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.