Rear admiral is a two-star

flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which that officer exercises command. Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways: * ...

rank in the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

. It is the third-highest active rank in the Indian Navy. Rear admiral ranks above the

one-star rank Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One-star A one-star rank is usually ...

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

and below the

three-star rank Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One-star A one-star rank is usual ...

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

. The equivalent rank in the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

is major general and in the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

air vice marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...

History

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Ram Dass Katari was the first Indian to be promoted to the rank of Rear admiral. In 1954, while serving as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, in the absence of Rear Admiral Mark Pizey, he officiated as the Commander-in-Chief in the rank of rear admiral. On 12 March 1956, Katari was promoted to the acting rank of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

. On 2 October 1956, he was confirmed as a substantive rear admiral and became the first Indian officer to be appointed the Flag Officer (Flotillas) Indian Fleet.

Appointments

Officers in the rank of rear admiral hold important appointments like Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF) and Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF). The flag officers commanding naval areas (FONA/FOGA, FOMA, FOTNA, FOK, FOGNA) and the admiral superintendents of the naval dockyards are also officers of the rank of rear admiral. At naval headquarters, rear admirals hold the appointments of assistant chief of naval staff in different staff branches and those of additional director general.

Insignia

The flag of a vice admiral has a gold-blue octagon bearing naval crest in the middle, and two blue stars placed vertically at hoist side. The badges of rank have a crossed sword and baton over two eight-pointed stars and the Ashoka emblem above, on a golden shoulder board. A rear admiral wears

gorget patches Gorget patches (collar tabs, collar patches) are an insignia in the form of paired patches of cloth or metal on the collar of a uniform (gorget), used in the military and civil service in some countries. Collar tabs sign the military rank (group ...

which are golden patches with two white stars. In addition to this, the double-breasted

reefer jacket A pea coat is an outer coat, generally of a navy-coloured heavy wool, originally worn by sailors of European and later American navies. Pea coats are characterized by short length, broad lapels, double-breasted fronts, often large wooden, metal ...

has two golden sleeve stripes consisting of a broad band with one narrow band.

Order of precedence

A rear admiral who is a principal staff officer ranks at No. 25 in the

Indian order of precedence The order of precedence of the Republic of India is a list in which the functionaries, dignitaries and officials are listed for ceremonial purposes and has no legal standing and does not reflect the Indian presidential line of succession or the ...

. Other rear admirals are at No. 26 in the order of precedence. Rear admirals are at pay level 14, with a monthly pay between ₹144,200 (US$1,950) and ₹218,200 (US$2,950).

References

Bibliography