Air Marshal Adi Rustomji Ghandhi AVSM VrC (7722) F (P) was commissioned in Air Force on 28 Oct 63. During his 39 years of service, he has held many Important and challenging field and staff appointments which include Command of a fighter squadron, Command of a prestigious Air Force Station, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (PO), Commandant of College of Air Warfare, Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) of South Western Air Command and Western Air Command. Presently he holds the appointment of Air Officer Commanding-inChief, Western Air Command. He has taken part in both the lndo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971. He was awarded Vir Chakra on 06 Sep 65 for acts of gallantry.

As Air Officer Commanding of an important fighter base, where both the Mirage of the IAF along with a Squadron each of Pechora and OSA-AK-M missiles are located, he displayed total dedication to service and absolute involvement in all activities of the base. As a result, the base and its lodger units acquitted themselves admirably during all Command and Air Headquarter exercises. For his exceptional service and devotion to duty, he was awarded Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 1994.

As Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Personnel Officers) he took keen interest in evolving personnel policies for the Officer cadre of the IAF. As SASO of two operational Commands, he provided the impetus towards greater operational thinking as well as rationalization of infrastructure required within the Command.

On taking over as AOC-in-C of Western Air Command, he set into motion a variety of measures aimed at sharpening the fighting edge of the most important Command of the IAF. He also strived relentlessly to improve the work culture, morale and motivation level of the personnel at all levels. As a result, the Command was able to mobilise resources and move units to their Op locations in the shortest possible time during of Op Parakram.

Air Mshl Ghandhi has been instrumental in initiating a series of major drives to reduce accidents due to bird strikes, beautification of technical and domestic areas improving the quality of output by the MES and most important of all, improving the quality of life of Air Force Personnel specially at remote and difficult Stations.

Air Marshal Adi Rustomji Ghandhi AVSM VrC has thus rendered distinguished service of most exceptional order.

Air Marshal Dinesh Chandra Nigam AVSM VSM (7938) AE (L) was commissioned on 07 Oct 63 in IAF and is presently holding the appointment of SMSO at HQ Maintenance Command, IAF. During his career in IAF, he has held various important field and staff appointments like CEO of a fighter base, Chief Production Officer of BRD, DG RCPO, JDEW and GC IMMOLS, all with distinction. From the outset, Air Marshal Nigam has been regarded as an officer with vision and determination and is considered amongst the pioneers in the field of electronic warfare and information technology. As GC IMMOLS & ACAS (IT) at Air HQ, he ushered in the era of distributed data processing and satellite communication wide area network, which have provided significant impetus to computerisation.

Air Mshl Nigam took over as SMSO Maintenance Command on 01 Aug 2000 and immediately gave a massive thrust to the indigenisation of overhaul spares, life extension studies and modernisation of BRDs. By his sustained encouragement, BRDs have achieved almost 90% indigenisation of mandatory overhaul spares. On life extension studies, he mustered the support of a number of competent Government agencies like JGCAR, CEMILAC, HAL and DRDO laboratories. By associating them with BRDs, a number of life extension studies on aircraft and aeroengines could be completed at a fraction of the cost demanded by OEMs. With his penchant for futuristic planning, Air Marshal Nigam has initiated a number of steps towards modernisation of repair depots to bring them at par with international standards. Under his guidance, all the repair depots have already obtained ISO 9002 certification.

Air Mshl Nigam also has an in-depth knowledge and analytical mind to manage techno-logistics issues. With his sharp vision, he has embarked upon the task of liquidation of non-moving stores. He took up this challenge and issued various policies/orders on rationalisation of stores and purification of data. This exercise has started bearing fruits and a large number of non-moving lines have been converted to moving ones

Air Marshal Dinesh Chandra Nigam AVSM VSM has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Marshal Satish Kumar Ramlal Dham was commissioned in the medical branch of IAF on 29 Dec 1963. An astute physician he has held coveted appointments as the Senior advisor in medicine, Head and Professor of medicine at AFMC, PMO at the operational SWAC, Consultant medicine to the armed forces at the apex tertiary care Army hospital, Research & Referral (AHRR) and commandant of the prestigious Command hospital Air Force, Bangalore (CHAFB). He was appointed Commandant of AFMC, the premier teaching establishment of the armed forces in the country in Jan 2002. Presently he is holding the appointment of DGMS (Air).

Earlier in his formative years he served with distinction as a specialist in medicine at the Institute of Aviation Medicine (IAM). For his professional contribution to the vexing problem of ECG abnormalities in aircrew he was commended by the AOC-in-C TC in 1975. Later serving as a Staff Surgeon to Chief of Air Staff in 1978 he was commended by the CAS for his professional excellence. As Reader in medicine at AFMC, he distinguished himself as an excellent medical teacher and guided many research projects and PG students. He was awarded Vishisht Seva Medal by the President for distinguished services of high order in 1987. He has been a medical member UN fact-finding mission at Cambodia in 1989. Professionally acclaimed nationally he was awarded Fellowship of Indian College of Physician in 1993. He was instrumental in conceptualizing the functioning of medical departments at the newly formed AHRR during his tenure as consultant in medicine. He displayed excellent administrative skills as PMO, SWAC and later as Commandant CHAF(B). He modernised the command hospital and set up a nationally acclaimed hospital waste management system. For distinguished services of exceptional order he was awarded Ati Vishisht Seva Medal by the President in Jan 2001.

At AFMC, with his professionalism and vast experience in teaching and training, he brought out significant improvement in the academic environment and established a much needed department of medical education and information technology. As DGMS (Air), he has rationalized the entire medical board and categorization process in the IAF and revised the important medical IAP 4303 which guides the medical officers at the field level. A major fillip has been given to acquire much needed flight safety simulators (Human Centrifuge & Spatial Disorientation simulator) at IAM during his short span as President Indian Society of Aerospace Medicine. He has thus excelled as a Professional, teacher, research worker & displayed excellent organizational skills as an able administrator; during his career spanning over 39 years, and contributed to the growth of medical services of armed forces.

Air Marshal SKR Dham AVSM VSM has thus rendered distinguished service of the most exceptional order.

Air Marshal Shashindra Pal Tyagi AVSM VM (8130) F (P) was commissioned in the IAF on 31 Dec 63. He is a fighter pilot who has excelled himself during his career. He underwent the Pilot Attack Instructor (PAI) course at an early stage in his career and later completed the Fighter Combat Leader (FCL) course and was adjudged first in the overall order of merit. He was in the first batch of trainees who went abroad for conversion onto Jaguar Aircraft. He is an alumnus of Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) and National Defence College (NDC). He was posted in a diplomatic assignment as Air Attaché in Embassy of India at Saudi Arabia. He was awarded VM in 1986 and AVSM in 1994. Presently, he holds the appointment of AOCin-C, Central Air Command since 01 May 02.

During his tenure as Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Air Force Station Jamnagar, more than 26, 270 h were flown and nearly 80 detachments of different flying units were handled by the Station. In May 1992, the IAF specially selected Jamnagar to put up the Night Fire Power Demonstration which was the first of its kind in the history of IAF and required a high degree of coordination both on the ground and in the air to ensure its success. This demonstration was conducted safely in the most professional manner due to his personal guidance. During his command, Air Force Station Jamnagar was adjudged the Best Station of South Western Air Command for three consecutive years from 1991 to 1993.

While holding the appointments of ACAS (Int) and ACAS (Ops), he made meaningful contributions in Operations and Flight Safety, and also evolved new concepts in the area of Intelligence gathering. With his analytical mind he contributed toward evolving new operational and strategic doctrines of the IAF.

As Senior Air Staff Officer at Central Air Command, he brought his varied experience to bear upon the conduct of large number of Command level exercises and seminars successfully. As AOC-in-C, Central Air Command, he has ensured high standards from not only the Command staff but also the field units in all spheres of operational activity. He has taken personal interest in reviewing and optimising training schedules and facilities at the operational bases so as to ensure safety, efficiency and optimal utilisation of resources.

Air Marshal Shashindra Pal Tyagi AVSM VM has thus rendered distinguished service of the most exceptional order.

Air Marshal Ashok Kumar Goel AVSM VM (8151) F (P) was commissioned in the Indian Air Force on 31 Dec 63, as a transport pilot. He has over 9000 h of flying and has held the highest category of instrument rating on most of the transport aircraft of the IAF fleet. During his 39 years of service, he has held various key Staff and field appointments. Notable amongst these are Officer Commanding of two frontline transport squadrons, Air Officer Commanding of two Wings of the IAF, Director Training at Air HQs and Chief Instructor (Air) at DSSC. He is an alumnus of College of Defence Management (CDM) and National Defence College (NDC). He was awarded VM in 1988 and AVSM in 1994. Presently he is the Senior Air Staff Officer at HQ Eastern Air Command.

He was specially selected in 1984 to lead a team of officers and airmen for training on IL-76 aircraft in USSR and thereafter he was appointed the Commanding Officer of the first IL-76 Sqn of the IAF. With his extraordinary understanding of transport operations, he acted as a think tank behind the meticulous planning and successful execution of Op Cactus, a milestone in the Maldives Operations.

The Air Officer has the distinction of being the Air Officer Commanding of two major transport bases of the IAF. As SASO HQ EAC, he took keen interest in improving the overall operational, Flight Safety and Air Defence environment of the area. All air maintenance tasks, flood relief, casualty evacuation, counter insurgency operations and tasks given by Air HQ were achieved in the most professional manner. His varied field experience, broad knowledge base and outstanding resolve to use resources efficiently led to an optimum utilisation of the transport fleet in EAC. His efforts and close monitoring of all Command policies has greatly helped in the achievement of a high state of operational preparedness and also a lower accident rate. All targets laid down, in fighter operations, in maintenance support by the Transport fleet and in the field of Flight Safety have been achieved well within the stipulated time frames.

Air Marshal Ashok Kumar Goel AVSM VM has thus rendered distinguished service of the most exceptional order.

Air Marshal Vijay Achyut Patkar AVSM VSM (8632) AE (L) was commissioned on 23 Jul 64 in the Engineering branch of the IAF. During his career spanning 38 years, he has held many challenging appointments which include Joint Director (EW) at Air HQs, Chief Engineering Officer at AF Stn Agra, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Engineering) and Senior Maintenance Staff Officer at HQ Western Air Command (WAC). Presently he is holding the appointment of Air Officer-in-Charge Maintenance (AOM) at Air HQ.

He gained a post graduate degree in Electronic Communication and Radar Systems from IIT Kharagpur. He was associated with installation of first THD-1995 radar and also with induction of IL-76 aircraft in the IAF. For his distinguished service he was awarded VSM in 1988 and AVSM in 2001.

During his tenure at HQ WAC as Senior Maintenance Staff Officer, he strove hard for improving the maintenance standards and practices, modernisation of engineering facilities at the Air Force Stations and improved reliability of power supply systems in the Air Defence Radar and Communication units. His efforts, not only yielded positive results, but also brought about a greater sense of job satisfaction and achievement amongst the engineering personnel of the Air Force Stations under WAC. During this tenure, a new type of helicopter, Mi-17 IV was inducted in the service; and the helicopter squadrons under WAC gradually changed from the old helicopter to the new type. As the Senior Maintenance Staff Officer, he took measures for smooth and flawless induction of the new type of helicopter. He also arranged quick and effective training of the Aircrew and the engineering personnel for systematising the operation of the new helicopters in IAF.

As the AOM at Air HQ, he concentrated his efforts in reduction in the number of aircraft on ground (AOG). Towards this end he successfully concluded the spares provisioning contracts which had been pending for some years due to serious difficulties. This has yielded positive results. During the past one year aircraft fleets such as Jaguar and Mi17 have shown substantial reduction in AOG figures. The Air Officer has also been instrumental in getting a totally damaged Mi-26 helicopter re-constructed at a nominal cost of overhaul, thereby saving the nation to the tune of Rs. Forty crore.

During Op Parakram, the Air Officer was responsible for making available the required number of aircraft and ground radar systems for operations, which could be achieved through meticulous planning of maintenance activities under his directions. The relocation of unit detachments during the operations and their logistic support was executed efficiently under his guidance.

Air Marshal VA Patkar AVSM VSM has thus rendered distinguished service of the most exceptional order.