Thirty-two Air Force officers of the 32nd GDOC (Ground Duty Officers’ Course) gathered at their alma mater, the Air Force Administrative College (AFAC) on December 23. Fifty years ago on the same day, they were commissioned here as Pilot Officers.
Two of their instructors, Wg Cdr P. Pawar and Wg Cdr V.V. Raju were also present. Though all retired, there was no mistaking their soldierly bearing as they stood, shoulders pulled back, fists clenched, as names of their course mates who are no more were read out. A films division clip of their passing out parade at AFAC was replayed several times where they tried to spot a much younger themselves.
It is an illustrious course, not just because of the many medals and honours shared among its members, but also because it has participated in not one but two wars – in 1965 and 1971. Wg Cdr K.S. Chandrasekaran remembered how, barely into the air force, they were plunged right into war. “We did not know what hit us!” Jodhpur, Jamnagar, Adampur, Barnala, Tangail, Ichhogil Canal…They cut their teeth in these war operations.
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Speaking of their cadet days at AFAC, they said they were horribly ragged by seniors. Some wanted to ran away.
But they stuck on. And that tough Air Force training and discipline made them successful in the civil world. Wg Cdr.S. Simon is into publishing, while Wg Cdr P.R. N. Murthy works with Corporate, Social and Mental Health sectors, Gp Capt Shailendra Mohan is into social welfare and culture.
Wg. Cdr K. K. Dave is in insurance. Gp Capt Ashok Sethi is the Secretary of Air Force Association that looks after the welfare of retired Air Warriors. They hold important posts and make their presence felt in whichever sector they work in.
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The Commandant of AFAC, Air Commodore O.E.M. Menon acknowledged this as he expressed gratitude to the ‘seniors’ for grooming generations of upright and efficient Air Force personnel. The instructor to the officers of the 32nd GDOC, V.V. Raju then summed it up. He said: “Our responsibility was three-fold: Train the body for physical hard work; build character and inculcate in the young officers a devotion to duty. And looking around me today, I know that I did my job well.”