Squadron Leader Naresh Kumar who has been commanding a Helicopter Unit was asked to undertake missions for providing relief to persons affected by floods in North Bengal in 1968. He rescued 9 persons on 5th October 1968, during one such mission. In the evening of the same day, flying as copilot, he saw a number of people surrounded by flood water. They were in grave danger and needed immediate rescue. It was already dusk and the visibility was going down However as, commanding officer of the unit, Squadron Leader Naresh Kumar ordered the pilot to attempt rescue. Since landing was not possible, the helicopter was kept hovering a few inches from the ground. When marooned persons could not get into the helicopter, being too weak he, disregarding his personal safety, jumped out of the helicopter and managed to put three persons on board. In a like manner, he helped the rescue of some more marooned persons on 6th October 1968. It was the result of his planning that in 14 days 650 tonnes of food and equipment were air­dropped and over 1,400 people rescued.

Throughout, Squadron Leader Naresh Kumar displayed courage, initiative and devotion to duty.

Air Vice Marshal Naresh Kumar was commissioned in the Indian Air Force on 14 January 1956. He has held various appointments including command of two helicopter units and staff appointments at Command Headquarters. He graduated from National Defence College in 1986.

While commanding one of the helicopter units he was assigned the task of flood relief in North Bengal and in recognition of his services, act of courage, initiative and devotion to duty, he was awarded 'Vayu Sena Medal'.

Presently he is posted as Air Officer Commanding of a forward Air Base located at high altitude. His base is responsible to provide infrastructure for successful operation of helicopters and large scale operation of transport aircraft. Because of skirmishes at Siachen Glacier, he has been burdened with additional responsibilities of ensuring availability of supplies and casualty evacuation. Himself a diligent and dedicated officer, Air Vice Marshal Naresh Kumar has been able to motivate the personnel under his command to work with zeal, enthusiasm and single mindedness of purpose. Because of his inspiring leadership, the personnel under his command have been able to achieve their task despite heavy constraints of adverse weather conditions, high altitude and limited flying resources.

Air Vice Marshal Naresh Kumar, VM has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order

Air Marshal Naresh Kumar, AVSM, VM, ADC was commissioned in the Indian Air Force on 14 January 1956. In his distinguished career spread over 37 years, he has held various important command and staff appointments. A graduate of National Defence College, he has an outstanding accident free flying record of more than 3000 hours on various aircraft like Vampires, Chetak, Mi-4, Mi-8 and Mi17 aircraft. While commanding one of the helicopter units he was assigned the task of flood relief in North Bengal and in recognition of his services, act of courage, initiative and devotion to duty, he was awarded 'Vayu Sena Medal' in 1970. After a successful tenure as Air Attaché in Afghanistan, he was appointed Air II in one of our premier Command Headquarters, followed by a command of an operational base located at high altitude. Under his inspiring leadership, meticulous approach and guidance, this base was brought to the level of operational excellence. For rendering distinguished service of an exceptional order, he was awarded 'Ati Vishisht Seva Medal' in 1988. On his a promotion to the rank of Air Vice Marshal, he took over as Senior Officer-inCharge Administration at HQ CAC, before taking over yet another important appointment of AOC Jammu and Kashmir. His performance in both these appointments of totally diverse fields of administration and operation, was commendable.

On promotion to the rank of Air Marshal in April 1991, he was appointed Air Officerin-Charge Administration at Air Headquarters. With his sound professional competence and dedicated hard work, brought about all round improvement in all areas of activities, viz. work services, general administration, management of public and welfare funds. A particular mention need to be made of introduction of “Medical Care Scheme" for retired Air Force personnel during this tenure of his. He was also entrusted the responsibility of Air Officer-in-Charge Personnel along with AOA, which he discharged with unmatched excellence.

In Apri1, 1992, Air Marshal took over the appointment of Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters Central Air Command. In this appointment, using his professional expertise in the field of operations, he effected considerable improvements in the Ops preparedness. He, with his meticulous planning and analytical approach, carried out rationalisation of resources and manpower in various spheres of activities and brought about significant savings to the tune of a few crores without any compromise on operational capability. In Mar 93 he was appointed Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of a major operational Command.

Air Marshal Naresh Kumar, AVSM, VM, ADC has thus rendered distinguished service of the most exceptional order.