| Details : |  Air Commodore Surendra Pal Singh (18260) was commissioned in the Indian Air Force as a Transport Pilot in the flying branch on 07 Jun 86. Presently, he is the Air Officer Commanding of Air Force Station Yelahanka since 24 Sep 12. The officer has rich experience of operational flying as well as Training and Staff assignments. He is a Cat A Qualified Flying Instructor, a graduate of Defence Services Staff College and an Air Force Examiner. He served as a Flight Commander of a Boeing Squadron from 2006-08. As Chief Operations Officer , he achieved flawless execution of VVIPNIP operations. Also, he envisioned the construction of a suitable tarmac capable of accommodating large ac like AN-124 and C-17 and widening of taxi track which now has given the base tremendous operational flexibility. As Squadron Commander of a Squadron equipped with IL-76 and AN-32 aircraft, he brought about a sea change in operational and infrastructural readiness of the Squadron. Air Cmde SP Singh was appointed AOC of AF Station Yelahanka on 24 Sep 2012 and was entrusted the responsibility to conduct of Aero India-13. He effectively supervised each aspect associated with the event and also achieved a very high degree of co-ordination amongst a large number of agencies including Ministry of Defence and the State Government. His relentless efforts resulted on the providing of a safe and secure environment for the participating aircraft and foreign delegates and there was no untoward incident. The methodical conduct of the event under the able leadership of the officer won him appreciations from all quarters both within the country and abroad. His meticulous planning and flawless execution of the event led to considerable reduction of manpower and optimum use of resources thereby saving exchequer hundreds of lakhs of Rupees. While the preparations for the event continued relentlessly, his focus on training flying also continued concurrently and this resulted in the station flying over 20,000 hours of accident free flying in the last financial year which is the highest by any flying base in the IAF. This was possible because of the meticulous planning and sterling qualities of leadership displayed by Air Cmde SP Singh. For distinguished service of high order, Hon'ble President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Air Commodore Surendra Pal Singh. |
