Air Commodore Padamjit Singh Ahluwalia was commissioned as a Fighter Pilot on 02 Jun 68. He was deputed overseas as a Flying Instructor and specially selected to train abroad during the initial induction of high technology aircraft, MiG-23 of and Mirage2000, in the countries of their origin. He was the Commanding Officer of one of the first two squadrons converting to Mirage-2000 aircraft. The squadron was made operational in a record time to undertake a pioneering role in the field of Electronic Warfare. The Air Officer was specially selected for a diplomatic assignment abroad.

His significant contribution in improving the bilateral defence relations was highly appreciated by the Ministry of External Affairs and duly recorded.

Air Cmde Ahluwalia was appointed Station Commander of an operational forward base in 1994. The base was infamous for intense bird activity. He applied himself consistently to the daunting task of creating a near zero bird activity environment. This challenging task was accomplished in a very short time. That the station was to become a model base, speaks volumes of his exemplary leadership and single minded devotion to duty. Air Cmde Ahluwalia was appointed Air Assistant to the Chief of the Air Staff in 96. Making the best use of his operational background and logical approach, he has made an outstanding contribution by providing well thought out staff inputs for efficient decision making. He possesses an incisive ability to get to the bottom of any problem and suggest solutions. He has displayed outstanding ability for interpersonal relations and ability to deal with senior officers by establishing an excellent capability for resource management and ability to handle complex problem situations.

Air Commodore Padamjit Singh Ahluwalia, AVSM, VM, VSM, has thus rendered distinguished services of an exceptional order.

Air Marshal DC Dhyani, VSM was commissioned in the IAF on 23 Jun 62. During his distinguished career spanning over 34 years, the Air Officer has held many key appointments. These include Chief Administrative Officer of major flying stations, Director of Administrative Inspection/ Provost Marshal (Air), Senior Officer in-charge Administration of an operational command and currently Air Officer in charge Administration at Air HQ. For his distinguished service of high order he was awarded Vishisht Seva Medal in 1985.

The Air Officer started his career as an Air Traffic Controller and acquitted himself creditably. He established Air Traffic Services at Bidar and Nasik from scratch and provided Air Traffic Services for events of National importance. A graduate of the National Defence College, he played a crucial role in evolving a Joint Services approach for the security of AF bases in disturbed areas.

As Air Officer in-charge Administration (AOA), he diligently planned the development of infrastructure to improve the operational potential of the IAF. In an incredibly short span of 10 months as AOA, the Air Officer brought about a significant change in the philosophy of administration and a remarkable improvement in the utilisation of Public and Non­Public funds. He has progressively improved the general morale of the service by timely planning and implementation of welfare schemes such as housing, education specialist medical facilities etc. A dental surgery was established at AF Station New Delhi and a new hospital for the veterans with the latest medicare facilities was inaugurated on Air Force Day, 1996.

Air Marshal Dinesh Chandra Dhyani has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Marshal SS Gupta, VSM was commissioned in the Aeronautical Engineering branch of the IAF on 11 Nov 62. In 1973 he acquired post graduate degree in Material Sciences from Cranfield (UK), He was awarded Vishisht Seva Medal in Jan 1982. He was instrumental in providing timely Mi-17 helicopter support for operations in Siachin Glacier in 1985.

The Air Officer was appointed Senior Maintenance Staff Officer, HQ South Western Air Command in Apr 94. He planned and conducted workshops on Missiles, Communication and Radar equipment, and different types of aircraft. This has led to significant improvements in the reliability and maintainability of these systems. His key thrust area has been the indigenisation of spares and maintenance facilities to achieve selfreliance. He encouraged the field units to innovate and rely more on the local markets for procurement and repair of equipment and share the information. This has accrued significant savings.

He established a Wide Area Computer Network which helped to streamline data transfer and obtain quicker response. Coupled with this, Technical Stores Movement Cell was formed, which was tasked to track all critical spares affecting aircraft serviceability. These measures have markedly improved serviceability of Combat fleet.

Air Marshal Shanti Swaroop Gupta has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Vice Marshal S Raghavan, VSM was commissioned on 10 Nov 62 in the Logistics Branch of the IAF. He has held the appointment AVSM 1996-97 of Senior Logistics Officer at Air Force station Jamnagar, Command Logistics Management Officer at HQ Eastern Air Command/ Officer Commanding Air Force Station Faridabad, Air Officer Commanding Equipment Depot Devlali and Deputy General Manager on deputation to Canteen Stores Department.

The Air Officer was appointed Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Logistics) on 02 Jan 95. With his remarkable managerial skills and excellent inter personal rapport, he was instrumental in bringing about all­round improvement in all areas. Management of mechanical transport received his highest attention. Inspite of many constraints, over 1000 vehicles were procured besides recovery of a large number of vehicles lying unserviceable for prolonged durations. The provisioning and procurement process of Russian flying clothing and aircrew clothing items was expedited by close monitoring. The criticality that existed for many lubricants during 1995 was changed to adequate availability at all places all the time. The working ethos of the Purchase Directorate were refined leading to speedy purchases, ensuring transparency in dealings and improved vendor confidence in the purchase system. He was also closely associated with the decentralisation of provisioning and procurement to Headquarters Maintenance Command and the launching of Integrated Material Management On-line System (IMMOLS). Both these decisions called for extensive analysis of reports, dialogue and negotiations and were very ably handled by him.

Air Vice Marshal S Raghavan has, thus, rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Vice Marshal KS Bindra, VM was commissioned on 14 Jan 63 as Helicopter Pilot. During his illustrious career, he has held many prestigious appointments in India and abroad such as the Air Attaché at Kabul, President of an Air Force Selection Board, Air Officer Commanding of a Transport Base and Deputy Commandant of Air Force Academy. He was awarded Vayu Sena Medal in 1975.

The Air Officer was appointed Senior Officer in-charge Administration at HQ Western Air Command on 06 Mar 95. He undertook the challenging task of providing administrative support to the biggest operational command of IAF with an aim to keep its personnel and weapon system in high state of AVSM 1997 operational preparedness. He displayed his administrative acumen by formulating a methodical and time­bound action plan for task accomplishments.

At a juncture when IAF was faced with critical resource crunch, the Air Officer devised innovative methods for optimum utilisation of resources without compromising quality. As a corollary, he set up core groups christened as “Centres of Excellence" to train personnel within the Command resources. The procedures have now been streamlined by issuing Command Admin Directives for effective management of work services, Public and Non­Public Funds, children's education and discipline among personnel. His herculean efforts have improved quality of life of the personnel, thus boosting their morale and trust in service.

Air Vice Marshal Khushinder Singh Bindra has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Vice Marshal McMahon was commissioned as a Fighter Pilot on 22 Jun 63. He is a Qualified Flying Instructor (QFI) and a Fighter Combat Leader (FCL). He participated in the 1965 and 1971 Indo- Pak operations and was Mentioned­in­Despatches in each. He commanded two front­line strike squadrons and was awarded Vayu Sena Medal in 1980. A graduate of the Australian Joint Services Staff College, he was specially selected as the Director Air Staff Requirement at Air HQ and subsequently as the Air Attaché in France from Apr 93 to Mar 95.

In Mar 95, then Air Commodore M McMahon was appointed Air Officer Com-manding, Air Force Station Ambala. He used his vast experience to upgrade the operational environment and the flying effort was increased by 30 to 40 per cent. It was largely due to his tireless efforts that the three flying units located at Ambala won the top honours in the 1996 Western Air Command Gunnery Meet. He successfully marshalled available resources towards reducing accidents as a result of bird strikes and improving the airfield environment resulting in safe and efficient operations.

He was also instrumental in supervising the runway resurfacing work which was completed in a record time of ten weeks. All these tasks were achieved by most effective use of existing personnel and material resources.

Air Vice Marshal M McMahon, VM has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Commodore AN Sen was commissioned as a Fighter Pilot on 18 Apr 64. A veteran of both Indo­Pak wars, he is a Fighter Combat Leader, a Production Test Pilot and also served as Directing Staff at College of Air Warfare. He has commanded a MiG­21 Squadron, two stations and the Institute of Flight Safety. He has also been Director Systems Evaluation at Air Hqs arid Command Air Defence Officer at HQ Western Air Command.

He was Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station Pune from Apr 93 to May 95. During the devastating earthquake at Latur in 1993 he effectively co-ordinated a large number of relief measures. The successful conduct of training of 100 personnel of Royal Malaysian Air Force on MiG­29 aircraft was another achievement during his command of the station which was over and above the normal allotted task of the Station.

Air Cmde Sen was posted as Air­1, HQ South Western Air Command in May 95. He was entrusted with responsibility for planning and conduct of a Fire Power Demonstration (FPD) at Pokhran in Nov 95. This was the largest FPD conducted since 1989 and was witnessed by the RRM, the three Service Chiefs, and a large number of MPs. By all standards, it was a spectacular show. The Air Officer also displayed high level of professional skills during planning and conduct of the Air Force level exercise in which many new concepts were tried out successfully.

Air Commodore Amlendra Nath Sen has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Cmde PK Pinto was commissioned as a pilot on 18 Apr 64. During his long and meritorious service, he gained fully operational status on Dakota, Fairchild Packet, AN-12, IL-76 and AN-32 aircraft and aircrew category of 'A' Master Green. He commanded an AN-32 Squadron and a major Air Defence Radar Unit. He was Chief Operations Officer at a major transport base. A graduate of College of Defence Management, he was appointed Air Officer Commanding of a major transport base in the East in Jun 95.

A major task of his station is Air Maintenance of the North Eastern states - a daunting task in the face of highly erratic climatic conditions and treacherous terrain existing in the area. In a very short time and with application of his professional acumen, managerial skills and untiring perseverance, he brought about great change in the operational capability of his station. The squadrons achieved and exceeded the air maintenance task, earlier in a back log, during the period of his command. His exceptional planning skills helped in meticulous planning and execution of the Eastern Air Command Air Exercise. Under his guidance and dynamic leadership, the flying units at his station were able to successfully participate in a major para dropping exercise in the Desert Sector. By dynamic leadership, he brought up the flying units of his base to a very high operational preparedness. An astute administrator and highly conscious of the environment, he made all efforts to protect the ecology and yet improved the quality of life at the station by optimising the resources.

Air Commodore Peter Keith Pinto has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Commodore Ivor Percival Alexander was commissioned on 18 Apr 64 as a transport Pilot. He has held various important Command and Staff appointments which include the command of a transport Squadron, an Air Defence Radar Unit and an Electronic Intelligence Flight.

A graduate of college of Defence Management, he was also the first Air Commodore (Air Borne Operations) at the Army Training Command.

Air Cmde IP Alexander was appointed the Air Officer Commanding of Air Force Station Chandigarh on 03 Jan 94. He has been instrumental in indigenizing the role equipment for the Mi­26 helicopters which included rollers for the cargo compartment, underslung container and figment of a new advanced radar. This not only enhanced the operational employability of the aircraft but also reduced turn around time resulting in better utilization of aircraft. As a result, the aircrew could undertake larger number of missions and improve upon their operational training status.

Under his dynamic command, the air maintenance task for 94-95 and 95-96 was exceeded by 432 and 517 tonnes respectively. At a time when spares availability was at its lowest he achieved 100% serviceability on the ageing fleets of MiG-21, AN-32 and IL-76 aircraft for durations varying from 7 to 100 days. With his determined effort he was successful in clearing the vegetation on both sides of the runway in record time thereby reducing bird hits, a major hazard to flight safety.

Air Commodore Ivor Percival Alexander has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Commodore PK Misra was commissioned in Education Branch on 26 Sep 64 and later joined the Department of Judge Advocate General (JAG) (Air) in 1969. Since then, he has acquitted himself commendably in a series of legal assignments at various Commands and Air HQ. He was appointed JAG (Air) on 26 May 93. A graduate of Defence Services Staff College, a law graduate and a post graduate in English, he authored a number of booklets on Air Force Law and allied subjects which have proved beneficial to the officers in the field in dealing with legal issues.

His biggest achievement is in the field of fighting civil litigation on behalf of the 1AF and Union of India. He has been closely monitoring the progress of numerous court cases to safeguard the interest of Air Force. Through his timely intervention and professional competence, he has ensured that decisions of the courts when in favour of the Union of India. In certain cases, he strove hard and got some adverse decisions reversed in appeal thus saving the Government heavy expenditure.

The Air Officer took upon the tasks of revision of Regulations for the Air Force 1964 and amendments to Air Force Act 1950. He accomplished these tasks expeditiously. He is also spearheading the proposal for setting up a separate tribunal for speedier disposal of cases pertaining to service personnel. Due to his untiring efforts he has greatly contributed in improving the discipline and morale of the IAF.

Air Commodore Pramod Kumar Misra has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Cmde MS Singha was commissioned as a pilot on 16 Oct 65 and is the Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station, Yelahanka since 18 Sep 95. An exceptional flier, he holds the highest aircrew category, A Master Green, with over 7300 hours of accident free flying. During his long and meritorious service, he has numerous outstanding achievements to his credit, including very successful tenures as Chief Operations Officer of an Operational Wing, Commanding Officer of IL-76 Squadron and Air­II of HQ Eastern Command, IAF. An A-2 Qualified Flying Instructor, he was on deputation to the Republic of Singapore Air Force for two years. For exceptional devotion to duty, he was awarded Vayu Sena Medal in 1987.

Air Cmde Singha was given the responsibility of planning and executing India's most prestigious International Aerospace Exposition, “Aero India 96" which was held at Air Force Station Yelahanka from 03 to 07 Dec 96. This was the first ever Show of this magnitude conceived by the Ministry of Defence with a lead time of just 11 months to bring up the necessary infrastructure of international standard at the Air Force Station.

Air Cmde Singha had the enormous task of planning, coordinating and executing numerous activities simultaneously. Those included bringing up of a modern and well equipped Flight Operations Center, a VIP Receptorium, a brand new Hangar to accommodate the business stalls of the foreign traders, a security wall around the Station, captive power and extension of dispersal to house additional aircraft. It was also his responsibility to manage security throughout the build up phase and during the Show. In addition the Flying Training courses had to be planned and passed out in such a way that they did not interfere with the Air Show. The Air Officer achieved each one of these tasks well within the prescribed time frame maintaining excellent standard in each sphere of activity. Over 101 foreign and 47 Indian exhibitors participated in the Exposition which drew more than 50,000 viewers. The Prime Minister of India deeply appreciated the effort put in towards the Exposition. All the delegates too, who participated in the event, acclaimed the event as an outstanding success.

Air Commodore Mohinderjit Singh Singha has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Commodore S Bhojwani, VSM was commissioned as a Fighter Pilot on 16 Oct 65. He has held the appointment of Air Force Examiner and has done instructional assignments at Defence Services Staff College and College of Air Warfare. He commanded two MiG­21 Squadrons and served as Chief Operations Officer at a front line Jaguar base. He has also held staff appointments at Directorate of Operations (Offensive) and Personnel (Officers) at Air HQ. He was awarded Vishisht Seva Medal in 1993. He is an A-1 Qualified Flying Instructor, a Fighter Combat Leader and a graduate of RAF Staff College, UK.

Air Cmde S Bhojwani was appointed as Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station Gwalior on 06 Feb 95. Soon thereafter the station was given responsibility for conduct of major Air Force exercises in this sector. He met the exacting demands of induction of a large number of fighter detachments, Missile elements and radar units from other Commands. He worked tirelessly at activating the Singpur Air to Ground firing Range, using only local resources. This range is now an invaluable asset and is being used regularly. He conceived the automation of observation post reports and range firing accuracy with the help of computers and has inculcated wide spread awareness of intelligent use of computers.

All tasks were achieved without compromising on the routine administration of the station, while providing better living and working conditions for the personnel of the station. The serviceability of aircraft and flying effort have both gone up significantly during his tenure.

Air Commodore Subhash Bhojwani has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.