Air Marshal Abraham Mathews was commissioned in the erstwhile Technical/ Signals branch of the IAF on the 7th September, 1953. During his long and distinguished career, he held a variety of command and staff appointments with distinction which included the command of a key Maintenance Base, Dy Senior Maintenance Staff Officer of an Air Force Command, Director Signal (Air) at Air HQ and finally the Director General of Radar and Communications Project Office, Ministry of Defence.

Although he belonged to a technical branch of the IAF, the Air Officer was one of the very few Engineering Officers who also became a fully qualified pilot. The Air Officer went on to log 2200 active flying hours to his credit. Not content with that he also became a qualified Air Signaller of repute. For his performance during the 1965 Indo-Pakistan conflict, he was awarded “Mentioned-in-Despatches".

Appointed Dy SMSO of the Maintenance Command in 1985, the Air Officer brought about remarkable improvement in the functional efficiency of the base Repair Depots of the IAF through innovative procedural changes and management techniques.

The wide-ranging experience of the Air Officer coupled with his methodical reasoning was brought to full advantage when he was selected to be a member of the high-powered La Fontaine Committee on Flight Safety. The Air Officer made invaluable contribution to the identification of the weaknesses in the training and development of the technical personnel of the IAF. Also, an optimum model of training, development and placement of IAF engineering officers and airmen was evolved under his guidance.

The Air Officer was appointed as the Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Systems) in 1988. While holding this assignment, he introduced several measures to obtain greater operational readiness through more efficient use of resources.

The ultimate landmark in the career of the Air Officer was his appointment as the Director General of the vital Radar and Communication Project Office of the Ministry of Defence in the rank of Air Marshal. He provided the necessary vision and thrust in this capacity to rapidly upgrade the nation's air defence through completion of a large number of radar and communication projects in the given time frame.

Air Marshal Abraham Mathews, AVSM has, thus, rendered distinguished service of the most exceptional order.

Air Marshal Swaroop Krishna Kaul was commissioned as a fighter pilot in the IAF on the 17th July, 1954. A graduate of Defence Services Staff College, the Air Officer has, during his long and distinguished career, held a number of command and staff appointments which include the command of a fighter squadron during war, Senior Air Staff Officer of two operational commands and Air Attaché in Moscow.

An outstanding fighter pilot of repute, he commanded a fighter squadron in the eastern sector during the Indo-Pak war in 1971. Displaying leadership of a high degree, he personally led several missions deep into enemy territory to obtain complete air superiority over the area of operations. For his gallant conduct throughout the period of war, he was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra in 1971.

The Air Officer holds the unique distinction of serving as the Senior Air Staff Officer of two operational commands viz South Western Air Command and the Central Air Command. In these appointments, he brought about a number of innovative improvements which significantly enhanced the IAF's operational potential without a substantial change in resources. On his appointment as AOC-in-C of Central Air Command, the Air Officer has brought to bear his vast operational and staff experience with the ultimate objective of building his command into a formidable fighting machine in the most cost effective manner.

Air Marshal Swaroop Krishna Kaul, MVC has, thus, rendered distinguished service of the most exceptional order.

Air Marshal Sukhdev Mohan was commissioned in the IAF on the 6th November, 1954. During his long and distinguished career he has held a number of important command and staff appointments which include command of a fighter squadron, a sensitive flying station, Air I of an operational command, Director of Systems Evaluation at the Air HQ and Senior Air Staff Officer of an operational command.

A graduate of the Long Defence Management Course, the Air Officer held several staff appointments with distinction. As the Air I of Central Air Command, he brought his varied experience to bear on the conduct of a large number of command level exercises successfully. His thorough direction led to significant improvement in the air space management of this sector. As the Director of Systems Evaluation at Air HQ, the Air Officer displayed remarkable clarity of thought and reasoning which invariably led to improved efficiency with existing resources. The Air Officer is not only a graduate of the National Defence College but also had a very distinguished tenure as the Directing Staff at the premier national institution. In this capacity he made a significant contribution to the higher direction of war through useful interaction at the highest level. He was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 1987.

On promotion to the rank of Air Marshal he was appointed Senior Air Staff Officer at HQ Eastern Air Command. The Air Officer made remarkable contribution in this capacity in achieving laid down targets of air drops in forward areas as well as the operational preparedness of the front-line fighter squadrons in the command. The Air Officer brings to bear his vast operational and staff experience upon his present appointment as the AOC-in-C of the SAC, wherein he continues to guide the operations in his vital area of his responsibility.

Air Marshal Sukhdev Mohan, AVSM has, thus, rendered distinguished service of the most exceptional order.

Air Marshal Pinnapakkam Masilamani Sundaram was commissioned in the Air Force Medical Services on the 1st March, 1955. The entire service career of this illustrious Air Officer has been marked with academic brilliance, excellent performance in field and staff appointments and total dedication to service.

Armed with wide-ranging qualifications in the field of General and Aviation Medicine, the Air Officer held various appointments wherein he successfully carried out projects requiring extensive medicine and aviation interface. One of these was a project on design and development of the universal cockpit at the Institute of Aviation Medicine at Bangalore. The project now serves as a versatile tool for human engineering problems relating to fitness of aircrew with disabilities. In addition, the Air Officer also served two distinguished tenures as Head of the Department of Acceleration Physiology at this prestigious institution.

Later, as Deputy Principal Medical Officer (Aviation Medicine) at HQ Western Air Command, the Air Officer brought about innovative changes in the aircrew survival pack and casualty air evacuation procedures. Further, during his tenure as the Officer-inCharge Aero-Bio Engineering unit in the R&D Organisation, the Air Officer was instrumental in the development and indigenisation of various items of flying clothing including oxygen masks which led to vital savings in foreign exchange.

Appointed Air Officer Commanding of Aviation Medicine in 1985, the Air Officer provided remarkable leadership in the growth of professional knowledge of the IAF's medical community as a whole, besides several aviation and human-engineering related projects.

Air Officer was appointed Commandant of the Air Force Hospital, Bangalore in 1987 in the rank of Air Vice Marshal. Here, he provided the much needed guidance in the treatment of a large number of OP “Pawan" casualties.

Before his retirement from service as the Director General of Medical Services, Air Force, Air Marshal Sundaram has effectively used his vast professional expertise and experience in successfully tackling aviationmedico problems.

Air Marshal Pirtnapakkam Masilamani Sundaram, AVSM has, thus, rendered distinguished service of the most exceptional order.

Air Marshal Indrakanty Gopala Krishna was commissioned in the Indian Air Force on the 2nd May, 1957. During his long and distinguished career he has held a wide variety of command and staff appointments which include command of a major Base Repair Depot, Chief Engineer of two key fighter bases and Senior Maintenance Staff Officer of two commands. A graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, the Air Officer held a wide variety of staff appointments with ease and aplomb. He held the challenging appointments of Director Engineering 'B' in 1985 and Director Engineering 'A' in 1988 with distinction at Air Headquarters. The Air Officer brought about several innovative changes in these appointments which directly contributed to the operational preparedness of the IAF. An alumnus of the National Defence College, the Air Officer also had a very distinguished tenure as the Deputy Air Attaché at Paris. In this tenure, the technical reports of the Air Officer were always exceptionally helpful in evaluating spare parts requirements of French origin.

Having undergone Senior Defence Management Course, the Air Officer was first appointed as Senior Maintenance Staff Officer at HQ Western Air Command and later at Maintenance Command. While holding these key appointments, the Air Officer vigorously pursued the IAF's short and long term maintenance targets. On being appointed as AOCin-C Maintenance Command in April 1991 Air Marshal Krishna has brought to bear his wide-ranging field and staff experience upon providing fresh impetus to the on-going process of technological update of maintenance practices of the IAF.

Air Marshal Indrakanty Gopala Krishna, AVSM, VSM has, thus, rendered distinguished service of the most exceptional order.