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Regional Commander ( West )

Inspector General Bhisham Sharma, PTM,TM
Commander Coast Guard Region (West)

Inspector General Bhisham Sharma PTM, TM assumed charge as the Commander, Coast Guard Region (West) at Mumbai on 23 Nov 2023.

The Flag Officer joined the Indian Coast Guard in Jan 1990 and is an alumnus of Indian Naval Academy where he was adjudged the Best Trainee Assistant Commandant. He earned his coveted flying wings at the Indian Naval Helicopter Training School (HTS) in 1995. An accomplished helicopter pilot, the Flag officer has served in all the frontline helicopter squadrons of the Coast Guard on both the Western and Eastern Seaboards including the Ship Borne Flight at A&N Islands. He has successfully undertaken numerous rescue and relief operations including SAR of 06 personnel reported adrift in Andaman Sea in Feb 2001. He is the seniormost Aviator in ICG service as on date.

The Flag Officer possesses rich operational experience and is the only ICG Aviator who holds the distinction of having commanded all four classes of ships in the Coast Guard i.e. Inshore Patrol Vessel (IPV) ICGS Chandbibi, Extra Fast Patrol Vessel (XFPV) ICGS Kasturba Gandhi as the commissioning CO, new generation Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) ICGS Vijit and the Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV) ICGS Sagar. Before his elevation to the Flag Rank, he was commanding the Coast Guard Air Station at Chennai.

The Flag Officer’s notable ashore appointments include Chief Staff Officer(P&A) at Regional Headquarters(West) Mumbai, Chief Staff Officer (Operations) at Regional Headquarters(East) Chennai and District Commander, Coast Guard District No.2 Maharashtra, Mumbai. The Flag officer served as Coast Guard Advisor (CGA) to the Director General Indian Coast Guard, and has also tenanted the appointment of Director (Infra & Works) and Principal Director (Air Staff) and Deputy Director General (Aviation) at Coast Guard Headquarters, New Delhi.

Prior assuming the appointment as COMCG(W), the Flag Officer has held the appointment of COMCG(A&N) wherein he focussed on seamless integration of Ops within the overall mandate of ANC and spearheaded the infrastructure growth of CG in the strategically significant Andaman & Nicobar Island.

During over two years as Commander Coast Guard Region (West), the Flag Officer administered the extensive Western Region covering four coastal states, UT of Daman and the Lakshadweep & Minicoy Islands. His tenure witnessed a comprehensive operational and infrastructural transformation. Over 700 lives were saved through 200+ SAR missions and about 50 medical evacuations, including foreign nationals, with complex firefighting and pollution response operations earning laurels. Anti-narcotics and anti-smuggling operations led to seizure of 400 kg contraband worth Rs. 7.75 crore and apprehension of about 25 offenders. Major capability and infrastructure milestones included commissioning of one indigenously built PCV, two FPVs, an exclusive ICG jetty at Vizhinjam, new logistics facilities, inauguration of ICG Station Murud Janjira Admin Complex, activation of ICG Watermanship Training Centre, and the challenging relocation of ICG units from Worli Seaface to Malabar Hill with initiation of new construction.

The Flag Officer is a graduate of prestigious Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and recipient of President Tatrakshak Medal for distinguished service and Tatrakshak Medal for meritorious service. He has also been commended by the Director General, Indian Coast Guard on two occasions. Inclined to spirituality, he believes in sound mind & sound body as a key to success. His leisure activities include listening to music and book reading. The officer is a keen fitness enthusiast. He is also an avid cyclist and an adventure seeker. He has been in the forefront for promoting cycling amongst the Coast Guard fraternity by conduct of Cyclothon events.

The Flag Officer is happily married to Mrs Anju Sharma (Home Maker) and has two sons i.e. Sankalp and Sukkrit who are both pursuing their careers. While Shri Sankalp is consolidating career strides as a Full Stack Developer in computer software and entering family life, Shri Sukkrit, his younger brother is tending towards Domain Expertise in Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning and data sciences