Wing Commander Manjit Singh, Dhillon was commissioned in the Air Force in 1963. He has undergone advanced Helicopter courses in foreign countries and is in command of a Helicopter Base at present. He has over 4500 hours helicopter flying to his credit. He has taken part in the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak conflicts. He was awarded Vir Chakra for gallantry during Indo-Pak Conflict, 1971.

The Bhagirathi river experienced unprecedented floods during August, 1978. Wing Commander Manjit Singh Dhillon conducted the relief operations and under his guidance, 35 tons of food and other supplies were airlifted to stranded pilgrims within a short period. He also directed the evacuation of 362 old and infirm pilgrims and parties of school and college students.

Immediately after the floods in the Bhagirathi river, on the night of 3rd September, 1978, All India Radio broadcast a warning of expected floods in the areas adjoining Sharanpur, Kamal and Delhi. Wing Commander Manjit Singh Dhillon anticipated that there would be a requirement of relief operations in the Western UP area. He, therefore, immediately mounted Helicopter Flights to monitor the flow of water in the river Yamuna and, thereafter, directed relief and supply dropping missions in the Western UP and the Haryana sectors till the floods in the Yamuna receded. Throughout the period of relief operations commencing from the middle of August, 1978, till their completion in mid September, 1978, Wing Commander Dhillon worked tirelessly and it was by his singular determination and dauntless efforts tint relief was provided in the shortest possible time to the affected areas.

Throughout these operations, Wing Commander Manjit Singh Dhillon has displayed initiative, professional competence and devotion to duty of an exceptional order.

Wing Commander Venkataraman Shankar has been the Officer Commanding of a Packet Squadron since 29th April, 1976. Ever since he took over Command of the Squadron, he realised the need to activate his team into a wellknit and cohesive force. As a result, the Squadron has been able to meet all operational and training Commitments that were entrusted to it and has achieved an excellent state of operational status. A man with strong love for flying and decisive and poised in handling emergencies, he was successful in maintaining the morale of the officers and men of his Squadron very high. As a pilot, he has to his credit a total of 6800 hours of accident/incident free flying and 3900 hours of purely operational flying in both Eastern and Northern Sectors. He stands fully qualified for operations in J&K, Ladakh, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh where flying calls for the most stringent standards of professional competence and acumen. By his keen insight into the working of men and material and capability to quickly anlayse situations, he has been able to bring the aircraft serviceability state of his Squadron to an all time high. It is during his stewardship that the Squadron has been adjudged the best Squadron for Flight Safety and has been awarded the Flight Safety Trophy for the year 1977. He has achieved the highest 'A' /Master Green on three different aircraft and has maintained this status for the past 14 years.

Wing Commander Venkataraman Shankar has thus displayed leadership, high professional skill and devotion to duty of an exceptional order.

Wing Commander Kamal Khanna was detailed on the 12th August, 1977, to carry out engine check on a Gnat aircraft. While carrying out aerobatics, he noticed that Jet Pipe Temperature was high. He decided to return to base. While returning, he experienced buffeting of the nose, revolutions per minute unwinding and JPT going up against the stop. This engine failure was coupled with hydraulic failure and oil pressure dolls eye turning white. Despite so many emergencies, Wing Commander Kamal Khanna kept cool and decided to force land the aircraft on the airfield instead of ejecting. He handled this serious emergency with utmost competence and landed the aircraft safely.

In this action Wing Commander Kamal Khanna displayed exemplary courage, professional skill and devotion to duty of an exceptional order.

Squadron Leader Perepu Sreerama Murthy joined the Air Force in 1962. In November, 1975, he took over as Chief Engineering Officer of a Transport Wing. By his managerial capability and sound professional knowledge, he made a creditable contribution towards a high rate of serviceability and flight operation of ageing Dakota aircraft.

On learning about the loss of contact with the aircraft with Prime Minister on 4th November, 1977, Squadron Leader Murthy mobilised, with commendable speed, specialist and other vehicles with adequate manpower and equipment to proceed to the crash site for rescue work. On arrival at the crash site, he set forth to secure safety of the aircraft systems to prevent any explosion or outbreak of fire. Without any loss of time, he got the area, soaked with spilled fuel around the aircraft, cleared of all rescue and security personnel approaching with naked flames and kerosene lamps. Undeterred by the risk involved, he manoeuvred through the narrow passages, surrounded by sharp and twisted structures, inside the crashed aircraft and isolated the sources of electrical power and also ensured that no risk of explosion existed from the charged bottles. Despite unsafe access to the fuel tanks, due to the aircraft resting on its belly and the darkness, he managed to plug damaged fuel lines.

A crash tender and an ambulance struck in the slushy and damaged track had blocked the narrow approach to the crash site. This blockage affected the rescue operation to the extent that even the car carrying the Prime Minister was held up for nearly half an hour. Squadron Leader Murthy arranged for the recovery vehicles, equipment and manpower and got the blockage cleared to enable movement of all rescue vehicles and thus ensured speedy execution of the rescue operations.

In this action, Squadron Leader Perepu Sreerama Murthy displayed courage, determination, professional skill and devotion to duty of an exceptional order.

Squadron Leader Harbinder Singh Sidhu has been on the posted strength of a Packet Aircraft Squadron since January, 1974. He is a qualified Flying Instructor and has been instructing on Packet aircraft since March, 1973. He has amassed an enviable total of 4168 flying hours to his credit, out of which 1100 hours are on instructional flights. He has considerably improved the operational and categorization state of the Squadron. As a result, the Squadron not only cleared the back log in training of pilots caused due to grounding of Packet aircraft but also achieved the distinction of second best categoriscd squadron amongst all the transport squadrons in the Air Force for the year 1977.

On the 6th April, 1978, during a night dual check sortie, he encountered a rare emergency not known in the history of Packet flying. While going round at 300 feet Advanced Ground Landing, when the flaps were raised to take off position, the starboard outboard flap linkage gave way shifting the starboard outboard flap to the right which lifted the starboard aileron and acted as a lock to the aileron controls. The aircraft viciously rolled to the starboard. Undeterred by the seriousness of the situation, he maintained his presence of mind, decided to reduce power on port engine, landed on the runway with the help of rudders alone and saved the aircraft and the precious lives of the crews from an impending disaster. In an earlier accident, he gave a similar account of his high professional skill and cool headedness by crash landing on the runway at night when his aircraft was not able to maintain height due to runway propeller soon after take off'.

Squadron Leader Harbinder Singh Sidhu thus displayed courage, professional skill and devotion to duty of an exceptional order.

Squadron Leader Ashok Anand Thosar has been in an operational Helicopter Unit in Western Sector since May, 1976. He has to his credit 3600 hours of living, out of which 2500 accident free hours have been on helicopters mainly over inhospitable terrain. Under his leadership, his unit, accomplished all operational tasks with great success and achieved the distinction of winning Flight Safety Trophy for the year 1977 for the Accident Free Flying record.

He has successfully undertaken innumerable operational missions, which included VIP commitments, logistic support, relief operations and casualty evacuations. During August, 1977, he gave an excellent account of his professional skill as a Chetak Helicopter Team Leader while conducting Flood Relief Operations in Delhi Area. Again, on 4th September, 1977, he evacuated a dangerously ill Army Jawan from an unprepared and restricted helipad at a height of 13,500 feet and saved a valuable life.

Squadron Leader Ashok Anand Thosar has thus displayed courage, professional skill and devotion to duty of an exceptional order.

Squadron Leader Goplasamudram Mahadevan Viswanathan was commissioned in the Air Force in December, 1964. He has been performing the duties of a flight commander in a front line supersonic fighter Squadron since July, 1976.

He has to his credit 1980 hours of flying on various types of aircraft, of these 1625 hours are on jet fighters. He has maintained an accident-free flying record and it is for this unblemished performance that the he was commended by Chief of the Air Staff on the 26th January, 1975.

On the 16th March, 1978, at about 1100 hours while Squadron Leader Viswanathan was performing the duties of Senior Flying Supervisor in the Air Traffic at a Station, a fighter pilot was coming in for a landing after his training sortie. A bird hit the aircraft at a very low height just a few second before landing. The young pilot decided to eject and transmitted his intentions on the Radio telephone. Squadron Leader Viswanathan, who was fully attentive, realised that the aircraft was at too low a height to permit a safe ejection. Without loosing even a fraction of a second, he advised the pilot to force land straight ahead and thereafter guided him on Radio telephone about the forced landing. His alertness on duty and sound judgment helped in saving the valuable life of a young pilot as well as a valuable aircraft.

Squadron Leader Gopalasamudram Maha devan Viswanathan thus displayed exemplary professional competence and devotion to duty of an exceptional order.

Flight Lieutenant Shailendra Pratap Singh has been on the posted strength of a Helicopter Unit since November 1976. He has a record of nearly 1800 accident-free flying hours. He has flown nearly 400 hours during 1978, a major portion of which was on operational role.

During the flood relief operations in August-September, 1979, Flight Lieutenant Shailendra flew nearly 100 hours on flood relief sorties in Kanpur, Lucknow and Varanasi. As an independent detachment commander, he ensured maximum possible flying sorties to make the relief work more effective. In utter disregard to his personal comforts, he carried out his task in a purposeful manner. He also worked hard for long hours to complete his assignment.

Flight Lieutenant Shailendra Pratap Singh has thus displayed high determination, professional competence and devotion to duty of an exceptional order.

Flight Lieutenant Bijender Singh Siwach was commissioned in the Indian Air Force in June, 1970. He has served, with credit, in various Helicopter units ever since his commission. At present he is performing the duties of a Flight Adjutant in an Air OP Squadron. The officer has been an asset to the Squadron and on more than one occasion, he has performed flying tasks out-side the call of his normal duties.

On the 7th July, 1977, Flight Lieutenant Siwach was called upon to rescue five casualties of an Army Mountaineering Expedition from Mun Kun peak area in Shafat Glaciers. The pilot had no previous knowledge of the terrain and used his professional skill to locate and evacuate casualties from an altitude of 17,000 feet. This hazardous task was performed in the face of adverse climatic conditions and he had to carry out three sorties to evacuate the five serious casualties. This flying operation took over six hours.

In this action, Flight Lieutenant Bijender Singh Siwach displayed high professional competence, determination, courage, and devotion to duty of an exceptional order.

Junior Warrant Officer Khaman Singh Subba was posted as the JWO in-charge of the Helicopter Detachment. On the 2nd September, 1979, there was only one helicopter with the Detachment and it was utilised to carry out flood relief operations in and around Midnapore town in West Bengal between 1430 hours and 1800 hours. Servicing and float fitment were carried out on this helicopter till early morning on 3rd September, 1978, and the relief operations were further intensified with the arrival of 5 more Chetaks that day. The Detachment, with its fleet of 6 helicopters, actively participated in the flood relief operations till 9th September, 1978 and earned appreciation from all concerned.

All this achievement was possible because of the untiring efforts put in by Junior Warrant Officer Subba in maintaining these aircraft. By his tact and professional skill, he effectively utilised the meagre resources and limited manpower available to him. He kept up the morale of his men high by personal example. He remained with them for long hours and guided and supervised their activities which resulted in quick and systematic turn-round of the helicopters.

Junior Warrant Officer Khaman Singh Subba thus displayed determination, leadership, professional skill and devotion to duty of an exceptional order.