Air Marshal Ramesh Rai, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command, superannuated on Friday after a service of more than 38 years in the Indian Air Force, an official statement said. He had taken charge on July 1 last year.
As AOC-in-C of Training Command, headquartered in Bengaluru, he brought in innovative changes to improve the quality of training of IAF personnel alongside improving the quality of life in the Command Campus and in all the stations under it, the statement said.
Personnel of Training Command gave him a guard of honour and a formal send-off to him and Ms. Jyoti Rai in the morning. The Air Marshal placed a wreath at the War Memorial.
Commissioned as a fighter pilot in December 1976, Air Marshal Rai has commanded a Jaguar squadron. He was an experimental Test Pilot & Category 'A' Flying Instructor with approximately 4,500 hours of flying to his credit.
He has held important Command and staff appointments, among them as Defence Attache at the Indian embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel; Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station Bidar, when the Hawk advanced trainer aircraft were inducted; as Director, Air Staff Requirements; Air Officer Commanding Advance HQ at Kolkata; Senior Air and Administration Staff Officer of Maintenance Command at Nagpur; Chief Instructor (Air) at Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. He was Senior Air Staff Officer Central Air Command before taking charge at the Training Command.
