| Details : | Group Captain Vivek Pillai (18217) Aeronautical Engineering (Electronics) was commissioned in IAF as an engineer in the Aeronautical Engineering (Electronics) branch on 17 Feb 86. He is posted as Station Commander at AF Station Kanheri Hills since 16 Mar 09. Gp Capt Pillai has been involved in AFNET project since its inception, conceptualization, design and implementation in the past six years. At Air Headquarters, he was leader of the team that prepared the operational requirements, technical specifications and scope of work for the AFNET encompassing wide range of equipment, systems and technology verticals. He was also team leader in technical and financial evaluation for AFNET tender and the IAF representative in Price Negotiation Committee (PNC) of BSNL/DoT under Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. Owing to his domain expertise and understanding of all nuances of the AFNET implementation, the PNC could secure an unprecedented discount of Rs. 82 Crores on the least quoted of Rs. 674 Crores (12 %) even in such intensive bidding. In his last tenure at Technical Training School in Bangalore as Chief Instructor, the officer was instrumental in establishment of AFNET lab and formulation of training structure for preparing the work force of air warriors to operate and maintain the new next generation technology based AFNET in the IAF. He also conducted the design validations and engineering trials from the AFNET lab in association with the System Integrator and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). At AF Station Kanheri Hills, on assuming charge, the officer lost no time in setting a number of initiatives on the road to completion, like expeditious implementation of network at pending sites while sustaining the network services at already implemented sites, establishing a three tier Network Management System, providing clarity and directions for device configuration, new services validation and migration, upgradation and adaptation, service tuning etc. All such initiatives contributed immensely in operationalising the AFNET. The successful roll out of AFNET owes to his dynamism and technical acumen. Technical leadership of Gp Capt Pillai has almost always been sought before higher management decisions are taken in the domain of AFNET. He has not only contributed in laying the foundation of the gigabit information expressway with the state-of-the-art-next-generation equipment but also converted the blue print towards the realization of the IAF's 'Combat Network'. With well defined procedures on Network Service Operations, Service Transition and Continual Service Improvement (CSI), today the AFNET is all set to meet the organizational requirement in the sphere of Network Centric Operations. For distinguished service of high order, Hon'ble President is pleased to award 'Vishisht Seva Medal' to Group Captain Vivek Pillai. |
