Rahul Vilas Gokhale

Vice Admiral Rahul Vilas Gokhale YSM, NM
Allegiance	India
Branch	Indian Navy
Years of service	1 January 1992 – present
Rank	Vice Admiral
Service number	03857-R [1]
Commands	Western Fleet INS Circars INS Kolkata (D63) INS Khukri (P49)
Awards	Yudh Seva Medal Nao Sena Medal
Alma mater	Indian Naval Academy

Vice Admiral Rahul Vilas Gokhale, YSM, NM is a serving Flag officer in the Indian Navy. He currently serves as the Chief of Staff, Western Naval Command. He was the Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet during Operation Sindoor for which he was awarded the Yudh Seva Medal. He earlier command the naval base INS Circars and the guided missile destroyer INS Kolkata (D63).

Naval career

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). ^[2]

Gokhale served as the executive officer of the Kora-class corvette INS Kora (P61) 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). ^[3] 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. ^[4]

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, 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. ^{[5] [6]} On 26 January 2021, he was awarded the Nao Sena Medal for devotion to duty. ^[7]

Flag rank

Gokhale was promoted to flag rank in May 2022 and was appointed Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST), at Kochi. ^{[8] [9]} As FOST, his charter included the conduct of the operational sea training of all ships of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard. ^[2] 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). ^{[10] [11]} On 23 August, he took over as the Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet from Rear Admiral C. R. Praveen Nair. ^[3] He led the Western Fleet during Operation Sindoor in the aftermath of the 2025 Pahalgam attack. Within 96 hours of the attack, Western Fleet ships deployed at sea and carried out firings of surface-to-surface & surface-to-air missiles and torpedoes on the western coast. ^[12] The carrier battle group was led by INS Vikrant and had around 36 warships and submarines operating together. The Pakistani naval fleet was reported to have remained confined within Karachi Harbour, unable to respond effectively due to the fleet's overwhelming presence. The heightened risk even led to international commercial vessels re-routing to avoid the tense waters around Karachi. ^[13] For his command of the fleet, he was awarded the Yudh Seva Medal in 2025. ^[14] He relinquished command of the Western Fleet and handed over to Rear Admiral Vivek Dahiya on 27 September 2025. ^[15]

On 1 October, he was promoted to the rank of vice admiral and appointed Chief of Staff of the Western Naval Command. ^[16]

Awards and decorations

Gokhale was awarded the Nao Sena Medal (Devotion to duty) in 2021 and the Yudh Seva Medal in 2025. ^[17]

Yudh Seva Medal	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

• Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet
• Western Fleet

References

1. "President approves 127 Gallantry awards, 40 Distinguished Service awards & 290 Mention-in-Despatches on the eve of 79th Independence Day". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
2. "Rear Admiral Rahul Vilas Gokhale is new FOST". The Hindu. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
3. "Western Naval Command". x.com. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
4. "Good will visit by Indian naval ships to Kenya". hcinairobi.gov.in. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
5. "Vizag Appointments - Commodore Rahul Vilas Gokhale takes over INS Circars". vizagcityonline.com. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
6. Bhattacharjee, Sumit (21 April 2022). "Commodore A.S. Dadwal takes over command of INS Circars". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
7. "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.
8. India, The Hans (22 April 2022). "Visakhapatnam: Commodore Dadwal new co of INS Circars". www.thehansindia.com. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
9. "Southern Naval Command". x.com. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
10. "Spokesperson Navy". x.com. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
11. "15th IndianNavy-Republic of Singapore Navy Staff Talks". alumni.indiannavy.gov.in. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
12. "Operation Sindoor is India's frontal assault against terrorism; If Pakistan resorts to anything evil, it will face Indian Navy's firepower: Raksha Mantri onboard INS Vikrant". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
13. Sharma, Shivani (14 May 2025). "INS Vikrant-led 36-ship armada was in position to hit Karachi: Sources". India Today. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
14. "President approves 127 Gallantry awards, 40 Distinguished Service awards & 290 Mention-in-Despatches on the eve of 79th Independence Day". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
15. "Rear Admiral Vivek Dahiya assumes command of Navy's Western Fleet". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
16. "Western Naval Command". x.com. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
17. "Medal Winners". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 28 November 2023.

Military offices
Preceded by Rajesh Dhankhar	Flag Officer Sea Training 2022 – 2023	Succeeded by Susheel Menon
Preceded by C. R. Praveen Nair	Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet 2024 – 2025	Succeeded by Vivek Dahiya
Preceded by Ajay Kochhar	Chief of Staff Western Naval Command 2025 - Present	Incumbent