Wg Cdr Madhukar Kapoor

Wg Cdr Suhas Shukla

Wgr Cdr Pranay Garg

Gp Capt(Retd) Anil Kumar Nair

Air-crew Room : An Institution

Wg Cdr S M Shukla ( Rtd )

 

 

I served with the Indian Air Force in the flying branch for over 27 years and majority of my tenure was with flying squadrons ;  thankfully very little of chair-borne job . When I look back nostalgically; now that I am a senior citizen, I have all the right to indulge in nostalgia. I am reminded of my crew-room ( Air-crew room ) days . Rather I miss my crew-room days .

 

An Air-crew room ( Crew-room , as it is commonly known ) is an essential part of a flying unit, it’s a rest-room for the flying crew , waiting their turn to go for an air-sortie. Every flying branch officer; including all the senior officers of the Air Force, even the grand old-man of the Air Force, Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh has had their crew-room days . A flying branch officer for that matter gets baptised  in the crew-room .

 

My first crew-room was in a BASHA ( a bamboo hut ) in Assam , whilst I was with a Dakota Squadron in late sixties . Every crew-room has minimum furniture for the crew to relax and also to keep their flying gear . Further addition to these is left to the imaginations of the officers of the squadron . Crew-rooms of our days were decorated with nice pin-ups ( I still remember the first ever pin-up of an Indian heroin – Sharmila Tagore ) . I wonder how the things are with induction of the fair-sex in the flying branch .Incidentally the crew-room was cleaned up and made sterile for inspections of senior officers and annual visit of the unit families . However, some times some senior officers, with a twinkle in their eyes, did wonder where all the pin-ups had disappeared .

 

 An essential part of crew-room in our days was a small canteen – which regularly fed tea, coffee, snacks etc to the crew. With introduction of pre-flight meals in early eighties, each crew-room now has a full-fledged cafeteria.

 

 A crew-room also has a number of in-door games to keep the crew busy like chess , carom , spell-o-fun etc ( cards  strictly no ) . These days the crew-rooms are air-conditioned, but in our days even dessert-coolers were introduced much later ( at times these were provided from squadron funds ) . Then there is a library having professional and general reading material .

 

However , what makes the crew-rooms an institution is the general environment prevailing there . The environment is best described as bohemian, a club-house kind of environment . The crew-rooms are alive with humour- no holds barred kind of humour , to which no body takes offence despite of rank difference . Most of it is what these days is called HIGH-CAL humour ; once again with induction of the fair-sex in the flying

 branch I do not know how things are these days . No offence was taken to any joke on account of  seniority , caste , creed , religion etc .

 

The crew-room is also a place for junior officers to grow professionally, personally, and also socially. In our days seniors took pains to groom the juniors in the crew-room by giving them tips, pieces of advise and even sermons both on the professional and also social front . It was a place to share anxieties , sorrows and also joy . It was like a big joint-family affair .

 

Crew-rooms are also famous for “ crew-room gupshup “ ( gossip ) . In certain ways it would compete with Ladies-club in the matter of gossip .

The grape-vine of the crew-room is active both on official and social front . It was always wondered whether the grape-vine of the crew-room is faster and more active than the one of the Ladies-club.

 

During war-time (and also after a fatal accident) the environment in the crew-room does tend to get tensed up. But the seniors and matured persons of the unit do their best to ensure that the moral of the unit does not go down. With this the flying crew are able to control their grief and undertake their mission sorties with full “josh” to defend the motherland. The show must go on; regardless of what has happened.

 

Incidentally, I had an opportunity to be in the crew-room of No 6 Squadron of the Royal Air Force in United Kingdom. We were there for one month for some training. Their crew-rooms are in no way different than our crew-rooms, same bohemian environment prevails there also.

 

Crew-room matures you both professionally and socially. The bonds created there are life long. It teaches you to relax even in tensed moments and prepare for the forthcoming mission with a cool and calculated mind.

I learnt a lot from my crew-room days, specially whilst dealing with the juniors; a strong lesson in man-management.

 

Crew-room is unique to the Air Force (also to the Navy’s and Army’s Aviation Wing. In any case these officers do get their initial training with the Air Force ) .  Commercial Airlines do not have the concept of a crew-room . Crew-room of the Air Force is a unique institution and in my next birth I shall definitely like to go through the crew-room experience once again. In the mean-while I hope Air Force guys reading this article invite me ( often ) to visit their crew-room and indulge in nostalgia.

TERNS first couple (2004 - 2005)

Husbands Nite Jan2005

Plakkot - Jaypee IN(TERN)VENTION - simulator

Under the shade of this Banyan Tree - have passed some of the greatest Navigators of our Times

Visit to Alma Mater - Kenyan Chief of Air Staff

Visit to Alma Mater - Kenyan Chief of Air Staff

Flt Lt to Sqn Ldr -Staltwarts Kanan & MLN Kumar

Unit Picnic - Mrugvani National Park - Feb 04

Farewell to Sahani's - At Race Course

De-brief session - Post Flight (Feb 2004)

Wg Cdr KP UNNIKRISHNAN, CO NTS (2002 - 2004)

Radio Play by the Terns at AF Day Celebrations - 2004

Good evening and welcome to this edition of news bulletin on BBC –Begumpet Broadcasting Corporation. Firstly, the top stories this evening – No hope for the Pope says the Senior Medical Officer of the Vatican. No earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale anywhere around Indonesia in the last 24 hours. But first of all, the biggest news at this hour – The Indian Cricket team falls to a single digit score. Speaking after the match, the stand in captain of the team Rahul Dravid said……

Our Father who art in heaven…..Give us this day our daily bread……..forgive us our trespasses….. lead us not into temptation…….. deliver us from the devil

I, Gp Capt Anil Nair, am very thankful to all of you for the wonderful tenure I have had as your station commander. We have implemented a lot of revolutionary measures towards the improving the quality of life at this station, which I hope will be followed even after my departure as I have always said

I am the truth, the Way and the Life. I am the good shepherd; my sheep know my voice. They follow me. I lead them on to greener pastures. I am the Lord your God and I command you that

all officers’ will do ceremonial parade on every Wednesday. It leads to the overall upliftment of discipline, which is the first point of my KRA. Why only officers, the ladies too must participate in all station activities. Consider the excellent example of the ladies club which has been active and my wife has asked me to convey to you all that the next meeting of the ladies club will be……..

held at Emerald Island, Suncity in South Africa. Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Atlantic has promised that this would be the biggest sponsored free ride. In a Press preview he stated….

I wish to complement NTS. Their flying records have been incident free. To improve flight safety standards we are taking special care on our side of the runway. I have detailed Wg Cdr Oscar Das to deploy bird watchers……..

Who turn their faces in eternal hope to the heavens above. Where does their help come from? From God almighty, the maker of Heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen, all things great and small. He who made the Sun, the Moon and stars

And startlets of Bollywood have gone on indefinite strike demanding a ‘casting couch’ allowance. Bollywood spokeswoman Ms Khol Kar Ni is on record stating that Bollywood stars would be down to their knees and left with many new releases canned before being ready for takeoff

and landings will continue for IAF aircraft at Begumpet airport. We have effectively stalled the efforts by Manager Hyderabad Airport in parking of civil aircraft in our dispersal. I am sure that this move by the civil authorities is ……………..

sinful and against the eighth commandment of the Lord, “Thou shall not covet thy neighbours goods”. The measure you give will be the measure you get. Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you. Repent and make penance for Judgment Day is close at hand. This sinful way of life

has considerably improved at race course during my tenures. You can see far and wide… all trees below six feet from the ground have been chopped and those above six feet have been drastically pruned to below six feet and done away with under the first clause. We have the barriers at gate No 1 & 10 fully functional and the SMO along with the Station Security Officer has done an excellent job in organizing dog shooting. These dog shooters, our own airmen are being ………………

selected for the ‘double trap event’ for the upcoming Olympics at Beijing. The Sports Minister Bowler Khelkar has expressed great hopes that the dogged determination of these shooters will earn us the GOLD at the next Olympics. Moving on to world news, the National Geo Physical laboratory of USA has made public startling findings regarding the killer Tsunami that struck on 26 December last year. The main cause of the Tsunami as revealed by this institution is the shifting of the Indian Tectonic Plate caused due to

The rainwater-harvesting project at 404 AF Stn. This has become a model project for the entire command to emulate. We have also successfully implemented the zero-garbage scheme. …thanx to CadmO whose relentless zeal

In pursuing the comforts of this world will never lead one to Heaven. Happy are the poor… for theirs is the Kingdom of God. Blessed is she who suffers and is persecuted because she does as I have commanded her…..the reward will be

This years nobel for literature. We have Flash news this moment; this time around an Indian has bagged the Nobel. The only second Indian after Rabinder Nath Tagore to be conferred with this honour. The Nobel has been bagged by none other than

Anupama Joshi, who has designed the photo magazine of our station. This effort has been appreciated by the C-n-C personally. I don’t know how many of u has had the opportunity to see this magazine. One look at this magazine will prove to you…………

The futility of all human efforts. Thou shall realize that He is everywhere and he watches over you and every move of yours …….by day and night. Mosses received the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai and came down to his people and said unto them “ These commandments are the Lords very own. They are to be engraved in your hearts and ought to be listed in…..

the servants dossier. It is an innovative idea and I sincerely hope it is followed up in the future too. It is we officers and ladies who need to educate our servants on Health & Hygiene. The SMO has conducted an excellent camp and I am sure we will not get any surprises like

Virgin Mary was with a child. This was at the time when she was besought to Joseph. The angel of the lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said that salvation of God will be on

……….. every officer of this station who has delivered a lecture on Tuesday morning. This has been useful to all of us and we have benefited a great deal. I have got it compiled on a CD and the same has been received the appreciation of………..

Lalu Prasad Yaday, the Chief of RJD. He intends to get down to grass root levels and distribute copies of this CD amongst the electorate. Elsewhere, at an auction at Christies, the wig worn by Marylyn Monroe in the steamy hit ‘Gentlemen prefer Blondes’ fetched a million pounds sterling. At the same auction, the overalls worn by the Wright Brothers on their first historic flight failed to attract any bidders. The general manager of Christies, Mr Peter Sellar said ‘Let the overalls hang in….

our own station museum. CO, NTS just look around……any thing of vintage value must be regarded with the respect it deserves. It is our duty to preserve the rich heritage and our glorious past….

In the Garden of Eden. It was at this garden that humans first discovered what it was to be naked! It was here that the serpent tempted Eve with an apple and life was bliss until Adam decided to

play volleyball every evening at Race Course. I appreciate the efforts of all officers towards the tournament, which ended in a victory for us as a team. In conclusion, I would like to say that it was a very satisfying tenure. I would like to see the completion of the new building for NTS and I have already directed the GE

to create paradise on earth where you shall have more than you have desired, more than you ever imagined. You will never know the end of your joy nor will you be tormented for the fear of losing what you love and you will know no shame. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost ………. AMEN

That’s all in this news bulletin. Stay tuned for the next update on Begumpet Broadcasting Corporation.

From the Archives: Jun 2004 to Sep 2004

The month of June began as a ‘damp squib’. The reasons this time were none other than the AEB. The dates of the visit clashed with that of the FNL exams in the last week of May. Thanx to some superlative planning, the young Flying Officers’ from Yellahanka came to appear for their maiden AEB to NTS in the first week of June. The visit concluded on 04th Jun. The results were quite a letdown with none of the Navigators upgrading - the AEB behaving like a dithering mechanism- performance good but appear after three months for up-gradation! This is part of life as an aviator of the IAF – take the AEB in your stride. Wingco was quick to call each of those who appeared and counsel them to keep up their spirits. As for the standardization, both the ANC and the Ab-Initio did perform fairly well. The staff pilots too faired well with Sqn Ldr Puneet Pareek upgrading to BG on type, Sqn Ldr Sameer Dhagat upgrading to CG, Sqn Ldr V Ganesh awarded initial category DW; Flt Lt’s OH Kumar and Rajesh Sharma getting their initial Cat CW.

The ‘Terns’ hosted the traditional breakfast for the AEB. This time the breakfast was an occasion to inaugurate the new aircrew cafeteria in the Unit Hqs complex. The new cafeteria with an adjoining aircrew rest room is a welcome change. For one, it would bring the Pilots closer to the training wing and also promote more interaction and communication required in a flying unit.

With the AEB visit over, it was the course presentation and valedictory function of the 66 ANC as also the farewell to the 97 Ab-Initio Nav Course the next day. The 66 ANC presentation on “Military Application of GPS” stirred up quite an interaction in the Q&A session. It sure did get the SMO and the C Eng O all charged up on the application and affiliations to the Russians rather than the Americans as brought out in the presentations. This did show that the presentation was well received by the audience. The Station Commander commended the course for the good presentation.

The valedictory ceremony of the 66 ANC and farewell to 97 Ab-Initio course was held at the FCM. The formal function in Dress No. 10 was held in traditional pomp and splendor, the occasion deserved. This time a special ‘Book Prize’ for Best in lecturing techniques was introduced. This is one function every lady of the unit looks forward to attend. The ceremony began with the Air Force Song followed by the TCO giving the course report and the award ceremony. Sqn Ldr Sanjeev Kumar was adjudged first in overall order of Merit, Flt Lt AA Kelkar – best in flying, and Lt Harkesh Yadav (Indian Navy) – Book prize for best in lecturing techniques. Apart from the awardees the newly crowned QNI’s were Sqn Ldr AK Sharma, Sqn Ldr V Awasthy, Flt Lt Varun Gupta and Lt V Kalia.

The occasion was two fold – the valedictory function and the release of the ‘Tern’ magazine. The Tern magazine published after over five years was the maiden colour issue. The credit for the entire effort goes to its editor Sqn Ldr Bart D’Souza. The magazine was well appreciated and received by the audience. Mrs Radha Nair did the honours for the ‘release’ of the magazine. The traditional mock prizes to the instructors by the passing out Ab-Initio course had the audience in splits of laughter. The evening ended on a very somber note – bidding adieu to the dear ‘Ternlings’ who left the following day for Air Force Academy for the Combined Graduation Parade scheduled on 19 Jun 2004.

UN PLUGGED
On 14 Jun, the much awaited signal – Posting out of Wg Cdr Unnikrishnan Nair as JD (Nav) at Air Hqs. It obviously was a sigh of relief for Unni who was keenly awaiting his posting out and put all speculations to rest. However, with time running out, he wanted to ensure that all was in place for a proper handing over to new incumbent. A detailed briefing by each section head, a unit rum punch and the officers’ mess party had to be planned and executed in the next two weeks. In addition, the routine work of an instructor normally peaks during this month. The new courses to be planned, flow charts with revision of classes and syllabus with faculty distribution. As a typical well oiled machinery, things went on meticulously and all necessary arrangements made to gear up to welcome the new courses and the new Boss – Wg Cdr Uday Singh, DS at CDM, Secunderabad.

At the Navigation Training School, nothing really changes. The final week with flying training catching up, the graduation parade of the passing out course and this time in addition – the second Flight Dispatcher’s Course in progress. For the record, the first Flight Dispatcher’s course was held in 1999-2000. Sqn Ldr LN Kumar was given the mantle of the Chief Instructor of the No. 2 Flight Dispatcher’s Course conducted for the SNCO’s. His experience and expertise was all too evident in the smooth conduct of the course as per schedule. Meanwhile, Kunal Kala was more than happy to see himself detailed for the Air Force Day Parade at New Delhi. For him, it was a long cherished dream of a paid holiday at home comes true. He lost no time in flying down wife Kamini and son Kratin to join him at Delhi. Meanwhile, Nitin Shankar (Shanx) returned to the unit as the newly crowned RHSCP on type. It was some relief for the Flight Commander to give the youngsters some Con- training.

The unit rum punch to bid farewell to Wg Cdr Unnikrishnan was well conducted with the Station Commander and all Station PSO’s in attendance. There were a few touching moments with few sentimental speeches. The following weekend saw the Officers’ mess party with a spirited ‘Tern’ show to bid farewell to their ‘boss’. A somber evening with lively entertainment, games, music and dance to fare-the-well Unni along with wife Shubadha with kids Anirudh and Anjali marked the culmination of a grand innings at Navigation School. It was a sincere feeling of Adios & Happy Landings to the Unnikrishnans.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
It was indeed a sharp contrast at the hollow square on 5th July 2004 – the handing / taking over ceremony at the Squadron dispersal. The tall, dark and handsome Unni handed over the baton to the young, flamboyant and dashing Uday Singh. The difference between Mallu-tribe and Lalu-tribe seemed to be more evident than ever before. The new Commanding Officer, Wg Cdr Uday Singh is perhaps the ‘Last of the Mohicans’ – the last course before the break of six years in the Ab-Initio Navigation courses. Apart from his dashing looks, he is an A2 instructor with vast instructional experience at Navigation School. He has been an instructor in the Advance Navigation Course faculty. He also has vast operational experience spanning tenures in all most all parts of the country – having flown AN-32s & IL-76s. He is an alumnus of the DSSC and an instructor at CDM. His interests too are varied from music to games and he is an expert in computers!! He is sure going to give the young Turks at Nav School a run for their money- watch out guys.


MOCK-TALE
A cocktail was held in the evening to welcome another teetotaler CO, Wg Cdr Uday Singh, wife Amrita, daughter Chani and son Bhaskar. The suspense in the air at the cocktail was something similar to that of a bridegroom awaiting the arrival of the bride. The new CO, other than those whom he had served with earlier in Squadrons, did generate speculation when compared to the previous one, as is natural. The Chief Guest, Wg Cdr Uday Singh arrived with family and in grand style did put everyone at ease with his charm. He charmed the ladies by presenting a rose to each of them. He surely does know the way to a married man’s heart!! The occasion was coupled with the welcoming of the officers of the 67 ANC. The 67 ANC – a ‘full-house’ comprises Cmdt (JG) T Sashi Kumar of the Indian Coast Guard, Sqn Ldr’s P Tripathi, S Sethi, ASK Sharma, PSR Krishna, RK Kashyap and Lt Sandeep Rai (Indian Navy). It is encouraging to see more G-Boys become QNI’s – the latest amongst them Flt Lt RK Kashyap with a SU-30 background. Today also saw the 99 Ab-initio cadets begin their course. This course comprises eight Flight Cadets – Ashok Kumar, Nitin Sharma, VK Nehra, Atul Sinha, DP Singh, SS Rath, Vipul and Animesh Bhargava.

WET START
The heavy rains in the month of July- a normally peaceful month saw the Wingco get a hang of things. The new list of Secondary duties was in place. Amongst the notable ones was Sqn Ldr Bart D’Souza taking over as the Mess Secy. The Stage II cadets began their flying training in all earnest even in the absence of their CNI – Imendra Malik, undergoing a six weeks course at DRDO in ‘Applications of the GPS’. Once again, LN Kumar, pitched in with his experience to ensure that the Stage II training schedule went as per plans. Sqn Ldr Sanjeev Kumar, fresh out of ANC along with Varun Gupta chipped in to ease out the situation.

MAHA YOGI CHAKRA (MYC)
It is the insatiable and inherent desire to conquer that sets a Navigator apart from the other branches in the Indian Air Force. With no operations or war on the horizon – no ‘chakras’ (Vir or Mahavir) to be lost, it was time to conquer the seven chakras of the Body. This time it was none other than the Station Commander, Gp Capt Anil Nair and the list of his faithful disciples had to begin from the top – Uday’s, Shetty’s, Rajkumar’s and Sachan’s. The Guru-dakshina too was in the reverse style – a dinner hosted at the Begumpet house to mark the end of the two weeks Yoga course. The hidden talent of their Guru more than floored the shishya’s. One wonders as to what the Guru had to opine about his shishya’s!

Meanwhile, this month saw the posting out of Sqn Ldr VG Narayanan (Ganesh) to AFSB, Varanasi and also Sqn Ldr Manish Rastogi to 59 Sqn, AF at Guwahati. The unit got together to see-off Rusty with wife Disha and daughter Komal leave for Mumabai enroute to Guwahati. Next in line to leave were the newly weds Harjeet & Prabjyot for Kanpur and Sailesh Amrujkar with biwi for MC CF, Nagpur. The Station Adjt., Flt Lt Mamata Dharwal too stands posted out to join her beau, Pawan at Agra. The stork at its charming best this time descended on Aditya and Gayatri Kelkar – baby due in Feb next year. Also, Bankim and Jesal were blessed with a daughter, Mehak at Mumbai. With the aviation industry booming in the civil, a lot of new airlines beginning operations – new career avenues for pilots of the IAF seem attractive. The policy of release from the IAF saw Sqn Ldr’s Puneet Pareek and Bankim Mehta (both armed with ATPL) put in their papers for pre-mature retirement. This also gave impetus to the other staff pilots – Ashok Shetty, Rahul Sekhri, Samir Dhagat, AK Yadav and the youngsters to complete their civil flying license exams before the policy gets reverted.

FIVE IN ONE STROKE!!
The Navigation Training School must most certainly be declared a ‘Quake prone Zone’ (QPZ) of the IAF. Just when things stabilize, the Pee staff strikes with devastating effect – five in one stroke. The posting out signal of Dileep, Arunachalam, Kannan, LN Kumar and Baggy did throw all planning out of gear. For the record, Dileep posted to PTS, Agra; Arun for a Post-Graduate course in BARC, Mumbai; Kannan –back to where he came from at 33 Sqn, AF in Sulur; LN Kumar to Yellahanka and Baggy to Jorhat. The same rigmarole of making out letters for cancellation/deferment that in the end would not be agreed to followed. For the planners, it seemed earth shattering to have all the experienced lot out in one go. At the same time, it also brought out the best for the strategist – Uday Singh to look ahead and take the bull by its horn. It meant a re-shuffle, a bit of re-organisation and of course experience at its best. No compromise on the quality and standards of training was to be accepted.

Five instructors posted out, couple on Ty duty, another bombshell – two QNI’s i.e. Krishnan & AK Singh detailed to undergo the Instrument Procedure Design Course (IPDC) to be held in the Station for six weeks. The IPDC saw the stalwarts of the yesteryears at NTS, Wg Cdr’s Ravi Menon & RK Plakkot descend down in the corridors from where they began their career two decades plus ago. The IPDC comprised six officers including four navigators – JP Yadav and Pawan Dharwal came from other units.


INDEPENDENCE EVE BALL
With Bart at the helm of affairs at the Officers’ Mess, things couldn’t be as quiet on the entertainment front for sure. A movie show followed by an Independence Eve Ball kept the terns on their toes. It was a great evening at Trimulgherry with in-house DJ’s Rajesh Sharma and LN Kumar. The music and arrangements were simply great. The party went on to the wee hours with kids and adults alike not sparing any opportunity to unwind. The hangover was evident on the Racecourse road the following day. This month saw an overdose of parties and get-togethers- next to follow was the grand farewell to the five alumni’s of the Nav School who gave their best as instructors here.

The farewell party to Dileep, Arunachalam, Kannan, LN Kumar and Baggy was another spirited occasion where the Terns let their hair down to have an evening full of entertainment, fun and frolic much to chagrin of the Station – who otherwise have a very quiet and stiff-necked party. The animated fashion show as part of the game had all the posted out officers’ in their skimpy best – with the pieces of paper afforded to them to cover all that they could. The hairy breasts and legs did appeal to the elderly ladies in the first row as they had the artists do the catwalk to tickle their fancy with splits of laughter (more of giddy headed giggles!). It was a lively and enjoyable party after a long time. The evening was a memorable one- thanx to the Srivastava’s- Sachi & Ravi. The positive aspect of the postings was house’s falling vacant at Race Course. JagbirSingh (STO) Sanjeev Kumar, Arvind Sharma, Awasty & Adnan Tauqueer (Technical officer) moved into Racecourse accommodations.

TERNS PLAY BALL
This month also saw the commencement of the Station Sports Meet. Uday Singh with his passion for sports activity saw the josh get infectious within the Tern family. The topic of discussion amongst the officers’ and airmen alike was the next match and the players. The basketball matches followed by the football and volleyball matches generated unprecedented enthusiasm within the players and also the spectators. The NTS football team began as dark horses and went on to lift the trophy thrashing the Station team 3-2 (excluding one goal score by Hemant Kumar that was not conceded). The star strikers of NTS in the finals were Sushant Biswas, Sachi and Dileep. In the other events, we managed to make it to the finals in Volleyball – due in the first week of October.

On the professional front, the Stage II cadets completed their consolidation phase. Sqn Ldr SN Prasad conducted a phase brief for the entire unit for the Low Level phase. The posting outs saw the induction of Sachi into the Advanced Navigation Faculty to join SN Prasad and Dileep. Meanwhile, SN Prasad took over the reigns of the CNI- Stage I in place of Arunachalam. The work on the Nav simulator was in its completion stage. SN Prasad was put in charge of the work to relieve the overworked Rajkumar. The 67th ANC meanwhile commenced its flying training.

IN – SPECS - TION
The last week of the month of August saw the station gear up for the inspection visit by the AOC-in-C, Air Marshal Subhash Bhojwani expected in the first week of September. All works services were at war footing. The FCM with its renovated kitchen – amongst the most modern of its kind in the IAF also was into its final phase with the granite tiling of the entire corridor. In the unit, all interactive programs for training were nearing completion and a facelift (superficial though) was in place.

The combined merit list at the graduation parade for all officers’ getting commission is in place for the last two courses. To have a fair examination, from this course (98 Ab-Initio) onwards, for the first time, the papers for subjects would be set by another FTE –as detailed by Command Hqs with an external invigilator to oversee conduct of exams. This month saw the conduct of Air Navigation and Astro Navigation papers conducted by external examiners from AF Station Yellahanka and GSK by S Edn O, Tambaram. This is a welcome move and more so for the A2 QNI’s – Dileep and Rajkumar who otherwise had to set papers and were simply running out of steam with the scores of other responsibilities.

This month ended with heavy rains. This compounded with the trucker’s strike did give rise to some tense periods pending the inspection visit of the AOC-in-C. The tiles for the FCM corridor were held up because of the strike and the old tiles were removed. A tile-less corridor, in the mess, to host a dinner for the AOC-in-C, is sure not the dream of any Commander. The date for the inspection was scheduled for 6th Sep. The minute to minute program down to the last minutest details were being chalked out.

AUTUMNAL EQUINOX
The clock ticking and hours passing by- the countdown to the inspection marked the beginning of Autumn. Rehearsals of the Guard of Honour, presentations and bara-khana ensured that every little detail was looked into. Instructions by the hour and towards the end- by the minute were being passed down. The inspection visit by the AOC-in-C, Air Mshl Subhash Bhojwani accompanied with wife, Mrs Mira Bhojwani went off very well. The AFWWA functions too were well conducted with active participation of the ladies of NTS. Mrs Amrita Singh took charge and garnered support of all airmen wives of the unit to make the event a success. Dr (Mrs) Deepti Pareek gave a talk on HIV- AIDS and means of prevention, which was well received. The granite tiles for the FCM corridor did arrive a couple of days earlier and Bart was there all through the night to ensure the place was ready for the dinner to be hosted for the AOC-in-C.

GOONDA GHAR DI
The spurt in socializing came to the fore in the past month or so. The trend setter – none other than the first couple of the unit, Wingco with his charming half, Amrita bouncing for coffee, within the first fortnight, at Pareek’s, in the wee hours with Shetty’s and Rajkumar’s in accompaniment. For the ‘terns’ it was just something waiting to happen, cause it did trigger a series of social events. Impromptu get-togethers for birthdays and anniversaries were the order of the day. Amongst the Leo’s who celebrated their birthdays were Kanchana Rajkumar, Sadhvi Krishnan, Sanjeev Kumar and amongst the kids were Melissa Srivastava and Isha Pareek. The Party absconders – Bart scooted off for a quiet evening. The terns also got together to wish Srinath and Jayalatha Pillai on their anniversary. Taking the lead was our dearly beloved hardcore ‘Rajesh Sharma’ bachelor celebrating his birthday in grand style in the mess. Also came to the fore were some of the hidden talents of Flt Lt Ravi Srivastava and Aditya Kelkar.

Infusing new dimensions to the party boppers- Uday and Amrita hit upon the Novel idea of a theme weekend party at the ‘Tern House’. Amongst the select few invited were Gp Capt Anil Nair & Radha Nair accompanied by daughter Athira, Shetty, Rajkumar, Sachan, Bart, Dileep and Samir Dhagat with families. The dress code specified was ‘Robber’s Nite’. The novelty of the evening was evident for all those present and the climax was the performance of each of the couples to the theme that each had dressed too. From Sholay ki Basanti to Phoolan Devi made the Goonda Ghar Di an off beat and entertaining evening.


RAJSING- A - PORE
This week saw hotrod Navigators of the IAF descend down to appear for interview for job vacancies at the adjoining CTE (Indian Airlines). Prominent amongst them were Gp Capt AK Mohan & Unnikrishnan, Wg Cdr’s Sqtyanarayan BS Jadhav, AK Singh, Kalamkar and Bose in addition to Wg Cdrs RK Plakkot and Ravi Menon who were already here conducting the ongoing IPDC. Amidst this entire din – came the signal detailing Sqn Ldr Rajkumar for the IPDC at Singapore. This break sure would do Raj all the good he very rightly and richly deserves. However, for Wingco, this would obviously mean loosing Raj and his valued services with all likelihood of his posting out after the course. This meant another reshuffle in the faculties. SN Prasad was now to replace Raj as the TCO and Bart D’Souza to be pulled out of the Mess Secy job to be made the CNI – Stage I. Meanwhile, Wingco did manage a breather by convincing Pee staff to defer Dileep’s posting by a couple of months. Wg Cdr EK Prasad, Nav Leader, 11 Sqn, AF arrived on a six weeks attachment (03 Sep to 22 Oct) to consolidate his instructional flying hours to enable him to qualify for A2 examination. His requirement of 120 hours is a tall order indeed! The Terns wish him luck.

The release of Sqn Ldr Puneet Pareek was through as on 30 Sep 2004. Ashok Shetty, the Flight Commander, was now having a tough time with an acute shortage of pilots to meet flying commitments. Kalra, recently posted in was on Ty duty to 11 Sqn,AF at Baroda also decided to put in his papers for Pre mature Release from service. Sachan was still medically unfit. To worsen matters, the weather too was playing spoilsport- sorties coming back DNCO. The backlog of flying and the equation of crew- aircraft seemed to only tighten rather than lighten.

On the brighter side, young Venugopal tied the Knot in his village in Kerala. The quiet and coy Venu quietly slipped off with an invite on the crew room board to get married. In the true spirit of the terns – from one course to another- he is being planned for a honeymooners’ delite course at the J&SS. Meanwhile, Sachan left for a short – one week course in NBC at Delhi and Sushant Biswas, another Delhite was delighted to be detailed for a month long NBC course at Delhi to culminate with Dusshera at home with parents and wife, Bharti. Arvind Sharma, taking on the mantle of teaching Air Navigation to the cadets of Stage I, after FT and debrief, will chill out at the THAIC at Bangalore, end of next month.

BABE IN ARM DOES PARENTS PROUD
The latter part of the month of September saw the preparations for the Air Force Day picking up steam. Healthy Baby competition, Painting & Drawing competition, Inter School Quiz competition, SNCO’s at-home, Dining-in-nite for the Flight Cadet’s and the grand finale at the Officers’ Mess function. The Inter school quiz competition is to be organized by NTS. Sqn Ldr Bankim Mehta and Flt Lt Tushar Agarwal detailed to be the Chief organizers with Mrs Kavita D’Souza and Mrs Sunita Agarwal nominated as the Quiz Mistresses! At the Healthy baby contest, Sqn Ldr & Mrs Awasthy were the proud parents of the winner – their daughter, Ananya in the 6 – 18 months category. Melissa, daughter of Sachi & Christine Srivastava won in the 18 months and above category. Melissa also did her parents proud by wining the Drawing and Painting competition. For the parents, SN Prasad and Thankam were winners of the Health Quiz.

RAMP ART FOR AIR FORCE ANNIVERSARY
The entertainment at the Officers’ Mess function to celebrate the 72nd Air Force anniversary this year has been taken on by none other than the first lady of the Station, Mrs Radha Nair. An invitation to tea at Begumpet house for all those nominated from all units with spouses in tow. In the preliminary reports emanating from the not so hush-hush affair – a fashion show is in the offing!! The chief choreographer for the event would be Lady Tahira Nair, the elder daughter of Gp Capt & Mrs Anil Nair. The categories for the show had the couples blushing – from chick to chick of course! The categories being planned are Ancient – the Adam & Eve in leopard skin; Medieval – traditional costumes and the Modern – Tank Tops and Bermuda shorts is anyone’s guess. Amongst the added attraction planned for the evening is a duet by Krishnan & Sadhvi.

The last week of September was as eventful with the action for the Air Force anniversary picking up steam. Bankim, Tushar along with Kavita D’Souza and Sunita Agarwal have their hands full as to the level at which the questions need to be pitched for the Quiz competition. The ‘lala’ of the unit Samir Bhai came back with big time sponsors for the Quiz competition. Wingco wanted a full rehearsal of the Quiz in his office by the weekend. Meanwhile, Bankim’s premature release application has been accepted and he will retire from the IAF on 04 Dec 2004. So Long Bankim & Jesal!!

On the operational front, in the last week of September, with just two aircraft -one classroom and one freighter version available, the flying training too had Shetty (Flt Cdr) and SN Prasad (TCO) tug at each others hair. With SNP planning very operational flying program – little could he do when Samir Bhai on the final approach got his Pee Vee (nose oleo) hit by a bird. The Station Commander too evinced keen interest in inspecting the injured PEE VEE!! Bart, waiting in the dispersal to get airborne for B5D with his army of the ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ had to beat a hasty retreat to the barracks for normal classes. Thankfully, the low level phase will end as per schedule, both for the ANC and the Stage II cadets. It was also heartening to hear from Yellahanka that all the seven Flying Officers’ of 97 Ab-Initio Nav course cleared their solos on AN-32 without a hitch.

From the Archives : Jun 2003 - Dec 2003

Wingco bowls a maiden !!

June and December have always been dear to the Terns. This month saw the Wingco bowl a maiden – a year in office !! Things sure have not been easy for the perfectionist and undoubtedly one of the most professional Navigators, Unni. In retrospect, the year under Unni has been a year marked with transformation and reformation. Just to mention some, the Navigation & Signals School renamed as Navigation Training school………N&SS to NTS, the revision of the training syllabi, both ground and flying; revision of age old précis; revival of some fine social tradition……… a bouquet with a card on the birthday and anniversary of each officer and their spouses……..followed by a telephone call by the first couple of the unit. The revival of this unit diary is witness to this fact !

The month began on a very sad note……..a motorcycle accident involving Flt Lt Harjit Sasson and Flt Lt Dishant Tyagi (Medical Officer). Flt Lt Dishant Tyagi was declared dead on arrival at Apollo Hospital while Flt Lt Harjit Sasson was admitted in MH with fracture of the collar bone and femur. Dishant’s body was flown down to his hometown, Lucknow. Meanwhile, a feather in the cap……….for the terns……..Flt Lt Deepak Sahani left for Bangladesh to do the Junior Commander Course……………a well deserving officer, everyone were wishing the best………..that it not be a case of slip between the cup and the lip (which is not very uncommon in the Air Force). Well done Deepak.

Term end !!

The month of June is always marked with festivities………..after the slog by the training in the preceding six months……..the passing out of the Advance Navigation Course and the passing out of the 95 Ab-initio course. This is one time when the ‘Terns’ put behind the visit of the AEB……..which is always a dampener…….. and take things in their stride to march ahead. The month also witnessed a change of guard at the Station………..Gp Capt Anil Nair took over the reins of the station from Gp Capt CR Prasad, who after more than two decades and five postings to this station headed to HQ EAC at Shillong as SPSO. Gp Capt Anil Nair has been the Nav Leader at AEB, commanded a missile squadron at Baroda and was the C Adm O at Air Force Station, Chabua prior to taking over as Station Commander, Begumpet.

The valedictory ceremony of the Advance Navigation Course, in deviation from the past, was held at the FCM on 6 Jun 03. A formal function at the mess in Dress No.10 with a Training review address by the TCO and the CO. This followed the presentation of the trophies to the ‘topper’ in flying and ground subjects. The coveted trophies ………best in flying was awarded to Flt Lt Kunal Kala and the best in ground subjects to Flt Lt Sabyasachi Srivastava. The overall first in order of merit trophy was awarded to Flt Lt Sabyasachi Srivastava. The evening was emotionally packed while the trophies and certificates were awarded. The newly crowned ‘instructors’ of the 64 ANC apart from the toppers were Sqn Ldr Bart D’Souza, Flt Lt K Kannan, Flt Lt RS Krishnan and Lt Srinivas Tata (Indian Navy). The evening was also a farewell to the cadets of 95 Ab-Initio (D Bhatia, N Lingarkar, D Pareekh, A Khanna, RK Yadav, D Bhadoria, MS Ali, V Chaudhary, S Awasthi, M Das, D D’Souza, G Raye) scheduled to leave the next day for Air Force Academy to join their counterparts in the graduation parade scheduled on 18 Jun 03. The highlight of the evening was the entertainment by the out going cadets by way of respect to their Alma Mater………brought back memories of the times each one present spent here in this unit as a Cadet. The mock prizes with imitation of the seniors, not sparing even the Station Commander had the audience, especially the better halves in splits.


Change of guard !!

Changes are the only constant in the Indian Air Force. The change of guard was very visible with the introduction of the Ceremonial parade every first Monday of the month, sports meet in various sports discipline. In the Navigation Training School, the officers posted out were Sqn Ldr SK Singh to Bidar, Flt Lt PC Das and Sqn Ldr S Vaishnavi to Hindon. This month saw some officers’ move on to better prospects with Bharat and Manu doing the Boeing MCF while Chow and Nitin Shankar (Shanks) going to Agra for IL MCF.

The month of July saw the commencement of the 97-Ab Initio course comprising seven cadets (Sukanto Dutta, Wangkhem Suresh Singh, Neeraj Singh, Sharath Chandra, Himanshu Tiwari, Kshitij Kapoor and Soumitra Mishra) and the 65 ANC with six officers including one from the Indian Navy. The officers doing the ANC are Flt Lt’s AK Singh, AK Yadav, Dharmendar Singh(Dharmi), Venugopal, S Biswas and Lt Dhananjay Rao. Rajkumar, by this time seemed pretty well seasoned to take on the new ANC with new entrants Tushar and Imendra Malik joining the ANC faculty. On the lighter side, Kunal retuned back to the unit after leave post ANC with a serious Outlook …no prizes for guessing…….a moustache…….in the hope that he may not get mistaken for a cadet by his CNI……..SNP…..without his specs.

Arrivals & Departures !!
This month also saw new arrivals………Rahul and Rohini Sekhri with their newborn daughter Ridhi from Delhi. Pawan and Mamta Dharwal blessed with a son, Arjun at MH, Secundrabad. Arunachalam and Selvi blessed with a second son, Roshan. Amongst the officers bid farewell to, was the most eligible Tern…….Flt Lt Nitin Mishra posted to Hindon and Flt Lt Akhilesh Srivastava on premature retirement. This month also saw a change of guard at the neighbouring 2401 Sqn, Wg Cdr AB Gupta taking over the reins from Wg Cdr Pankaj Saxena who proceeded on superannuation. Well, but to take the cake……….and eat it too…….none other than RS Krishnan…….couldn’t stop grinning from cheek to cheek…….for being detailed for the AF Day parade at Delhi. Some guys have all the luck…….two months of ‘khatirdari’ at his in-laws !!! On the other hand, the newly wed Sailesh Amrujkar was also detailed for the same parade……..he was cursing his luck……….a crestfallen Sailesh went into a tailspin of how he could manage to snuggle his newfound passion alongside to Delhi. He did manage and the couple left together to be part of the grand Air Force Day parade in the capital.


Postings !!
The month of August saw mild tremors being felt at the Nav Training School….the posting out signal of three officers………Nagasundaram to Baroda, Manish Kumar to Yellahanka and MS Harish (Technical Officer) to Guwahati. Poor Raj………just when he had got Naga to take on the mantle of ‘TWA’………..it came crumbling……..the hunt continues!! To make things worse, just when plans had been formulated for the ANC, Manish was on his way out………….. One day at a time!

The month of August saw all the Leo’s celebrate their birthdays….beginning with Unni on the 8th ………….keeping in with what is in vogue……….spent the day in ‘Atma Chintan’. In special initiative by the PMC, Unni, a Movie show was held at the FCM. Despite rains and threat of a washout, the attendance was beyond all expectations, and a grand success. The ladies and kids were the ones to make the most of the evening. So, much for its success, the Station Commander wanted a Movie show to be held every month!!

Rahul scores a ton !!!
It was not Dravid…..aka Sekhri at ‘Bottles & Chimney’ ……the newly opened pub in town. Jeetu (Bhatia), Ashok (Shetty), Bankim (Mehta), Rahul and Tushar (Agarwal) with their better halves descended at the newly opened Pub on 28 Aug ……. generally to get away from the mundane at Secundrabad club………and returned heroes of the evening. In a lucky draw the winner was to weighed in Booze… the organizers did not expect what was to be……… the lucky winner was Rahul Sekhri……and he weighed a TON……….. the rest is History!!

If tremors were felt in August, then the month of September saw an earthquake measuring 5 on the NTS Richter scale………… the posting out signal of FIVE stalwarts of Nav School. Manu and Bharat to Comn Squadron in Delhi, Pawan Dharwal to 12 Sqn at Agra, Chow to fly the newly inducted ‘tanker’ IL 78 at Agra and Deepak Sahani to Yelahanka. A mixed reaction ……… typical after such a shake up…….. the TCO now reworking things out…….. while others in line for a married accommodation happy at the prospects of things looking up for them……… and of course for Unni…. a whole lot of Cat tests prior to the send-off.

Well, this time, once again in departure from the past, it wasn’t a season for ‘Come September’ as this year on, the annual reports for Sqn Ldr’s and above are to be raised in June….courtesy apna ‘Pee Staff’ . What actually got missed out earlier……this time the AR’s were to be submitted with photographs of the individual officer with spouse. It actually reminded one of the boards outside the main gate at this Air Force Station……… Helmets on rent!! The officers’ kept wishing if they might as well have spouses on rent to complete this new requirement formality of the Air Force. An interesting AFWWA venture for the next year!!

The month of September is also the time when the training……….. both ground and flying starts ‘hotting’ up. MTT’s and FT’s followed by warnings in not Black and Blue but in Red……… This month it was out of the blues realized that warnings to the pupil were to be given handwritten in Red…… making the instructors’ very writing conscious. Meanwhile, the advance faculty with Dileep at the helm of affairs had his boys going solo. The calm Dileep was there encouraging his young cadets prior to each sortie making it a momentous occasion for each of them. For the ANC, Raj with his close crop hardly left anything to tug at…… with his aide-de-corps Chow and Deepak in a pack up mode…….the task only seemed to get tougher and commitments on the rise.

To make life more interesting, Wingco wanted every thing to be maintained ‘by the book’. Raj was put on the job and true to his style read the TCASI over a fifty times (by his own admission!!). Even then……… things were just not coming up the way he would like it to. Instructions to SN Prasad……. Unit training Officer……… a ‘gen test’ on the TCASI for all instructors in the offing.


Libra sun
The last week of the month of September…….. as everywhere else in the Air Force saw a flurry of activities……in preparation for the Air Force Anniversary. Amongst the things entrusted to the ‘Terns’ was a Quiz competition, SNCO’s at-home and the entertainment for the Officers’ mess party. The Wingco’s instructions clear……..training would continue on schedule and the work allotted to be done. Jeetu and Raj were entrusted with the Quiz competition while our PR man Samir Bhai was entrusted with finding the sponsors for the event while Imendra Malik and his team for the computer projection, Shanks and Aaj Ka Yadav for the setting up. The event became a mega event with both the sponsors and the Station Officers floored by the way it was organized in the most professional manner. The Wingco was there personally till way past midnight to oversee the arrangements. Kudos to the terns!!

Baljit (Hora) the mess secretary with the Wingco as the PMC once again had to have every small detail worked out for the SNCO’s at-home. It sure wasn’t an easy task with the purse strings kept tight. A commendable effort indeed, catering to over 250 personnel. The focus now shifted to the Officers’ Mess Party on the 10th Oct. Entertainment……nice to watch but a difficult proposition when it comes to giving and enacting ideas. Once again, ‘terns’ at their creative best…….Jedi (Mishra) working out a tableau on the age old non-failing ‘Mahabharat’ formula; Raj with his think tanks of Tushar, Chow, Deepak, Kannan, Sachi and the lone lady Kavita (Mrs D’Souza) trying desperately to shoot with double barrel at targets beyond range…….. a parody depicting the Indian Air Force in the year 2050.




71st Indian Air Force Anniversary
The Air Force day began with the ‘oath taking’ by all personnel first in Hindi…… and just to be sure the same in English………. The reason for this beats all logic and it does add an element of humour with the Station Commander in a highly accented ‘Mallu’ accent reading out the pledge in Hindi.

In his typical style, the Wingco was there to see the rehearsal a couple of days prior to the party. Well, it was all well but for the Air Force Song………the cacophony of the men in uniform with the lady terns just could not satisfy him. A ear for music indeed !! The Air Force Day party at the Officers’ Mess lawn, Trimulgherry on 10 Oct 2003…high on anticipation and expectation……..did live up to the standards. The entertainment show by the terns did win the appreciation of over 150 guests. The entertainment comprised a duet by the STO, Joshua with biwi Daphna, from the English classic movie ‘Sound of Music’. Parodying the life and times of the IAF, Christine and Sachi at their musical best with Kannan in accompaniment had the audience at the edge of their seats watching the acrobats prancing around the stage. The acrobats in the act were Tushar, Chow, Deepak Sahani, LN and the lone maiden …….Kavita D’Souza. Another typical entertainment, when called for in the fauj……. A radio skit by Raj, Tushar and Shelly Dhagat……..the contents is what made the difference !!! The climax to the entertainment that did raise spirits and set the tone for the night was the dance sequence to ‘Mambo No5’. Four couples set the stage ablaze with perfect rhythm and enthralled the audience. The sequence choreographed by Christine/ Sachi was participated by Kannan/Kavita D’Souza, Sameer/Shelly Dhagat and LN Kumar/Tanushree Pant (Accts. Officer).


Festivities in the air all through the month of October, beginning with Dashera followed by the Air Force Day and preparations for Diwali. Diwali, this year was a time to catch up with all the socializing including the ternlings practically ‘raiding’ Race course to celebrate the occasion with their instructors / pilots and their families. The first couple of the station had a lavish spread of south Indian ‘delite’ at Begumpet house where the entire station descended to begin the evening. The deafening sound of crackers…. thanx to the god-sent Sulur trip and with the winter chill setting in, ensured a perfect evening to a joyous festival.

The month of November……. nip in the air………the exodus of officers from NTS began to be felt. With Chow, Manish and Deepak Sahani posted out; the mantle of the ANC lay entirely on Malik and Tushar. Dileep was roped in to ease the ‘pressure’ with ‘Maps & Charts’. The unit seemed to be the most happening place in the IAF with two courses racing towards the finishing line with the flying and ground subjects. To turn on the heat, in addition to the term end AEB visit, a visit by CASI was in the offing. The first two weeks in November saw every ‘nook and corner’ in the unit spruced up, registers in place, SOP’s/Boards updated and overall it was a feeling of awaiting the “arrival of the bride”. The bride did not come……….the father of the bride (AEB) did not disappoint. Keeping with its schedule, the AEB visit to the unit turned out to be the most hectic in recent times with 10 Navs and 7 pilots appearing for categorization in addition to the standardization of the 65 Advance Navigation Course and the 96Ab-initio course. The results at the end of the visit were triumphant – Manish Rastogi (Rusty) & Nitin Shankar (Shanks) upgrading to ‘A’MG & ‘B’MG respectively. Amongst the Nav’s, Jedi & Mallik upgraded to Cat ‘A’. The performance of the 96Ab-initio and 65 Adv Nav course in ground subjects surpassed all previous with some exceptional performance…….brought smiles on the face of Unni, Raj & Dileep. Post visit, Unni was all praises and commended Dileep, the CNI of the 96 Ab-Initio for the brilliant performance. The departure of AEB was celebrated by a beer bash at the FCM. The most vociferous of them all was ‘Jedi’- forfeited joining time due to him on posting to appear for AEB- a ‘chidiya’ on the left breast will do him proud in his tenure at Poona flying the Su-30 MKI. The terns are proud of him and his achievement while wishing him all success as a ‘weapons system operator’ in the fighter fleet.

Adieu Tern lings

The month of December, typical in the fauj, especially in NTS, with the courses ending, a rush to go on leave. A course presentation by 65 ANC on GAGAN (GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation Aid) was appreciated by everyone in the station. The evening of 6th Dec, marked the valedictory function of the 65ANC and culmination of the 96Ab-initio at the FCM. A formal function in dress No 10 began with the course report by the stand-in TCO, SN Prasad (Raj was admitted in MH the same morning). This followed the presentation of the trophies to the ‘topper’ in flying and ground subjects. The coveted trophies ………best in flying was awarded to Flt Lt AK Yadav and the best in ground subjects to Flt Lt AK Singh. The overall first in order of merit trophy was awarded to Flt Lt AK Singh. The evening was emotionally packed while the trophies and certificates were awarded. The newly crowned ‘instructors’ of the 65 ANC apart from the toppers were Flt Lt S Biswas, Flt Lt P Venugopal and Lt Dhanunjay Rao (Indian Navy). The evening was also a farewell to the cadets of 96 Ab-Initio (Kaushik Bhattacharya, Ankit Gurtu, Priyadarshani Dhar, Ratnakar Pandey & Amit Kumar) scheduled to leave the next day for Air Force Academy to join their counterparts in the graduation parade scheduled on 20 Dec 03.

Post departure of cadets to the Air Force Academy, preparations are afoot for the new courses. Distribution of instructors to the different faculties is worked out. The ANC faculty will now feature Dileep, Mallik and Baggy to assist Raj. Arunachalam will don the mantle of CNI for the basic stage Ab-Initio course.

NSS photos

Here are some rare photos. 

POP Jodhpur Dec 1967

Picnic at Mandore Garden Jodhpur POP

Submitted by Wg Cdr Suhas Shukla (retd)

Hi guys NTS DJ celeberations are in full swing hope we can pull off a good DJ.

Let us post some nostalgic memories at NTS

Hi Guys,

I request you all to post some memories of NTS ( or N&SS). If you are unable to post please send request by commenting to this post. As we all know the Diamond Jubilee preparations have started and all of us are excited about it. We look forward to a great re-union. Anyone who reads this blog should comment or chat and give us contact details. Thanks.

Diamond Jubilee Functions

1. Blood Donation by unit personnel  23 Jan 09

2. Bara Khaana  14 Feb 09

3. Officers Mess function  21 Feb 09

Navigation Training School

NTS RE-UNION

1. Navigation Training School (NTS), the erstwhile N&SS, is celebrating 60 glorious years of service to the nation in Jan-Feb 09.

2. It is intended that the Diamond Jubilee anniversary of this alma mater of Navigation, be celebrated with a grand officers' mess re-union on 21 Feb 09 at Air Force Station Begumpet.

3. It would be an occasion for the pioneers to take a trip down memory lane and interact with the younger generation associated with this institution.

4. This is a request to all officers( of all branches) who have had a tenure at N&SS or NTS to e-mail back if it would be convenient for them to join us at an officers' mess reunion on 21 Feb 09.

5. On collation of initial response, the finer modalities would be evolved and conveyed by e-mail.

6. With warm regards and earnest hopes of engendering a long overdue re-union.......

Please fill in the details in database 
Please send details also to terns.nts@gmail.com and nerkar.deepak@yahoo.com