Details : | Group Captain Sandeep Singh (24011) was commissioned in the Indian Air Force as a pilot in fighter stream on 29 Jun 96 and has over 2000 hours of flying experience on Mig-21 T-75, MiG-21 T-96, Mig-27 ML and Mig-27 UPG aircraft. He is a Fighter Strike Leader (FSL), Instrument Rating Instructor and Examiner (IRIE), and graduate of Defence Services Staff College. On completion of his tenure as Flight Commander of a Mig-27 ML Sqn, he took over command of a Mig-27 ML Sqn on 12 Jan 15. In the past he has been awarded commendation by AOC-in-C for his professional acumen. The officer took over command of the Sqn only after a few months of its relocation to a new base. This brought about new challenges in running the Sqn and meeting the operational aspirations of the aircrew with limited assets. With painstaking effort and foresight, he set about maximising the operational potential of the Sqn. With focused planning and training, all aircrew of the unit were operational and valley qualified within a very short span of time. The fleet serviceability improved considerably under his able dynamic leadership. Under his command, the Sqn also took over the role of Banner Target Tow (BD) and in a record time of a week, eight aircrew were declared banner qualified. The officer with his multi-dimensional initiatives has effected several innovations towards flight safety, with the Sqn maintaining an enviable flight safety record. Besides completing the allotted task in an extremely professional manner, the Sqn has also been interacting with the Army to train together leading to excellent rapport with the local Army units and in turn the Corps. This jointmanship was instrumental in garnering extensive support from the Army for the arduous task of preparing for President's Standards Presentation (PSP) at Hasimara. His keen involvement and quest for excellence was the key to the successful conduct of PSP at Hasimara. A record number of veterans were looked after very professionally and all events relating to PSP were conducted in a befitting manner despite the enormity of planning and coordination involved. Additionally, the officer has been instrumental in validating the Aircraft Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation (ACMI) modification and carriage by Mig-27 ML, followed by formulation of SOP. For exceptional devotion to duty, Hon'ble President is pleased to award Vayu Sena Medal (Devotion to duty) to Group Captain Sandeep Singh. |