Air Cmde SAB Naidu, VM has been commanding one of the AF Stns since 19 Dec 90. He has led this people with zeal and enthusiasm. He has been an example of true leadership and hard work to all his officers and men.

On taking over the command, he reviewed the complete Hunter aircraft fleet and initiated necessary steps to boost the serviceability. The process of Number Plating of OCU, phasing out of Ajeet aircraft and re-equipping of 2 Sqn with MiG-27 ML aircraft was very smooth mainly due to his exceptional managerial abilities and qualities of leadership.

The Wing has been hosting outstation detachments of various types of fighter aircraft for air-to-air and air-to-ground firing. On an average, about 800 fighter sorties and 45 transport/helicopter sorties were flown from this base every month. These operations were carried out unhampered due to his personal involvement and meticulous planning.

Despite short notice, for presentation of Standards to 20 and 43 Sqns, Air Cmde Naidu prepared detailed plans and organised teams to carry out various duties and tasks related to the ceremony. His planning, personal involvement and organising capabilities of high order paved the way for successful completion of all the activities connected with the ceremony.

Air Cmde SAB Naidu has displayed exemplary leadership, initiative and planning. For his distinguished service of a very high order in the best tradition of Indian Air Force, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Air Cmde SAB Naidu, VM.

Group Captain Colville de Souza was commissioned on 23 Jun 68. He was appointed as Chief Administrative Officer of Air Force Station Kalaikunda on 02 Nov 92. On taking over he faced the challenge of powerful civilian employees/MES workers' lobby, working against the service interests. He studied the problem thoroughly and by his deft handling he not only avoided strikes but also effectively curbed the indiscipline of the employees, thus increasing the output.

Group Captain C de Souza launched a door to door campaign in the domestic area including class IV civilians, coaxing them to work towards maintaining a clean and healthy living environment. He has markedly improved the buildings, maintained clean drainages and gave a total face lift to the entire station area. In addition parks, gardens and orchards were planned to beautify the campus.

The station was inspected once by the Chief of Air Staff, United States Air Force and twice by the Chief of Air Staff, Indian Air Force and the outlook of the Station was highly praised by the inspecting officers.

For exceptional devotion to duty, the President is pleased to award 'Vishisht Seva Medal' to Group Captain C de Souza.

Group Captain Jankiramiah Arunachalam (13725) Aeronautical Engineering (Electronics) was commissioned into the Engineering Branch of the IAF on 08 July 74. During his career, he has worked in Communications, Signal Intelligence and Radars of various types. He is qualified on Mirage 2000. He has commanded a Wireless Experimental Unit.

Group Captain Arunachalam is posted to a flying base since 02 Mar 98 as Chief Engineering Officer. On assuming charge he recognised that the fighter fleets at his base were facing serious problems in serviceability due to a combination of management anomalies and acute shortage of critical spares. Galvanising his maintenance team into action, the officer adopted many innovative procedures to reduce down time of the limited number of available aircraft. Some of these are:- a. Design and fabrication of engine-stands for storage of Cat D aero engines, thus sparing the engine trolleys for servicing/ snag rectification. b. Fabrication of a de-fuelling rig for faster contamination-free de-fuelling of aircraft, in place of the laborious gravity method, an innovation adopted since then by other Stations. c. Innovative use of Cat D engines to undertake 200/400 hrs servicing and subsequent replacement of the engine with a new one, thus cutting down the downtime of the aircraft. d. Fabrication of testing facilities for Signal Processor, Doppler Navigator and elements of the Flight Control System.

In addition, Group Captain Arunachalam designed and developed a software for compilation of snag-data and construction of a snag-analysis tree, which has been effectively used to hasten snag rectification. The maintenance of another type of fighter aircraft, with its ageing problems, proved to be a more daunting task to the Group Captain, who once again had to fall back on ingenuity and innovation to overcome the hurdles. Among other things, repairs undertaken locally on the Cockpit Pressurization and Canopy Locking Systems are examples of the officer's initiative and drive.

For distinguished service of a high order, the Hon'ble President is pleased to award 'Vishisht Seva Medal' to Group Captain Jankiramiah Arunachalam.

Group Captain Jagjit Singh Gandyok (13216) Adm was commissioned as an Administrative Officer on 30 Dec 72. An air traffic controller of high calibre, he achieved the highest category for professional competence, Category 'A', as a young Flight Lieutenant. Thereafter, he held various prestigious appointments with distinction, including Senior Air Traffic Control Officer, Commanding Officer of an Air Traffic Radar Unit and Joint Director Personnel (Airmen) at Air HQ.

As Joint Director, Gp Capt Gandyok rationalised the manning level of Airmen and Non Combatants (Enrolled), and undertook the revision of all key Air Force Orders and Instructions pertaining to airmen. He also streamlined the selection procedure for enrolling airmen in the Air Force, which resulted in better quality of the individuals joining the service.

Gp Capt Gandyok has been on the posted strength of Air Force Station Kalaikunda as Chief Administrative Officer with effect from 10 Apr 2000. This station has peculiar problems that include maintenance of old buildings, vigorous monsoons, extensive growth of wild vegetation and shortage of electricity, thereby causing considerable hardship to the service personnel. Gp Capt Gandyok, by his personal involvement, dedication and hard work was instrumental in initiating concrete steps for solution of these problems. Besides, his personal liaison with Defence Estate Officer and District Forest Officer ensured that the Board of Officers for creating a Flight Safety Zone by removal of wild vegetation within the Air Force station was completed quickly. This would go a long way in enhancing Flight Safety by providing a bird free environment for reducing aircraft accidents. In addition, his excellent managerial skills ensured optimum utilisation of the funds allocated for maintenance activities, which directly contributed in enhancing quality of life for the personnel of the base.

For distinguished service of a high order, the Hon'ble President is pleased to award 'Vishisht Seva Medal' to Group Captain Jagjit Singh Gandyok.

Squadron Leader Mahesh Kumar Abrol (17391) Administration was commissioned in the Administrative Branch of the IAF on 22 Dec 1983. He has held the appointments of Air Traffic Control Officer (ATCO), Senior Administrative Officer (S Adm 0), Works Officer and Security Officer at various AF Stations. Presently he is Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, Security Officer and Officer Commanding (OC) DSC Coy at Air Force Station, Kalaikunda.

Sqn Ldr Abrol handled two extremely sensitive but vital issues, which had a bearing on security and flying environment. The first case related to removal of 155 unauthorised shops/hutments, in existence for the last 30 years just outside the main gate, posing grave security risk. The officer succeeded in getting the shops and hutments demolished in a peaceful manner. This was achieved within a time frame of eight months. In this respect he had to hold a series of meetings and make reconciliatory approaches in various forums involving shopkeepers, political leaders and Govt officials, which he did with professional acumen. The demolition also entailed the rehabilitation of shopkeepers on humanitarian grounds. The officer, therefore, also pursued resolutely the case with the district administration for allocation of two acres of land especially for the purpose and the political leadership for the financial assistance for

construction of the new shopping complex. In the process, the officer not only earned the goodwill of the displaced shopkeepers, who were resettled in the new complex, but also enhanced the image of the Air Force amongst the local population.

In the second case, the issue of the pollution caused due to unloading of cement clinkers from railway wagons just outside the Air Force Camp merited an early solution. The cement dust due to unloading process was not only affecting the safe flying environment but was also causing serious health problems to the residents including about 1200 school children. The case was pursued spiritedly for over one year, entailing collection of evidence and logical presentation of the case to the Appellate Authority of the Pollution Control Board, Kolkata and the Min of Defence. Finally executive orders for stoppage of unloading of cement clinkers were issued and the processes of unloading cement clinkers ceased thereafter. The associated issues in this case were the security and traffic threats due to engagement of hundreds of unverified labourers and civil trucks just outside the Air Force Camp, which also got resolved in the process. The officer received special tributes of the Honorable Judges of the Pollution Control Board.

While handling the above cases, Sqn Ldr Abrol had met with threats of his life. Undeterred, he pursued both the cases to final outcome best suited to the interest of the Air Force. The officer thus displayed tremendous courage, sincerity of purpose and dedication beyond the call of his duties.

For his distinguished service of high order, the Hon'ble President is pleased to award 'Vishisht Seva Medal' to Squadron Leader Mahesh Kumar Abrol.

Group Captain Asit Kumar Adhikari (13889) Adm/ATC was commissioned in the IAF on 18 Jan 75. During his tenure as an ATC officer, he attained his Cat 'A' and had been SATCO at three premiere fighter Wings of IAF. He held various important appointments such as CO, TGCA Sqn and CO Maintenance Command (Unit). At Maintenance Command (Unit), for his dedication and result oriented approach, he was awarded CAS commendation. While serving at Air HQ (VB), as DDPA-II and D Org, he contributed effectively in formulating policies related to personnel and organisation. At AF Station Srinagar, as Chief Administrative Officer (C Adm O), the officer performed commendably and was selected to visit USA for security appreciation. Subsequently, he was selected to undergo General Management Course at National Institute of Management at Kolkata, and on completion of course, was posted to a fighter Wing in Mar 2005 as C Adm O. On taking over as C Adm O of AF Station Kalaikunda in Mar 05, the officer was entrusted with execution of major works services and numerous admin related tasks that were urgently required for the smooth conduct of major international air exercises, planned to be held in this station in Nov 05 & Jan 06. The officer accepted the challenge and worked relentlessly with firm determination for successful completion of the assignment. Armed with his professional knowledge and experience, he led the Adm Support Group from front and as a result work services amounting to Rs 10.5 Crores were successfully completed in record time. However, this Herculean task did not deter him from focusing his attention to other routine administrative schedule. He worked tirelessly to ensure that all the maintenance works were executed efficiently and timely. Due to his persistent efforts and administrative acumen, the entire station was brought up to an international standard. His ceaseless involvement in procurement of quality items for various messes from public and non-public funds resulted in enhancement of the quality of life in the station which was highly appreciated by all visiting dignitaries and foreign delegates.

The officer's perseverance and strive for excellence continued even in handling security matters of the station. He was able to develop good rapport with the civil agencies in a short time. This was appreciably discernable with the kind of unconditional support extended by civil administration to tackle the protest meeting organised by local political parties, prior to commencement of Indo-US exercise. As a result of good coordination, both international exercises i.e., COPE INDIA 05 & SINDEX 06 which were held in this base, passed off without any untoward incident.

For distinguished service of a high order, the Hon'ble President is pleased to award 'Vishisht Seva Medal' to Group Captain Asit Kumar Adhikari.

Group Captain Archan Kumar Bhattacharya (16322) AE (M) was commissioned on 05 Jan 81. He has held several important appointments during his career. As Chief Engineering Officer (CEO) of premier Wing, the Wing was adjudged 'Best in Maintenance' in EAC. As Senior Technical Officer of Sqn, he was instrumental in achieving above average in maintenance during DASI and the Sqn earned "The Best Fighter Sqn in SWAC". He was commended by AOC-in-C for these.

As CEO of Air Force Station Kalaikunda, he brought up the serviceability of MiG-27 aircraft considerably and was directly involved in achieving 100% serviceability for 18 Sqn in Dec 05. Besides, he has a distinctive thrust on self-help approach by utilising the Station workshop. Under his able guidance, a fixture for replacement of wing sealing panel for MiG-27 ac was successfully fabricated and thus completely eliminated the requirement of HAL assistance on these issues. This innovation not only saved the money to exchequer but also reduced the down time of aircraft. His accomplishments further include prompt and planned recovery of prolonged AOG ac, fabrication of Landing Gear Flushing Rig, optimum utilisation of Structural Repair Bay, extensive repairs/modifications of MT vehicles, recovery of two downgraded MRS and overhauling of BEML tractor thus saving large amount of money to the exchequer.

His obsession to improve aircraft maintenance standards continuously did not deter him from focusing his attention on other technical activities. Due to his active involvement, approach lights, runway lead in lights and ORP lights could be made operational after being unserviceable for close to a decade. His initiative and constant hard work brought up the standard of Maintenance Control and Co-ordination Flight to a 'Centre of Excellence' which deserve a special mention.

All the tasks allotted to maintenance Group were completed successfully well in time prior to Exercise COPE INDIA 05 and S1NDEX 06. An effective maintenance support was provided to foreign and IAF sqns which was appreciated by one and all. This would not have been possible without his immaculate planning, positive attitude and effective leadership towards achieving the goal. The same was also appreciated during CASI and DASI visits. The overall assessment for Maintenance Support Group by DASI was Av Plus, while being assessed Above Average in number of other sections. Armament Sqn being one of those sections has now been designated as "Centre of Excellence" by HQ EAC.

Apart from his professional jobs, he was entrusted to bring up the standard of Officers' mess and Officers' Institute to a desired level to meet the requirements of EX COPE INDIA 05 and Republic of Singapore Air Force operating from this base. Officers' Mess, Living-in accommodation and Institute has been brought up to an international standard which was highly appreciated by the IAF and foreign delegations.

For distinguished service of a high order, the Hon'ble President is pleased to award 'Vishisht Seva Medal' to Group Captain Archan Kumar Bhattacharya.