Air Marshal Hirendra Nath Chatterjee was commissioned as a Pilot in the Flying Branch of the Air Force in August, 1940. He was one of the first Flying Instructors to be trained in the IAF and made significant contribution in that capacity both during World War II and later in the development of the Air Force. He served with distinction with a Squadron in Burma Campaign, when he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for gallantry. After Independence, he rendered valuable service as Chief Instructor of the Air Force Flying School, and laid the foundation of what is now the Air Force Academy. He also played an important part in setting up training facilities and framing policies and plans for the expansion of the Air Force. More recently, Air Marshal Chatterjee has been Air Officer-in-Charge Maintenance, at Air Headquarters, Air Officer Commandingin-Chief Maintenance Command and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Air Command. Since March 1971 Air Marshal Hirendra Nath Chatterjee has been responsible for the operational training and readiness of the Air Force as a whole. He played a leading part in planning and coordinating the activities of the three Operational Commands during the recent war with Pakistan. Throughout his career, Air Marshal Chatterjee has brought to his duties a sound knowledge of military aviation in all its aspects, and the ability to tackle the most difficult tasks in a quite and methodical manner. Through the many important posts that he has held, he has done much for the development and strengthening of the Indian Air Force, leading up to its success in the recent Indo-Pak conflict. He has rendered service of the most 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 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.

Air Marshal Narayan Menon, UYSM, AVSM, (9005) Flying (Pilot) was commissioned In the Indian Air Force as a Fighter Pilot on 25 Dec 64. He has 3147 h of accident free flying to his credit. He is a qualified flying instructor and a fighter combat leader. He has commanded a fighter squadron and two operational bases and a Flying Training Establishment. He is an alumnus of College of Defence Management and National Defence College. During his distinguished service of over 38 years, he had held several challenging field, staff and instructional appointments, which include Head of OB Faculty at CDM, AOC J&K and ACAS (Ops). Presently, he is Air Officer in-charge Personnel (AOP) at Air Headquarters since 01 Feb 02.

As Director Operations (Air Defence), he displayed considerable foresight and a deep sense of involvement in the management and optimisation of resources for the defence of our skies. For his distinguished service of exceptional order, he was awarded Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 1998.

As AOC J & K during Kargil Operations, he was personally involved in planning and execution of all joint missions with the Army. As a result, the Air Force successfully dislodged the enemy and facilitated early cessation of hostilities. For his leadership, initiation, strategic planning and tactical innovation he was awarded Uttam Yudh Seva Medal in 1999.

As Asst Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) at Air Headquarter, he was responsible for formulation of war plans and conduct of major exercises. When mobilisation was ordered after an attack on the Parliament on 13 Dec 01, he ensured that squadrons were deployed at Op locations on 14 Dec 01 itself. Despite long deployment of the personnel, he ensured that they remained at the highest level of preparedness, ready to launch an attack at shortest possible notice.

As Air Officer-in-Charge Personnel, Air Mshl Menon has been responsible for all aspects of personnel planning, induction, training, recognition and rewards to all the personnel in the IAF. During his tenure a number of policies and innovative measures, which will go a long way to enhance the motivation and morale of the IAF personnel have been initiated. These include revival of SNCOs Commission to provide better career prospects to the serving airmen, improvement in the promotion ratios of the officers in the ground duty branches and more transparency in the decision making process. He and his team have been able to set IAF Training Institute recognised by the AICTE as also civil aviation recognition for military aviation qualifications.

Air Mshl N Menon has thus rendered distinguished service of the most exceptional order.

Air Marshal Sunil Kumar Malik AVSM (9002) F(P) was commissioned in the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot in the Flying branch on 25 December 1964. He has over 4200 hrs of accident free flying to his credit. He is a graduate of Defence Services Staff College and Air War College of USA. He is a production test pilot, who has held several key appointments such as Joint Director at Directorate (Offensive Ops), Commanding Officer of the Aircrew Examining Board, Air Attaché Moscow, Air Officer Commanding of two operational bases, Additional Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Operations), Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Intelligence) and Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at South Western Air Command. He was awarded Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 1996. Presently he is Vice Chief of Air Staff since 01 October 2004.

As Air Officer Commanding, Air Marshal Malik carried out the task of reassessing the operational deployments of Air Defence systems. He executed a major operational work of runway resurfacing with top quality within a record duration of six months. During his tenure the average aircraft serviceability improved from 65% to 74%.

As Additional Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Operations) during Kargil air operations, Air Marshal Malik made significant contribution in planning the target systems and acquiring intelligence on those. He was also instrumental in harmonising all Electronic Warfare Operations. Major inter service and internal changes were necessitated post-Kargil Review Committee recommendations, for which he effectively planned and brought about organisational changes for better exploitation of intelligence network.

As Senior Air Staff Officer of South Western Air Command, Air Marshal Malik most efficiently and expeditiously brought all the forces to an instant alert status ready to face any challenges. He also ensured that all forces remained deployed with a very high level of operational preparedness with sustained high morale. He organised and executed realistic training exercises for bringing about synergy between Air Defence and Strike Forces. During this period extensive flying training were carried out with the lowest accident rate.

As the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, HQ Southern Air Command, Air Marshal Malik brought about administrative improvements not only in the work environment but also in the quality of life of personnel below officer rank. He was Chairman of an Inter Services Study Group, which was constituted to study and make recommendations in respect of the selection process for NDA, its service training syllabi and other curriculum. The study group under his leadership has made valuable recommendations towards meeting the future requirements of all the three services

Air Marshal Sunil Kumar Malik AVSM has thus rendered distinguished service of most exceptional order.

Air Marshal Parimal Kumar Sarkar (26480) Med (Retd.) was commissioned in the Army Medical Corps on 24 July 1966. During his 38 years of distinguished service he held various coveted appointments which include Senior Advisor in Preventive and Social Medicine, Reader at AFMC, Assistant Director of Health HQ 3 Corps, HQ 4 Corps, HQ Western Command and Commandant of prestigious Command Hospital Air Force Bangalore (CHAFB). He was commended by the Chief of Army Staff for his meritorious service in the year 1997. He retired as DGMS (Air) on 30 September 2004. Earlier, in his formative years, Air Marshal Sarkar earned the qualifications of Diploma in Public Health (DPH) and Diploma in Industrial Health (DIH). He is also a Doctor of Medicine (MD) in Preventive & Social Medicine (PSM). He served with distinction as a specialist in PSM at Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. As Reader at AFMC, he distinguished himself as an excellent medical teacher and guided many research projects and PG students. He displayed excellent administrative skills as Commandant CHAFB. He modernised various departments of CHAFB & ensured adequate comprehensive health care to all patients. Patient satisfaction irrespective of rank & status was his primary concern. During his tenure as Commandant, CHAFB was adjudged as “Environmentalist of the year 2002" and was awarded first prize in Hospital Waste Management System by Karnataka State,

As Deputy Director General (Pension) at the office of DGAFMS, Min of Def, Air Marshal Sarkar was instrumental in revision of the book “Guide to Medical Officers - Military Pension" which guides all medical officers of the Armed Forces regarding attributability, aggravation of the disabilities and disability pension. He ensured revision of all the Armed Forces Medical Forms used for admission, discharge in hospitals, medical categorization etc.

During his tenure as DGMS (Air) Air Marshal Sarkar focused on improving patient care in hospitals and training of doctors and para medical staff in the Air Force. Due to his endeavour, state of the art equipment has been installed in the Air Force hospitals which would further augment the patient care. A new electronic medical records data management system has been established at the Med Dte to maintain records of all AF officers across the country.

Air Marshal Sarkar has excelled himself as a professional teacher and displayed excellent organisational skills as an able administrator and contributed significantly to the growth of medical services of the Armed Forces. He has thus rendered distinguished service of most exceptional order.

Air Marshal (Mrs.) Padma Bandopadhyay AVSM VSM (11528) Med was commissioned in the Army Medical Corps on 22 January 1968. An astute aviation medicine specialist she had held coveted appointments as Senior Advisor in Aviation Medicine, Professor of Physiology & Aviation Medicine at Institute of Aviation Medicine, Senior Scientist 'D' at DIPAS. She was appointed as Air Officer Commanding of prestigious Air Force Central Medical Establishment. She held the appointment of Additional Director General Armed Forces Medical Services. Presently she is holding the appointment of DGMS (Air).

Earlier in her formative years she served with distinction as medical officer at Air Force Hospital Halwara and was awarded Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished services of high order in 1973. She distinguished herself as an excellent Professor of Physiology and Aviation Medicine at IAM and guided many research projects and PG students. She displayed excellent administrative skills as DPMO, WAC and later as AOC, AFCME. At CME with her professionalism and vast experience in training and teaching she brought out significant improvement in quality of the medical evaluation of aircrew. She modernized various departments of AFCME. For her distinguished services of exceptional order, she was awarded Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2002.

As additional DGAFMS, the Air Marshal was instrumental in formulating new promotion policy of AMC officers. As DGMS (Air) she has guided the establishment of Medical Evaluation Centre in Eastern sector for aircrew thereby saving costly man hours of aircrew. The most advanced concept of medical delivery system i.e. Telemedlcine is being established at five Air Force Stations covering North, East, South West with CHAF (B) as a part of first phase with her untiring efforts. A major fillip has been given to acquire much needed state of the art MRI and Cardiac Cath Lab for CHAFB.

With her constant endeavor, fresh diploma courses recognized by paramedical board of Karnataka for Medical Assistants have been started for Medical Assistants. This will not only bring in significant improvement in the medical care at all levels but also benefit the tradesmen post-retirement. The Air Officer has excelled as a towering Professional and has displayed excellent organizational skill as an able administrator during her career spanning over 39 years and contributed to the growth of Medical Services of IAF

Air Marshal (Mrs) P Bandopadhyay AVSM, VSM, PHS has thus rendered distinguished service of most exceptional order.

Air Marshal Padamjit Singh Ahluwalia AVSM & Bar VM VSM (11631 Flying (Pilot) was commissioned as a fighter pilot on 02 June 1968. The Air Officer has held numerous Staff and Command appointments during the course of his long and distinguished career. Amongst the important assignments held by him in the past are Commanding Officer of a frontline Mirage-2000 Squadron, Air Officer Commanding of two premier fighter bases, Diplomatic and foreign assignments, Inter-Service assignment, Director General (Inspection & Safety) at Air HQ. He is presently the Air Officer Commanding-inChief, Southern Air Command. Throughout his long and distinguished service the Air Officer has been an exceptional achiever at all levels of career progression, which is borne out by fact that the Air Officer has been decorated with VSM in 1984, VM in 1987, AVSM in 1992 and Bar to AVSM in 1997. In addition, he has also been commended by the Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Naval Staff in the course of his distinguished career.

As a Fighter Squadron Commander and Base Commander the officer has displayed exceptional managerial skills and leadership qualities to ensure optimal operational status of his charge. He was commanding the premier Mirage Air Base during the Kargil conflict and modifications, innovations and tactics that were necessary to induct the Mirage-2000 into the Kargil Air Operations were prominently attributable to his leadership, foresight and exceptional professional knowledge. Undoubtedly, the individual contribution of Air Officer during the Kargil conflict was instrumental in the Mirage-2000 aircraft ach-ieving high success rates. For his tour of duty during his diplomatic assignment in Japan and Republic of Korea and as an instructor pilot in a foreign country, his outstanding professional capabilities, skills and achievements were well appreciated by those countries.

As Director General (Inspection & Safety), Air Marshal PS Ahluwalia was instrumental in crafting and executing a flight safety strategy for the Indian Air Force. The officer's perseverance and determination has indeed contributed significantly in reducing the Indian Air Force's accident rate to an all time low, thereby saving precious lives and assets.

Air Marshal Padamjit Singh Ahluwalia AVSM & Bar VM VSM has thus rendered distinguished service of the most exceptional order.

Air Marshal Arvind Kumar Nagalia AVSM VM VSM (11633) Flying (Pilot) was commissioned in the Flying Branch of the IAF on 02 June 1968. He has over 4400 hours of accident free flying to his credit. During his 38 years of service career, he has held important and challenging staff and field appointments, which include Commanding Officer of maritime Jaguar Squadron, Air Attaché at Kiev, Director of Projects and Director of Air Staff Requirements at Air HQ, Commandant Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE), Director National Flight Test Centre, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Plans) and Air Officer-in-Charge Personnel at Air HQ. He is a qualified Flying Instructor and Experimental Test Pilot. He has undergone Advance Staff Course at UK. He is also an alumnus of National Defence College (NDC). He was awarded VSM in 1985, VM in 1993 and AVSM in 2004. Presently he is holding the appointment of Deputy Chief of Air Staff at Air HQ since 24 August 2005.

Throughout his service career and especially so when holding criteria appointments, he has been the epitome of professionalism, probity and personal integrity. As Air Attaché, he resolved vexatious issues of product support, settlement of warranty claims and on site training of personnel not only of the IAF, but also of the Army, DRDO and Defence PSUs, through forethought, effective intervention and persistent efforts. This had a significant impact on the maintenance of the operational preparedness. During his tenure as Commandant ASTE, a record number of difficult trials involving complex systems were carried out safely and effectively. Whilst being the Project Director NFTC, he was instrumental in formulating overall Flight Test Plan for the TEJAS (Light Combat Aircraft).

Appointed ACAS (Plans) at Air HQ in September 2002, he was responsible in breaking the deadlock between the Russians and Israelis in the integration of a major weapon system for the Su-30 MKI project and progressing major projects like AWACS and Hawk AJT to their logical conclusion.

During his tenure as AOP, he had been instrumental in formulation of revised abinitio and in-service training policies. He implemented AVSC Phase I report in the IAF in a record time and formulated proposals for Assured Career Progression for Airmen and AVSC Phase II for officers.

During his tenure as DCAS, he revamped the procurement process for fructification of the Annual Acquisition Plan. As a result of his effective planning, guidance and close monitoring, 100% of the allocated funds for capital acquisition were spent from the capital budget during the FY 2004 05 and 2005-06. With his close interaction with officials of Ministry of Defence, DRDO and Defence PSUs, he was instrumental in hastening important policy decisions like obtaining the warranty clause for HAL supplies, delegation of financial powers etc. Under his stewardship, 11th IAF Plan was prepared and approval obtained from MoD.

Air Marshal Arvind Kumar Nagalia AVSM VM VSM has thus rendered distinguished service of most exceptional .order.

Air Marshal Balatikalandra Uthaiah Chengappa AVSM VSM (12112) AE(L) was commissioned on 05 January 1970 in the Engineering Branch of IAF. He is one of the lAF's most experienced engineering officer trained both on aircraft (ac) and systems. During 36 years of distinguished service, he has held several important Command and Staff appointments, and is presently Air Officer-in-Charge Maintenance at Air Headquarters,

The Air officer is Russian-trained on Mi-25 gunship and was a pioneer for its induction in the IAF, for which he was commended by the CAS. He has the rare distinction of commanding a Guided Weapon Training Institute as a Wg Cdr, a Fighter Aircraft TETTRA School as a Gp Capt and a premier Systems Base Repair Depot as an Air Cmde, all with outstanding contributions. Also, as Chief Engineering Officer at a Flying Training Establishment, he sustained the serviceability of the ageing Iskra Fleet over 90%, thus ensuring timely completion of all flying training courses during his tenure. For this distinguished service, he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal in 96 by the President,

Air Marshal Chengappa, as Senior Maintenance Staff Officer of Central Air Co-mmand, reinforced engineering discipline and material management in the field units to increase serviceability of combat assets and support infrastructure. He ensured highest fuel and hydraulic discipline for improved flight and maintenance safety, and instilled concept of self-reliance to survive the resource crunch. For distinguished service of high order, he was aptly awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 04. Thereafter, as Senior Maintenance Staff Officer at Maintenance Command, he ensured improvement in production at Base Repair Depots, in terms of both quantity and quality, thus enhancing lAF's operational capability.

The Air Officer during his current appoint ment as Air Officer-in-Charge Maintenance at Air HQ, has brought about radical changes In the work culture. He has revitalized his techno-logistics team of officers and men to work more effectively and efficiently. His thrust on faster processing of cases for procurement of aviation stores, and for repair and overhaul of aircraft assets, particularly ex-abroad, has resulted in better availability of combat assets. He has used his high professional knowledge and vast experience to revise the existing maintenance practices across all ac and system fleets, resulting in less manpower and lesser time for higher serviceability. His art of negotiation has saved phenomenal money to the exchequer. His special interest has led to fructification of the much required IMMOLS project, the e-environment for material management in IAF, which was commissioned by the Honorable Raksha Mantri 01 09 October 2006. His personal liaison with all Govt. agencies, Defence PSUs, private sector and foreign vendors has resulted in all round synergism for making IAF a more potent force. In addition to all this, his fetish for a modern industrial environment has always generated clean, systematic and ergonomic work places - both in field units and in offices.

Air Marshal Balatikalandra Uthaiah Chengappa AVSM VSM has thus rendered distinguished service of the most exceptional order.

Air Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik, VSM ADC (12005) F (P) was commissioned in the fighter stream on 21 Jun 69. He has flown over 3000 hours on all MiG-21 variants and MiG-23 BNs. In his distinguished career spanning 38 years, he has held many important command and staff appointments, including command of a MiG-21 Bis Squadron, Chief Operations Officer of AF Station Bareilly, Directing Staff at Tactics And Combat Development Establishment and Defence Services Staff College, and command of two important flying bases. He is an alumnus of the National Defence College. As Air I, Western Air Command (WAC) during Op PARAKRAM, he was awarded the VSM in 2003 for meritorious performance. In addition to above the Air Officer had held the appointments of Air Defence Commander, South Western Air Command, DG Air Force Naval Housing Board (DG AFNHB), and Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) WAC, before being appointed the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Central Air Command (CAC), IAF wef 01 Nov 06.

As DG AFNHB, he overhauled its functioning and was instrumental in settling long pending court cases. He revamped the Finance Department, enhancing transparency in AFNHB transactions and significantly improving its public image. During his tenure as SASO, WAC, his involvement ensured optimization of resources and expeditious translation of operational concepts into actionable solutions. His clarity of thought and directions enabled his subordinates to focus on clearly defined objectives, maximizing their output, which was evident during the futuristic 'ExerciseGagan Shakti'.

During his tenure as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Air Command, there was considerable enhancement in flying effort coupled with flight safety. Under his guidance, all strategic assets were further operationalised and extensively exercised, and the first ever Air Show was conducted over Sangam in Allahabad. HQ CAC forces won laurels in Ex INDRADHANUSH in UK. The forces under his control also provided prompt relief to flood affected areas in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, significantly enhancing the image of the IAF at home and abroad. He brought about administrative improvements not only in the work environment but also in the quality of life of personnel below officer rank.

Air Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik, VSM ADC has thus rendered distinguished service of most exceptional order.