Air Vice Marshal Trichinapoly Subramanyam Raghu Raman (12664) Med was commissioned on 26 Jan 71. In 36 years of distinguished service, he has held several command and staff appointments that include Associate Professor at Armed Forces Medical College, AOC at an Air Force Hospital (AFH), Principal Medical Officer (PMO) at HQ EAC and currently as Commandant, Command Hospital Air Force Bangalore (CHAFB). For his outstanding performance in the Advance Course in Paediatrics, he was awarded the CNS Medal in 1979.

Whilst commanding the AFH Johrat, he conceptualised and created a medical evaluation centre and thereby immensely benefited both the service and civil aircrew of the entire North East region. As PMO at EAC, he integrated the functional aspects of AFH, Hashimara and Military Hospital, Binaguri and thus the scarce specialist medical care was made available even in the most peripheral Air Force units.

Having excelled in the field of Paediatrics and with vast teaching experience, he has many publications in national journals to his credit and has been a guest speaker in many national seminars. In 2001 as Head of the Paediatrics Department, he brought honour when for the first time in services, the CHAFB was recognised as the 'Baby Friendly Hospital' by the Breast Promotion Network of India and UNICEF.

On taking over as Commandant of CHAFB on 01 Jan 06, he restructured the organisation and provided purpose and direction to the personnel. This in turn has facilitated exponential growth in patient care related activities like the implementation of an unique single window concept of health care for outdoor patients, creation of an all exclusive Diabetic Ward for enhanced patient care, introduction of Battery Operated Vehicle for conveying the patients and the introduction of an innovative multi rack cargo van to counter to the challenging task of food distribution at the patients' bedside. Under his command, the work services has witnessed a rapid growth and culminated in the creation of an ultra modern MRI centre, Accident and Emergency Centre, Blood Component Manufacturing Unit and mega renovation of the Auditorium while other projects like Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory, Radio Therapy Unit and Married Accommodation are nearing completion. He ingeniously conceptualised and established a modern sports complex and children parks at two independent pockets even amidst the acute space constraints. He, with his foresight and vision, also meticulously provided the organ is ational support for the successful conduct of International Congress of Aviation and Space Medicine in Sep 06 and medical support for the Aero India 2006 at Yelahanka.

Air Vice Marshal Trichinapoly Subramanyam Raghu Raman has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Vice Marshal Narayanan Vijayakumar VSM (12725) Accts was commissioned in the IAF on 26 Jun 71 having been awarded the CAS Medal, Best All-rounder Trophy and later, the President's Plaque for Best Trainee Officer of 1971. The Air Officer has held several important field, instructional, command and staff appointments in his career. He has authored many papers on Public/Non-Public Fund subjects and Manag e ment topics. Other significant contributions by him are the successful completion of major redesigning of “AF Officers' Appraisal System" during 1995-98 and educating AF personnel on the “Air Warrior Concept" at units in the IAF through numerous lectures during 2001-02. As AOC, Air Force Central Accounts Office during 2003-04, he had brought in several improvements in the infrastructure, working environment and functional aspects which enhanced substantially the efficiency of the automated pay accounting services in IAF. The Air Officer is academically highly qualified including a Ph D and is the senior most Accountant Officer in IAF for the past three years. He was commended earlier by the AOCin-C and CAS and awarded VSM in 2001.

As ACAS (Financial Planning) at Air HQ wef Sep 04, he had been successful in getting larger share of budgetary allocations for the IAF with the budget for 07-08 standing at a record Rs. 27,259 Cr which is 28% of the Defence Budget. His personal monitoring and control ensured full utilization of the large allocations in the Capital Budget viz Rs 14,821 Cr in 04-05, Rs 12,560 Cr in 05-06 and Rs. 14,767 Cr in 06-07 despite many constraints. He also streamlined the revenue budget allocation system in and made available sufficient funds to all Air Force Establishments.

Under his able guidance, leadership and personal involvement, the Financial Planning he achieved a number of milestones. A major creditable performance is the savings worth Rs 1,300 Cr effected in nine capital acquisition contracts with HAL during the last three years due to stricter and intelligent scrutiny of price proposals, which helped in sparing precious financial resources for other capital commitments of IAF. Some of the important achievements during his present tenure include finalisation of the vexed and long delayed issue of Warranty Clause for HAL products; finalization of the long case of the Base Year Price revision for HAL products & supplies; getting the Govt letter issued as the first among the Services on the enhanced delegation of financial for IAF; introduction of Resource Management Concept to bring in cost consciousness at AF Stns; extending the Unit Costing System to all AF Stns and streamlining the utilization of the Foreign Travel Budget at Air HQ.

Air Vice Marshal Narayanan Vijayakumar VSM has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Vice Marshal Vijay Kumar Dayalu VSM & Bar (13096) Adm was commissioned in the Administrative branch of the IAF on 17 Jun 72. He has held the appointments of Camp Commandant Air HQ, Chief Administrative Officer of two Stations, Senior Personnel Staff Officer, President, Central Airmen Selection Board (CASB) and Comm andant, Air Force Administrative College (AFAC) prior to his present appointment of ACAS (Air Force Works). He is a graduate of the DSSC. He was awarded VSM in 1994 and Bar to VSM in 2004.

A versatile, innovative and self motivated administrative officer, he has consistently exhibited a very high degree of professionalism and administrative acumen through out career. In the last two tenures as President CASB and Commandant AFAC, his administrative abilities have been par excellence. As the President CASB he was the singular driving force in changing the very face of airmen selections by introducing many innovations to strengthen the selection process. At AFAC as the Commandant, he has been singularly instrumental in imple menting the 'task directive' for introduction of distance learning in training of officers of all branches. In addition to this challenging task AVM Dayalu also set up the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme at Coimbatore in an exemplary manner which has benefited the ex-servicemen community immensely.

As the ACAS (Air Force Works) his in-depth knowledge, ingenuity and meticulous planning have ensured initiation of a vast variety of infrastructural works keeping pace with the induction of the latest high-tech systems for the modernization of the Air Force. A close watch on the Special Projects and carry over liabilities has ensured proper utilization of the allotted funds. His analytical approach has constantly spurred his team successfully launch the largest ever Capital Works Plan of the Indian Air Force in 2006-07. This has resulted in providing a threshold to the ever growing modernization needs of Air Force.

He has held additional charge in the duties of President of Defence Services Officers' Institute and has been a very active member in the Air Force Naval Housing Board. His appreciation of the complexities in both these areas was complete. With this, he has provided catalytic directions for the cohesive coordination to the members who benefited from these ventures.

Air Vice Marshal Vijay Kumar Dayalu VSM & Bar has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Commodore Amarsingh Ganpatrao Patil was commissioned as a fighter pilot on 23 Dec 72. He has held several important command and staff appointments. He is a Qualified Flying Instructor and a graduate of DSSC.

During his tenure as a flying instructor, he was commended by CAS for matured handling of an emergency involving a foreign student. As a Pechora Squadron Commander, his Squadron was put on the front bench of operational preparedness and assessed as 'Average Plus' by DASI. During his tenure as a Station Commander of a forward Air Defence Direction Centre, his Station was adjudged as the 'Best Control & Reporting Unit' of the Air Force for its overall operational efficiency and prompt deployment during 'Operation Vijay'. During 'Operation Parakram' as Chief Operation Officer of a forward base in the Kashmir valley, he played a pivotal role in deployment of all incoming and outgoing friendly forces in the most effective manner, thus ensuring overall Operational Readiness in the shortest possible time. The Station won the 'Best Operational Wing Trophy' of Western Air Command during his tenure as COO

Air Officer Commanding of a premier fighter base, his inimitable working style and dynamic leadership has continued to contribute towards betterment of working culture and enhanced productivity. The Station has flown a mammoth 10000 hours of flying on the age old MiG-21 (Type-77) and the Chetak/Cheetah helicopter fleets in 18 months. All the courses doing MiG Operational Flying Training have passed out ahead of schedule and additional flying effort was made available for pilots from other Commands. The base under his regime has also done benevolent service to civilians by way of evacuating 108 serious causalities from remote and inaccessible parts of the eastern region by helicopters. All this was possible by his ability to improvise, innovate, guide and motivate his personnel. To cater for futuristic requirements of operations by modern civil & military aircraft from his base, he has worked out a detailed plan to build the requisite infrastructure. In the recent past, as part of Platinum Jubilee Celebration year of the IAF, his Station was tasked to participate in fly-past and undertake arrangements for aerobatic displays. With meticulous planning, right delegation and coordination, these tasks were befittingly carried out to project the true spirit and glorious traditions of the IAF. The Station during his regime has bagged trophies for the Best Fighter Squadron, Best Helicopter Unit, Best Radar Unit, and the pivoted Best Operational Station of the Eastern Air Command.

Air Commodore Amarsingh Ganpatrao Patil has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Commodore (now Air Vice Marshal) Ravi Kant Srivastava (13312) AE (L) was commissioned in Engineering Branch of IAF on 01 Jan 73. In his 34 years of service, he has held various important appointments like Principal Director Engg D at Air HQ, Chief Engineering Officer at Air Force Station Borjhar and Director Signal Intelligence at Army HQ. He also has the distinction of commanding a Wireless Experimental unit and an Air Force Liaison Establishment. Presently, he is posted as Air Officer Commanding of a premier Base Repair Depot.

As Chief Engineering Officer, Air Force Station Borjhar, he ensured smooth Induction of Mi-17 helicopters in a Helicopter Unit. He is one of the pioneers of the Boeing 737 Flight of Air HQ Communication Squadron maint enance team which took up the task of induction and setting up infrastructure for servicing. For his organizing acumen and vision he was especially selected to head the Dte of Eng D. As Principal Director Engg D, he was chiefly instrumental in guiding and coordinating a plethora of activities to transform the Dte of Eng D into a professional team. He was also tasked to review technical Air Force Orders at Air HQ which he accomplished in a professional manner.

Air Commodore RK Srivastava is a hardcore professional with high level of dedication, devotion and 'Never Say Die' attitude. Due to exemplary military leadership qualities, clubbed with his inherent engineering skill, the BRD has grown from strength to strength and developed innovative techniques, modern tooling to reclaim few expensive parts of the helicopter aggregated which were otherwise being rendered Cat 'E' and procured from abroad. This has resulted in saving of foreign exchange. His proactive, constructive and visionary approach has resulted in an overall improvement in work culture and productivity of the BRD inspite of spares crunch thereby generating a professional work ethos at the depot. The BRD under his leadership has been adjudged as “Best Aircraft Maintenance Support BRD" in the year 2006.

Air Commodore Ravi Kant Srivastava has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Vice Marshal Anil Chopra (13368) F (P) was commissioned in the Flying (Pilot) on 02 Jun 73. In his 34 years of his career he has held important appointments which include command of a premier fighter Sqn, Chief Ops Officer and AOC of a major fighter station. He was also the Team Leader of the MiG-21 Bis upgrade project in Russia and Commandant of the prestigious Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment. Since Sep 06 he has been the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Jammu & Kashmir. The air officer is a QFI, Test Pilot, IRIE, and has done staff college. In all these courses he has distinguished himself. He was awarded Vayu Sena Medal in 1989 and Vishisht Seva Medal in 1996.

As AOC J&K he commands a large geographical area with six flying stations and Tactical Air Centers under him. J&K is one area which has witnessed continuous live operations in the Counter Insurgency grid and in Siachen, and IAF aircraft are regularly operating right up to the line of control. In this entire area, the Civil Govt, the para military forces, and the Indian Army are dependent through the year on the Air operations.

The Air officer has been working very closely with Northern Army Command and has taken the initiative to have a fresh look at all joint operational procedures and documents. He has worked towards greatly reducing airborne response time for both the Counter Insurgency operations and the casualty evacuation. The IAF has not only met all the targets of Air maintenance for the year but has actually exceeded by nearly 1000 tons. The Air Officer's performance in the Air Force Exercise Gagan Shakti as Red Force Commander North was indeed commendable. The Air officer leads from the front and uses his vast experience to resolve all issues at his level.

Last winter saw extended closure of the National Highway between Jammu-Srinagar. Also, bad weather isolated many remote areas of the state, especially in higher Himalayas. His leadership and personal involvement in OP Humsafar was commended in writing by the Chief Minister. The Air officer has repeatedly shown selfless devotion to the service, and exemplary courage and professional excellence of the highest order which are in keeping with the best traditions of the IAF.

Air Vice Marshal Anil Chopra, VM, VSM has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Commodore Chinnabhandar Narasingara Ranganath VSM (13471) AE (L) was commissioned in the IAF on 01 Jul 72. He is a graduate of DSSC and is also a qualified Flight Test instrumentation Engineer (FTIE). He has held many important field and staff appointments which include Senior Test Engineer and Chief Research and Project Officer at Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE), JD of Air Staff Requirements at Air HQ, Chief Engg Officer at one of the premier fighter bases in the eastern sector and Command Technical Training Officer at HQ Training Command. He was commended by the Chief of Air Staff in 1991 and was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished service in 1999. Presently, he is the Air Officer Commanding of a Base Repair Depot (BRD) at Air Force Station, Sulur since 07 Mar 05. After assuming command of BRD, Air Cmde Ranganath steered the depot towards attaining the highest standards of professional excellence resulting in the depot being awarded the Best Aircraft BRD trophy in Maintenance Command for the year 2006. Under his dynamic and able leadership, wide ranging improvements have been made in the working as well as the living environment at the depot which has boosted the morale of all sections of depot personnel. His pioneering effort in providing guest hose facilities for DSC personnel and their families at the depot has been considered by AOCin-C, Maintenance Command as worthy of emulation by other units. It is entirely due to his tenacious approach and determined efforts that Sulur is the first station where the Married Accommodation Project for PBORs has been completed and taken over.

As the AOC of BRD, the air officer is also responsible for providing various administrative services to co-located Wing and its lodger units, but under the functional and administrative control of Southern Air Command. He has displayed exceptional management skills, sagacity, tact and maturity in not only providing efficient admin services but also in providing a harmonious living environment and promoting healthy camaraderie among all personnel at the air force station.

Air Commodore Chinnabhandar Narasingara Ranganath VSM has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Vice Marshal Pramod Vasant Athawale VSM (13472) AE (L) was commissioned in the Aeronautical Engineering (Electronics) branch of IAF on 02 Jul 73. Over the years he has distinguished himself with significant contribution in a wide variety of assignments like Aircraft & Systems maintenance and flight testing, Software development and project management. He was awarded Vishisht Seva Medal in 1997.

The Air Officer has been one of the pioneers of software initiative in the IAF. From 1992 to 96, as the first Commanding Officer of Software Development Institute, he undertook a variety of software projects and laid a sound foundation for the in-house avionics software capability in IAF. During 2002-03, as the Chief Engineering Officer of the largest MiG-21 operating base, the officer brought in quiet assurance to the maintenance activity on the base. He streamlined processes bringing up execution and management synergy from a large group of maintenance personnel to improve safety and reliability with enhanced operational productivity.

As Principal Director Ground Electronics at Air HQ, the officer managed the largest set of Systems inventories. He put in exceptional efforts to progress various schemes especially worthy of mention are commissioning of ARSR, SRE and PAR radars; maintenance facilities for EW equipment and repair and overhaul of ST-68 radars.

Air Vice Marshal to his credit has had successful management of vital projects. During 1998-99, as Project Director, he steered the delayed 'Low Level Radar Networking' project to culmination and operationalised the system. More recently in 200506, as the Principal Director of Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS) project he has guided the team, during design and prototyping phase through exceptionally sincere efforts, and placed the project on the envisaged roadmap. As Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Sigs & IT), currently he steers the challenging Networking and IT projects, besides overseeing the operational aspects of Communications and IT for the whole IAF.

Air Vice Marshal Pramod Vasant Athawale VSM has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Vice Marshal Anil Kumar Khosla VSM (13534) AE (L) was commissioned on 07 Jan 74 in the Engineering Branch of the IAF. In 33 years of distinguished service, he has held several important field, command and staff appointments that include Senior Engineer (Electronic Warfare) of a Fighter Base, Chief Technical Officer of Air Defence Radar, Command Systems Officer at two command HQs, Director Training at Air HQ, Station Commander of a tropo unit and Air Officer Commanding of Base Repair Depot (BRD). He is an alumnus of the College of Defence Management.

He is the pioneer of Mirage-2000 Laser Designation Pod (LDP) infrastructure. Subsequent to training in France (Thomson-CSF), he set up state-of-the-art servicing bays of LDP and other EW assets in an exemplary manner. These facilities have become the benchmark for all EW systems inducted subsequently in IAF. His engineering acumen in carrying out indigenous repairs of LDP, resulted in savings of 0.36 million French Francs. His contribution towards modernization of Training Institutes won accolades from all quarters. For the distinguished services rendered, he was awarded VSM in 2002.

While being the Station Commander of Air Force Station Jaipur, he successfully ensured 100% serviceability and high morale of personnel during the subtle phase of post Dec 2001. He was instrumental in acquiring a niche of concessions for IAF from Rajasthan Government. As Air Officer Commanding of a BRD, he inducted many new repair lines and noteworthy field repairs resulting in high serviceability of two vital radars and other communication facilities. He was instrumental in working out “Capacity Assessment" of the BRD, which paid handsome dividends to improve overall production. Indigenisation and innovations undertaken under his guidance have resulted in saving of Rs 25 lakhs in foreign exchange. Under his command, the BRD was declared the best BRD for the year 2003-04. AVM Khosla was appointed as Senior Maintenance Staff Officer of Western Air Command (WAC) on 01 Aug 06. His professional competence, proactive actions with dynamism and perseverance in maintaining constant liaison with Air HQ and various agencies like HAL, BEL and DRDO labs have directly contributed towards the operational capability of the command. The successful performance of WAC during the Gagan Shakti in Sep 06 and various other major exercises bear testimony to the significant contribution by him. The excellent conduct of Air Force Day Parade first time at Air Force Station Hindon in 2006 and the President's Fleet review at Air Force Station Chandigarh in Mar 07 are some of the vivid examples of his all round organizing capabilities to accomplish any challenge task.

Air Vice Marshal Anil Kumar Khosla VSM has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Commodore Raj Kumar Vashisht (13832) AE (L) was commissioned as an engineer in the Aeronautical Branch on 06 Jan 75. He has held important appointments of Engineering Officer/Senior Technical Officer of MiG 21 and Mirage-2000 Sqns, Chief Engineering Officer (CEO) of a flying Station, CO of TETTRA School and Base Repair Depot (BRD) and Command Engineering Officer at two Command Headquarters.

As CO, Mirage Tettra School, Gwalior, he instituted effective steps to provide high quality training and brought improvement in overall availability of training aids. He ensured well coordinated control of all engineering activities in support of Op Safed Sagar as CEO at AF Station, Adampur. Final outcome of operations brought laurels to the Indian Air Force. High quality maintenance practices followed at Air Force Station, Adampur brought Best Maintenance Trophy of WAC for two consecutive years. Maintenance Control Centre (MCC) was declared the Centre of Excellence and was replicated on all the bases under HQ WAC.

With his technical expertise and ingenuity as CO of BRD, he could tide over the shortage of spares with indigenisation of critical items and developing new repair schemes to recover Cat-D rotables. These successful efforts saved the exchequer a substantial amount in foreign exchange against imports. Under his leadership, the Depot achieved peak production of all types of aero-engines and was adjudged second best BRD.

In his present appointment of C Eng O, HQ EAC, despite severe constrains of remote locations, adverse weather and poor connectivity, with high level of professional command and control over all aircraft maintenance activities of Eastern Air Command, he ensured that the serviceability and availability of various fleets reached to high levels for the first time. A large number of unserviceable aircraft were brought on line to meet the time bound training tasks which resulted in higher utilisation of the assets. He organised various workshops at the operating bases to bring about high level of maintenance practices amongst technical personnel, thereby achieving better safety standards. With his active supervision and involvement, three international exercises, COPE INDIA, SINDEX and GARUDA III, were successfully conducted at Air Force Station, Kalaikunda.

Air Commodore Raj Kumar Vashisht has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Commodore Ujjal Prabhat Biswas (14090) F (P) was commissioned into the IAF on 11 Jul 75 in the flying branch. He has been the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) of Air Force Station, Pathankot during the period 02 Jan 2006-30 Apr 2007. The air officer is a Fighter Combat Leader and an A2 Qualified Instructor and has flown over 4200 h on various aircraft types. In the Sqn Ldr rank, he has been commended twice by AOsC-inC and once by the CAS. He is a winner of the 'Scudder Medal' at the DSSC for standing first in the M.Sc degree course and is also the first armed forces officer to be deputed for a 'higher' course of instruction in Japan, in which he excelled. The officer has had a distinguished career during which he has done a number of operational commands (two fighter squadrons and an operational flying base), been an instructor (in the Flying Instructors' School and the College of Air Warfare) and held important Staff assign ments in Air HQ (in the Directorates of Personnel and Flying Training).

During the period 1995-1997, as the CO of a MiG-29 squadron he achieved all flying and other commitments in a commendable manner that included operational flying during the developments in the Kutch area in end 1996 and leading the MiG-29 fleet for flypast over Rajpath during the Republic Day. The tenure culminated with his squadron being declared as the 'Best Fighter Squadron' for the year 1997.

For his high professional competence, the air officer was selected as a member of the Expert Committee on Aircraft Accidents (EXCOM) in 2005. He made significant contribution by carrying out extensive study and analysis of aircraft accidents and suggesting remedial measures. It was after the implementation of the EXCOM that there has been a significant reduction of flying accidents in the IAF.

During 2006-2007 as the AOC of Air Force Station Pathankot, an operational base on the Pakistan border, he led from the front and achieved very high all-round standards. He undertook active flying and also participated in the air-to-ground gunnery meet on the MiG-21 aircraft. The excellent performance of the air officer was ratified by the Directorate of Air Staff Inspection when it graded the forward base he led and all the operational flying squadrons located at the base as 'Average Plus' in all aspects viz. Operations, Maintenance and Administration which is a rare achievement.

Air Commodore Ujjal Prabhat Biswas has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Commodore Devinder Singh VM VSM (14284) F (P) was commissioned on 13 Dec 75 in the flying branch of the Indian Air Force. During 32 years of his distinguished service, he has held several important command and staff appointments that include command of a MiG 23 BN fighter squadron, Chief Operations Officer of a frontline fighter base, Command Air Defence Officer at HQ Western Air Command and Defence Attaché to Embassy of India, Prague, Czech Republic. He is a Staff College graduate and a highly experienced Cat A Qualified Flying Instructor with 4600 hours of accident free flying to his credit. He was commended by the Chief of Air Staff in 1986 and was awarded VSM in year 1997 and VM in year 2000.

Air Cmde Devinder Singh took over as Air Officer Commanding of Air Force Station Jamnagar on 20 Jun 05. The station operates many flying and Air Defence units. With his involvement he ensured high serviceability state of their equipment due which all operational commitments were always success fully completed. Through good planning he brought about commendable and substantial changes in the infrastructure of the station. He motivated and encouraged his personnel to always rise to undertake any task.

Under his inspiration, the station developed two important softwares from within the local resources. One of these has been put into use at all stations of the IAF on instructions from Air Headquarters. The second is in final stages of completion dealing with aircraft maint enance. Under his supervision, the station helicopter units successfully rescued three pilots who had ejected-two over the sea and one at night dark phase. He was as also very successful in promoting sports and cultural activities on the station thereby giving opportunity to his personnel and their family members to display their talent.

Under leadership of Air Cmde Devinder Singh, AF Station Jamnagar won the Best Flying Station of IAF trophy for year 2005-06. His station was also adjudged the Best Station of South Western Air Command (SWAC) for year 2006.

Air Commodore Devinder Singh VM VSM has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Commodore Gurwinder Jeet Singh Cheema (14292) F (P) has been on the posted strength of Air Force Station Yelahanka as Air Officer Commanding since 01 July 05.

Air Cmde Cheema has been one of the pioneers of Mi 8/Mi 17 operations in Siachen Glacier. His experience is all encompassing varying from counter insurgency to low intensity conflict operations. As Flt Cdr of a frontline and the first armed Mi-17 unit, he was instrumental in optimising Mi-17 utilisation in Op Pawan (Sri Lanka) towards extensive logistic support, causality evacuat ion and offensive armament support operat ions by day as well as night. The task was accomplished without attrition or accident. He has over 5000 hrs of accident free flying to his credit with over 500 h of flying in Op Meghdoot area. Subsequently, as Sqn Cdr of a Mi-17 unit, he ensured a high operational state and sustained accident free flying for three consecutive years. In two years of command of a forward base in Op Meghdoot sector, he brought up the airfield infrastructure that facilitated night landings by transport aircraft despite diverse constraints.

On assuming command of AF Stn Yelahanka, he systematically analysed aspects requiring enhanced performance to keep pace with increased flying task. The station hosted the first National Geographic air show in 2005 that was marked with a tremendous response from the public. Despite the growing congestion in Bangalore airspace, he ensured conducive flying environment by proper coordination with civil agencies along side beefing up of own support services. The station undertook approx 20,000 hours of flying during the year 2006 which is a land mark accomplishment. His thrust on infrastructure development and improvement of working as well living environment furthered station's output and morale. Concurrently, he relentlessly pursued preparations for Aero India 2007 and ensured continued and sustained liaison with civil, military and associated organisations to wards successful culmination of the show. His proactive approach and acumen for efficient management of resources ensured a secure and conducive environment for the five day long air exposition. As the AOC of the host station, he maximised the output by delegating responsibilities to sub-committees after meticulous scrutiny of detailed action plan. Tasks entrusted to the station were flawlessly executed and were appreciated by Indian and for- eign dignitaries. The biennial air show was a resounding success with an all time high participation from Indian and Foreign entrepreneurs.

Air Commodore Gurwinder Jeet Singh Cheema has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.

Air Commodore Shamsher Jang Bahadur (14570) F (P) was commissioned on 16 Jun 76 in transport stream of the Flying Branch of the IAF. In 30 years of distinguished service he has commanded Communication Flight and the oldest transport (AN-32) Squadron, and held important staff appointments at Air HQ and Command HQ. A postgraduate of DSSC and alumnus of the National Defence College he has been twice awarded Commendations by CAS and once by AOC-in-C. A Flying Instructor with over 6700 hours of accident free flying, he has taken active part in Op Pawan, Op Prakaram and planning of Op Safed Sagar. Air Cmde SJ Bahadur was appointed the Air Officer Commanding of the largest Air Force Base of the IAF on 14 Nov 05. Under his leadership the aircraft of this base participated in various exercises and aerial displays at home and abroad that brought laurels to the IAF. Aircrew qualification status and the operational preparedness of all the four flying units of this base improved considerably, and the Paratroopers Training School surpassed the previous record of highest number of jumps.

His proactive liaison and exploitation of BSNL schemes resulted in net saving of over Rs 19, 55,975/- to the Air Force this year. He ensured that the prestigious events like Centre for Air Power Studies Seminar, visits of Global Chiefs and other foreign delegations were conducted in a befitting manner bringing honours to the IAF.

He with his foresight, perseverance and total involvement provided impetus to the achievements of Air Force Station, Agra. Under his stewardship, the station won coveted trophies for Best in Air Force Land Line Competition, Pride of Central Air Command, Best in Operations and the Best Transport/Helicopter Squadron of Central Air Command for the year 2006-07.

Air Commodore Shamsher Jang Bahadur has thus rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.