this appointment during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, although the navy had little role to play in the war. As director DWPT, he was responsible for implementing the major work-up system in the navy. He was promoted substantive captain on 30 June 1966. Pereira was appointed commanding officer of the erstwhile flagship, INS Delhi in March 1967. Under him, the Delhi won the Naval Regatta championship in 1967. Chatterji, by now CNS, praised Pereira as a born leader. After a year and a half as CO Delhi, he was appointed naval officer-in-charge (NOIC) Bombay, in December 1968. As NOIC, he was responsible for organising the Presidential Fleet Review (PFR) in 1969. 57 ships participated in the PFR led by the flagship aircraft carrier , and impressed the president V.V. Giri and the event was a success. For planning and organising the PFR, Pereira was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal on 26 January 1971. In January 1971, Pereira was promoted to the rank of commodore and appointed deputy commandant (DepCom) of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Pune. The famous NDA ball was his brainchild, fashioned on the lies of the annual Naval Ball. A good golfer, he also ran the academy golf club. He had a memorable stint at DepCom at NDA for about three years. The commandant, Major General SD Varma, noted that Pereira was "an outstanding officer with lively personality, who is devoted to his profession." Flag rank Pereira was appointed the second Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF) in February 1973. He was promoted to the acting rank of rear admiral and took command of the Eastern Fleet from Rear Admiral S H Sarma on 2 April 1973. He flew his flag on the submarine tender until mid-1974, when the Leopard-class frigate became the flagship of the Eastern fleet after which his flag transferred to the frigate. Under him, the fleet exercised on the west coast as well as visited Sri Lanka for a flag-showing visit. In January 1975, Pereira was appointed flag officer commanding Southern Naval Area at Cochin. After a year as FOC South, he was promoted to the rank of vice admiral on 1 March 1976 and appointed flag officer commanding-in-chief (FOC-in-C) Western Naval Command. On 26 January 1977, while he was the FOC-in-C West, he was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished service of the highest order. After a year in