Wing Commander Sanjeev Raj (18276) F (P) was commissioned on 07 Jun 86 in the Flying Branch of IAF as a Fighter Pilot. He has been the Flight Commander of a Mig-29 Squadron for three years and has commanded a MiG-21 Squadron at a forward Air Base. He is a Qualified Flying Instructor and a Fighter Combat Leader.

He took over command of a fighter squadron on 29 Dec 03. The role of unit is to train ab-initio pilots to become fighter pilots. Twenty five ab-initio pilots have been posted to the unit in this period and fifteen successfully graduated as fighter pilots. The Squadron flew 7984 sorties and 4818.50 hours during his command which is the maximum flying done by any MiG-21 squadron. A very keen flier, he himself has flown 961 sorties/578 hours during this tenure which reflects his active involvement and supervision. During his tenure, the Squadron did not have any CAT 1 accident.

Under his leadership, the unit maintained exceptionally high serviceability of aircraft and was able to achieve 100% serviceability on one occasion on 17 Mar 05. Inspite of significant manning and technical constraints of the MiG21 fleet, the overall output, quality of work, consistency and morale of the unit has been exceptional primarily because of his leadership and professionalism. Leading the team from the front, he delivered outstanding results across operational, maintenance and administrative fronts. The Squadron was adjudged as the 'Best Combat Squadron' of SWAC in the year 2005. The squadron's performance was well appreciated by DASI in the year 2005 with Average Plus to Above Average results.

For exceptional devotion to duty, the Hon'ble President is pleased to award 'Vayu Sena Medal' to Wing Commander Sanjeev Raj.