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Rear Admiral Rajesh Dhankhar, Nau Sena Medal (NM), took over as the Fleet Commander, Eastern Fleet Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF), from Rear Admiral Gurcharan Singh, NM, at Visakhapatnam on Friday, the Indian Navy - Eastern Fleet informed on Saturday.
The officer has commanded the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, among many other important assignments in his long and illustrious career in the Indian Navy. "A navigation and direction specialist, Dhankhar was the Commandant at the Naval War College (NWC) in Goa and Chairman of the Carrier Acceptance Trials Team prior to assuming command of the Indian Navy Eastern Fleet (The Sunrise Fleet)," Indian Navy Eastern Fleet said in a post on X. An alumnus of Defence Service Staff College, Dhankhar has done his Higher Command Course at Japan and has commanded three frontline warships, including INS Vikramaditya. In addition to various appointments at NHQ, the Flag Officer has also tenanted duties of Chief Staff Officer (Training) and Flag Officer Sea Training. According to the Indian Navy's official website, The Indian Navy is a well-balanced and cohesive three-dimensional force, capable of operating above, on and under the surface of the oceans, efficiently safeguarding our national interests. The Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) exercises operational and administrative control of the Indian Navy from the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Navy). He is assisted by the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) and three other Principal Staff Officers, namely the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS), the Chief of Personnel (COP) and the Chief of Material (COM). The Navy has the following three Commands, each under the control of a Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief:- The Western Naval Command (Headquarters at Mumbai), The Eastern Naval Command (Headquarters at Visakhapatnam), The Southern Naval Command (Headquarters at Kochi). The Western and the Eastern Naval Commands are 'Operational Commands', and exercise control over operations in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal respectively. The Southern Command is the Training Command. "The cutting edge of the Indian Navy are its two Fleets, namely the Western Fleet, based at Mumbai and the Eastern Fleet, based at Visakhapatnam. Besides the Fleets, there is a Flotilla each, based at Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and Port Blair (A & N Islands), that provide Local Naval Defence in their respective regions," according to Indian Navy official website. Naval ships are also based at other ports along the East and the West coasts of India and the island territories, thus ensuring continued naval presence in the areas of national interest. Further, there are various Naval Officer-in-Charges (NOICs), under each Command, responsible for the Local Naval Defence of ports under their respective jurisdictions. (ANI)
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