Wing Commander V Babu was commissioned in the Air Force on 02 Jun 73. An alumnus of Defence Services Staff College, he was appointed Commanding Officer of a Mi-8 Helicopter Unit on 26 Apr 93. As the Commanding Officer he flew over 840 hours in two years towards VVIP commitments, flood relief operations and training of young pilots. There were 23 upgradations in pilots' Categorisations and instrument ratings. He made the unit operational in all the roles envisaged for the Mi-8 Helicopters. In May 94 the Unit was assessed highly satisfactory by Directorate of Air Staff Inspection team.In an exercise conducted by South Western Air Command in Dec 94 for assessing Mi-8 Helicopter Units in their operational roles, the Unit performed creditably and won the Best Helicopter Crew Trophy. One of the noteworthy achievements of Wg Cdr V Babu was the airlifting of more than 80 tonnes of relief supplies by flying 28 sorties in four days despite the inclement weather during floods in Orissa in Sep 94. This was done by one helicopter with judicial fuel management to carry maximum load.

For exceptional devotion to duty, the President is pleased to award 'Vayu Sena Medal' to Wing Commander Vaidyanathan Babu.