Captain Khairil Haji Abdul Rahman, Royal Brunei Navy (RBN), assumes the appointment as the Acting Deputy Commander on the 3rd of November 2023. Born in Brunei Darussalam on the 6th of July 1975. He enlisted into the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) in January 1991, joining the 13th Intake of the Boys Company. He was then awarded a scholarship program from the Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) Ordinary National Diploma in Electrical, Electronic, Communication and Computer Engineering at South Devon College, Torquay, United Kingdom, from 1993 to 1995.
He later returned in August 1995 as an Officer Cadet of the RBN. He graduated as a midshipman in April 1998 from Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, United Kingdom. He was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade in 1998, Lieutenant rank in 2003, Lieutenant Commander Rank in 2007 and Commander Rank in 2013.
Captain Khairil's early years in RBN were primarily spent on board the Missile Gun Boats and Coastal Patrol Craft, where he held appointments such as Navigation Officer, Executive Officer and Commanding Officer. Staff tour in the Navy Headquarters as Staff Officer Grade 3 Admin and Personnel, and later appointed as the RBN Navigation Officer. Other staff appointment held was as the Staff Officer Grade 2 Joint Maritime Operation at the Joint Force Headquarters, where he had the opportunity as Joint Staff during Exercise Tempest Express in Australia and also as the secretariat for ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting – Plus (ADMM+) Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) and Military Medicine (MM) Exercise 2013 in which later take the role as Exercise Controller Staff for RBN. He had undergone various professional courses abroad, such as the International Sub-Lieutenant, International Long Navigation, and International Principal Warfare Officer in the United Kingdom. He attended the Basic Diving, Mine Hunting Officer and Anti-Submarine Warfare in the Republic of Singapore. In addition, Bridge Resource Management by STET, IMO Level 3 OSR Training, Long-Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT), RBAF Command & Staff Course and RBAF 12th Executive Development Programme attended locally.
The first command appointment was as the Commanding Officer (CO) of KDB PEMBURU, one of the PERWIRA Class, Coastal Patrol Craft (CPC) in 2004. He was later appointed CO KDB PERWIRA in mid-2005 whilst assuming the post of CPC Squadron Commander. After returning from the International Principal Warfare Officer Course, he commanded KDB SETERIA, a WASPADA Class Missile Gun Boat, in 2006.
Throughout his career, Captain Khairil has been involved in two RBN shipbuilding projects in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2003 and Bremen, Federal Republic of Germany, in 2009. At the end of the tour in Bremen, Captain Khairil assumed command of KDB SYAFAAT, one of the Fast Patrol Boat, IJHTIHAD Class. In 2014, he re-joined the project team in Bremen to commission the final Patrol Vessel DARUTTAQWA and sailed her back to Negara Brunei Darussalam as the Commanding Officer.
In November 2013, Captain Khairil assumed command of KDB DARUSSALAM for the Typhoon Haiyan HADR deployment to Tacloban, Republic of the Philippines. Subsequently, Captain Khairil commanded KDB DARUTTAQWA to participate in Exercise SEAGULL in Palawan, Republic of Philippines, in 2014, IMDEX in Singapore in 2015, and Exercise KOMODO in Padang, Republic of Indonesia, in 2016. In July 2016, Commander Khairil was appointed Chief of Staff of RBN Headquarters and the Commandant of Naval Training, Naval Training Centre in May 2018. On 12 October 2020, he was appointed Fleet Commander and led many operations. He also played a crucial role in KDB DARULEHSAN, participating in the first ASEAN Solidarity Exercise in Natuna, Indonesia. He also boosted the Royal Brunei Navy's capabilities, including the Fleet Tactical Aircraft Squadron (FTAS) with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). On 3 November 2023, Captain Khairil assumed the position of Acting Deputy Commander of the Royal Brunei Navy.
Captain Khairil attended the Defence College in Thailand, the National Defence College, the National Defence Studies Institute, and the Royal Thai Armed Forces from October 2019 to September 2020.
Throughout his service, Captain Khairil has been awarded the Most Honourable Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei, 3rd Class (S.M.B.), the Most Blessed Order of Setia Negara Brunei 4th Class (P.S.B.), Golden Jubilee (P.J.E), and the Military Civic Action Medal awarded by the Republic of the Philippines on completion of Typhoon Haiyan Relief.
Captain Khairil is an avid fitness enthusiast. He is happily married to Suryanti Binti Haji Mohammad Noor, and blessed with two daughters and a son.
