Group Captain Anup Kumar Patnaik (15295) AE (L) was commissioned on 04 Jan 1978. In 28 years of distinguished service, he has held several field and staff appointments. The officer w.e.f. 01 Oct 04 is on the posted strength of Air Force Station Jorhat, as Chief Engineering Officer (CEO).

A highly qualified and experienced engineer on aircraft, electronic warfare and signals intelligence, the officer, in his 28 years of service, commanded a Ground Electronic Surveillance Unit, set up the Engineering Faculty for Aeronautical Engineer's ab-initio training at Air Force Academy as the first Chief Instructor and held important appointments at Air Headquarter including Joint Director Operations (Information & Electronic Warfare) and as Director Engineering 'B'for non-Russian transport aircraft and helicopters. The officer interfaced Electronic Cipher Line machines with Personal Computers in 1991 for which he was commended by the CAS in 1992.

On taking over as CEO Jorhat, he focused his attention on building up AN-32 serviceability, which, at that time, was only 44 %. He was able to recover five out of eight AOG aircraft within twelve months from the two AN-32 Squadrons on the base. Through liaison with Base Repair Depots, Equipment Depots, Command Headquarters and Air HQ and non stop effort at the Air Force Station, average serviceability crossed 80% by March 06. By Apr 06, both squadrons had independently achieved 100 % serviceability. The officer then took on a seemingly impossible task. He planned availability of 20 ac out of the 24 from both Squadrons, to enable a record breaking 20 ac fly past, unprecedented for the AN-32 fleet of the IAF. With ingenuity, planning, and relentless hard work, he achieved the unprecedented. On 31 May 06, both the Squadrons flew 10 AN-32s each in two formations, making history for the Air Force Station, Jorhat and for the transport fleet of the IAF.

The officer's achievements extended to all aspects of engineering on the Wing. He was instrumental in carrying out a major BEML wheel dozer repair locally by retrieving spares from a BER vehicle of Air Force Station Kalaikunda saving Rs 11 lakhs to the exchequer. He installed inverter lights on both sides of the main runway, to cater for failure of the commercial power supply until the DG set took over the load. By personal liaison with EAC and Air HQ, he ensured despatch of 300 life expired heavy bombs by road to stock holding depot, a task pending for the last two years due to non-availability of railway wagons. The Instrument Landing System on the Station had been unserviceable since 1998, and all attempts to obtain spares had failed. Using existing components, he ensured that it was made serviceable on 01 May 06 and has remained serviceable since then. Serviceability of navigational aids and communication equipment, vehicles etc were maintained at 98-99% for the past one year despite their vintage. His inspired leadership, sustained hard work and professional pride instilled in his engineering team, made these outstanding achievements possible.

For his outstanding contributions, foresight, personal involvement and distinguished service of high order, the Hon'ble President is pleased to award 'Vishisht Seva Medal' to Group Captain Anup Kumar Patnaik.