John Colin De Silva

Vice Admiral John Colin De Silva, PVSM, AVSM (18 September 1943 – 20 November 2019) was a flag officer in the Indian Navy. He last served as the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) from 2001 to 2002. He also served as the 11th Director General of the Indian Coast Guard, which he led from 1999 to 2001. He was the commissioning commanding officer of the Rajput-class guided-missile destroyer . After retiring from the Navy, he served as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Overseas Employment Agency, an agency set up by the Government of Goa.

Early life and education De Silva was born on 18 September 1943. He completed his education in Belgaum, attending the St. Paul's School, Belgaum and R. L. Science Institute. He entered the National Defence Academy in July 1960.

Naval career Early career De Silva was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 1 January 1965. After a few sea tenures, he opted to specialise in gunnery and attended the Long G course. After the completion of the course, he was posted as the Gunnery Officer of the Leopard-class frigate . He served on board the ship during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Beas was commanded by Commander Laxminarayan Ramdas and was part of the Eastern Fleet. The ship was part of the force that bombarded Chittagong and participated in the landings at Cox's Bazar. He subsequently served as the gunnery officer of the first Indian built ship - the lead ship of the Nilgiri-class frigate . He was then selected to attend the Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham. As the head of the WWO, he was instrumental in creating the first set of tasks and schedules for the work-up of ships. The first ship that the WWO worked on was a Rajput-class destroyer. In 1984, he was selected to attend the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

In 1987, the fifth and last ship of the Rajput-class destroyers was commissioned as . De Silva was appointed the commissioning commanding officer of the ship. Ranvijay was commissioned on 21 December 1987 at Poti in the USSR. He led the ship in the sea trials off Poti and brought her home to India in March 1988. In 1997, the ship was affiliated with the Dogra Regiment of the Indian Army. Subsequently, De Silva served as the Director Naval Intelligence (DNI) at Naval headquarters. He subsequently took over as the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff - Information Warfare and Operations (ACNS IW&O), also at Naval HQ. In 1995, he was appointed the next Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF). He took command of the Western Fleet from Rear Admiral R. N. Ganesh on 28 April 1995. After a year-long stint as FOCWF, he relinquished command, handing over to Rear Admiral Madanjit Singh.

In 1997, he was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral and appointed Controller Warship Production & Acquisition (CWP&A) at Naval HQ. After a short stint, in March 1998, he took over the personnel branch at NHQ as the Chief of Personnel (COP). He served as COP for a year, until March 1999. On 5 March 1999, De Silva took over as the 11th Director General of the Indian Coast Guard (DGICG), succeeding Vice Admiral R. N. Ganesh. Under him, the coast guard helped capture a pirated Japanese vessel MV Alondra Rainbow in the Arabian Sea. The pirates were captured and convicted in Mumbai. During this tenure, he was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal on 26 January 2001.

C-in-C After a two-year stint as DGICG, De Silva was appointed Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command. He assumed command from Vice Admiral Vinod Pasricha on 31 March 2001. It was to be a short tenure, as on 1 January 2002, he moved to NHQ as the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff succeeding Vice Admiral Madhvendra Singh who took over as the 17th Chief of the Naval Staff. After his retirement, De Silva and his wife Meena settled down in Goa. He resided in the Defence Colony in Porvorim in North Goa. De Silva was appointed Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Overseas Employment Agency of Goa on honorary basis.

De Silva was laid to rest with military honours at the Holy Family Church in Porvorim. Former Chiefs of Naval Staff attended the funeral - Admirals Madhvendra Singh, who delivered the eulogy, Arun Prakash and Sureesh Mehta. Several retired and serving flag officers of the Navy and the Coast Guard were also present to pay their respects.

Awards and decorations