Air Marshal S.P. Singh to retire today

Air Marshal S.P. Singh AVSM VM, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Air Command, will retire on Tuesday after a distinguished service of 38 years.

The Air Marshal took over the reins of Southern Air Command on August 1 last and was instrumental in enhancing the operational capabilities of the command by ensuring speedy completion of infrastructure works. Under his command, various joint exercises were conducted with the Army and the Navy to augment and fine tune the operational readiness of this Command.

An alumnus of Sainik School, Kunjpura, he joined the National Defence Academy in 1970 and was commissioned into the flying branch of Indian Air Force on June 1, 1974. He is a Qualified Flying Instructor and has flown over 6,800 hours on various aircraft. The Air Marshal is a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Army War College, Mhow and did M Phil from Indore University in 2002. He has also attended Political and Strategic Higher Studies Course in Brazil.

Air Marshal Singh had commanded two premier Transport Squadrons and also served as Chief Flying Instructor at the Flying Instructors’ School. The Air Marshal had been Air Officer Commanding of a premier flying station, which is the cradle of transport and helicopter fleet training and also the staging base for the prestigious international Air Show of the country – ‘Aero India’.

The Air Marshal had held various prestigious posts at Air Headquarters. He has the distinction of being the first pilot to land AN-32 and IL-76 aircraft at Thoise by night. For his distinguished service and achievements, he was awarded the Vayu Sena Medal for gallantry during Kargil Operations in 1999 and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2006. The Air Marshal is married to Teji Singh, who will relinquish the post of President of Air Force Wives Welfare Association.