 2005	^[53]
44		11 May 2005	15 March 2006	Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard.
45	Rear Admiral Anup Singh	15 March 2006	13 March 2007	Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command.^[54]
46		14 March 2007	24 January 2008	Later Chief of Integrated Defence Staff and Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.^[55]
47		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		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		1 September 2009	17 January 2011	Later served as the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.
50		18 January 2011	25 May 2012	Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.
51		25 May 2012	15 August 2013	Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command.
52		15 August 2013	30 September 2014	Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command.
53		1 October 2014	12 October 2015	Current Chief of the Naval Staff.^[56]
54		12 October 2015	15 October 2016	Later Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.^[57]
55	Rear Admiral R. B. Pandit	15 October 2016	22 January 2018	Current Commander-in-Chief Strategic Forces Command .^[58]
56		22 January 2018	22 March 2019	Current Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command.
57		22 March 2019	14 February 2020	Current Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.^[59]
58		14 February 2020	24 February 2021	Current Controller of Personnel Services (CPS).^[60]
59		24 February 2021	27 December 2021	Current Commandant of the National Defence Academy.^[61]
60		27 December 2021	15 November 2022	Current Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command.^[62]
61	Rear Admiral Vineet McCarty	16 November 2022	10 November 2023	^[63]
62		10 November 2023	Present	^[64]

See also

• Western Fleet
• Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet

Notes and References

1. Web site: October 31 . W. P. S. Sidhu M. RAHMAN . October 31 . W. P. S. Sidhu M. RAHMAN . September 30 . W. P. S. Sidhu M. RAHMAN . Ist . W. P. S. Sidhu M. RAHMAN . Indian Navy rocked by major succession scandal . India Today . en.
2. Bhatia (1977), p. 28: "Consequent on the partition of the country on 15 August 1947, two thirds of the undivided fleet and associated assets came to India."
3. Web site: CHANGE OF TITLES IN INDIAN NAVY . pibarchive.nic.in . 27 April 1952.
4. Book: Blueprint to bluewater, the Indian Navy, 1951-65 . Lancer International . 978-8170621485.
5. Web site: Golden Jubilee Celebrations of ENC Indian Navy . indiannavy.nic.in.
6. Book: Hiranandani . G M . Transition to triumph : history of the Indian Navy, 1965-1975 . Lancer Publishers . 978-1897829721.
7. Web site: Reorganisation of Naval Commands. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 2 March 1968. 2 February 2020.
8. Web site: Awards Function of the Western Fleet, Fleet Evening 2022 . indiannavy.nic.in . 7 September 2023.
9. Book: Venkateswaran, A. L. . 1967 . Defence Organisation in India: A Study of Major Developments in Organisation and Administration Since Independence . 174 .
10. Web site: Press Note. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 15 March 1950. 13 February 2020.
11. Web site: Press Communique. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 23 July 1951. 31 January 2020.
12. Web site: Rear-Admiral Ballance. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 6 August 1953. 31 January 2020.
13. Web site: Admiral Ballance in Bombay. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 26 November 1953. 31 January 2020.
14. Web site: Rear-Admiral Sir St. R. J. Tyrwhitt. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 30 September 1956. 30 January 2020.
15. Web site: Rear-Admiral Sir St. R. J. Tyrwhitt. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 30 September 1956. 30 January 2020.
16. Web site: Rear-Admiral Sir St. R. J. Tyrwhitt. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 30 September 1956. 30 January 2020.
17. Web site: Changes In Senior Naval Appointments. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 3 February 1958. 30 January 2020.
18. Web site: SENIOR NAVAL OFFICERS' MEETING . pibarchive.nic.in . 3 May 1960.
19. Web site: New Deputy Chief of Naval Staff. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 14 May 1962. 1 February 2020.
20. Web site: Admiral Samson to Command Indian Fleet. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 31 December 1963. 1 February 2020.
21. Web site: ADMIRAL NANDA TO COMMAND INDIAN FLEET . Press Information Bureau of India - Archive . 24 May 1966. 1 February 2020.
22. Web site: KRISHNAN NEW NAVY VICE CHIEF . pibarchive.nic.in . PIB Archives . 1 February 2020.
23. Web site: KRISHNAN NEW NAVY VICE CHIEF . pibarchive.nic.in . PIB Archives . 1 February 2020.
24. Web site: Senior Naval Appointments - Admiral Kohli to Head NDC . pibarchive.nic.in . Press Information Bureau of India - Archive . 2 February 2020.
25. Web site: Rear-Admiral V. A. Kamath. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 7 December 1971. 3 February 2020.
26. Web site: Naval Promotions. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 7 August 1970. 3 February 2020.
27. Web site: Rear-Admiral E. C. Kuruvila. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 7 December 1971. 3 February 2020.
28. Web site: Admiral Kamath to be Naval Vice-Chief. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 21 March 1973. 3 February 2020.
29. Web site: Naval Appointments. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 2 November 1973. 3 February 2020.
30. Web site: Director General .
31. Web site: Rear Admiral Datta to be Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 20 April 1974. 4 February 2020.
32. Web site: New Senior Naval Appointments. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 28 February 1976. 4 February 2020.
33. Web site: New Chief for Western Fleet. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 3 March 1976. 4 February 2020.
34. Web site: Admiral Schunker to Head Eastern Naval Command. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 2 February 1978. 5 February 2020.
35. Web site: Senior Naval Officers' Conference. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 5 November 1978. 5 February 2020.
36. Web site: Rear Admiral Awati Promoted. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 31 March 1979. 5 February 2020.
37. Web site: Admiral Mookerjee appointed Vice Chief of Naval Staff .
38. Web site: New Fleet Commander. Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 30 May 1981. 6 February 2020.
39. Web site: K.K. Nayyar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses . idsa.in.
40. Web site: Senior Naval Appointments .
41. Book: From powerless village to union power secretary : memoirs of an IAS officer . Suryakumari Abraham Memorial Foundation and . 978-8180695551 . 233.
42. Web site: NEW FLEET COMMANDER FOR THE WESTERN FLEET .
43. Web site: New Fortress Commander Andaman &Nicobar .
44. Web site: Top Appointments in the Indian Navy .
45. Web site: Vice Admiral RN Ganesh is the New Fortress Commander Andaman & Nicobar Islands . pibarchive.nic.in.
46. Web site: Navy gets military baton . telegraphindia.com . en.
47. Web site: Vice Admiral Madanjit Singh takes over as Chief of Personnel .
48. Web site: PIB Press Releases . pibarchive.nic.in.
49. Book: Admirals of the world : a biographical dictionary, 1500 to the present . McFarland & Co . 978-0786438099 . 219.
50. Web site: New Flag Appointments in the Navy .
51. Web site: Vice-Admiral is New Western Naval Commander . Outlook (India).
52. Web site: NEWSTRACK India . newstrackindia.com.
53. Web site: INS Delhi affiliated with Rajputana Rifles . Outlook (India).
54. Web site: Vice Adm. (Retd.) Anup Singh . The Indian Ocean: Defining Our Future.
55. Web site: Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha PVSM AVSM NM& BAR, ADC Appointed as Commander in Chief Western Naval Command to Take Over from Vice Admiral DK Joshi . pib.gov.in.
56. Web site: Anandan . S. . Navy appoints new fleet commanders . The Hindu . en-IN . 27 September 2014.
57. Web site: RADM Ravneet Singh, NM Assumes Command of Western Fleet of Indian Navy . pib.gov.in.
58. Web site: Rear Admiral R.B. Pandit is Western Fleet chief . The Hindu . en-IN . 16 October 2016.
59. Web site: Rear Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh Assumes Charge as Western Fleet Commander Indian Navy . indiannavy.nic.in..
60. Web site: Rear Admiral Krishna D Swaminathan, VSM Assumes Charge as Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet, Mumbai Indian Navy . indiannavy.nic.in.
61. Web site: REAR ADMIRAL AJAY KOCHHAR ASSUMES COMMAND OF THE WESTERN FLEET (FOCWF). PIB. 24 February 2021.
62. Web site: CHANGE OF COMMAND OF WESTERN FLEET . www.pib.gov.in.
63. Web site: Change of Command of Western Fleet - Rear Admiral Vineet McCarty takes Over as Cdr of The Sword Arm Indian Navy . indiannavy.nic.in . 16 November 2022.
64. Web site: @IN_WesternFleet underwent change of guard on 10 Nov 23 with RAdm CR Praveen Nair, NM taking over the mantle of Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet from RAdm Vineet McCarty. The occasion was solemnised with a ceremonial naval parade and the traditional ‘Pulling-Out’ ceremony. . X (formerly Twitter) . 12 November 2023 . en.