"The Blue Collar" Speaks

With the arrival of "Omnirole"  twin jet Rafale  combat aircraft   on 29 July at Ambala to be part of "Golden Arrow",  Now Wg  Cdr Abhinandans need not to cross LOC tobchase away F16 Aircraf as Rafale is loaded with Meteor (Missile) ,  an active radar guided beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) which has the range of 150 Km and can hit the targets for sure in the range of 100 kms..Moreover Meteor offers a multi-shot capability means it can hit many targets in one sortie. Someone rightly said that till now we have been equipped with 'Canes' against 'Guns'. In past we fought against Saber Jet  with Gnat Aircraft and  shot down F16 with 'flying coffin' Mig 21. But Rafale, manufactured by Dassault Aviation  is considered as canon against those "Pakistani Guns" as it is capable of carrying out a wide range of short and long-range missions. It can be used to perform ground and sea attacks, reconnaissance, high-accuracy str...

What a special day for Indian Air Force !!! Sqn Ldr Dalip Singh Majithia (retd) hits the century and still growing strong as he  celebrates  his 100th birthday today. He retired in Aug 1947 & holds the distinction of being the 'oldest' IAF fighter pilot now. All Air Warriors and Air Veterans wish him  many more happy and healthy birthdays.  Live long Sir.!!💐💐💐💐💐

Today India celebrates the Kargil Vijay Diwas in the honour of those who laid down their lives for our motherland.  Although, I was in service during Kargil War and contributed my bit for the nation. But it was the rare honour for me to had one to one conversation with Kargil war hero and Param Vir Chakra Awardee Sub Maj Yogendra Singh Yadav, PVSM at my office. He explained us the whole incident in detail and we remained awe throughout  his narration.  Saluting our bravehearts once again on 21st Kargil Victory Day. Jai Hind.

Uttar Pradesh is a unique state in many ways!! Apart from being the most populous state of the country, it provides maximum soldiers to the defence forces . But see the irony!! Small states like Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh , Uttarakhand and Karnatak provide reservation to Ex Servicemen of their states in Group A and B posts but Uttar pradesh Government does not do so. Before 1999 , there was reservation in Group A and B posts for Ex Servicemen in Uttar Pradesh but they started reducing  percentage from 1992 and  in 1999 when other states were felicitating and awarding the Kargil War heroes, UP chose the other way round .  It took 'Ulta decision,  and stopped reservation for Ex Servicemen in Group A and B posts on 27 July 1999 . What a unique gift to soldiers on Kargil victory day!!!!😢😢😢😢 Till then many Governments have come and gone in UP but no Government found this 'Ulta decision'  worth reconsidering.  Uttarakhand which was separated from UP, r...

A great achievement for an Air Warrior!!! Sgt Suresh Kashyap (Retd), two times MLA and sitting MP from Shimla Lok Sabha Constituency is appointed as Himachal Pradesh BJP Chief. I congratulate him on behalf of all Air  Warriors. Last time when we met him in a Banquet Hall of Parliament House, we apprised him about the problems faced by serving and retired Airmen like- improper working environment in IAF for airmen, decreasing respect for senior airmen ranks,  uncertainty in resettlement  of ex servicemen , Reservation in Group A and B posts  of Central and State Government Services , OROP and  ante date seniority in allotment of Government quarters for  re employed ex servicemen  That time , Sir assured us that he will take this matter to higher authorities. Now as he is  elevated to BJP chief of Himachal Pradesh, I on behalf of all serving and ex servicemen request him to pursue our genuine demands with the Government . Once again,Many...

Why Airmen leave the service prematurely 😢😢😢 Part I (Theory) The inhouse survey conducted by the  Indian Air Force to find out the reasons for premature retirement from the service is in public now (The Tribune Newspaper). The survey was  conducted on Sgts having put up 13-20 years of service and 32 percent of them have quoted lack of suitable  environment  as the main reason for their unwillingness to continue in service. When I joined service in 1996, Sgt was a very respected and powerful rank. But during next 10 years of my service,  this rank lost all its glory and power. Degradation  of this rank started  when Sgts were asked to do parade with arms and this was the beginning only. The second blow to their self respect was when they were compelled to perform Guard duties. Final blow came in the form of ACR based promotion policy  and simplification of  Station duties roster. Station duties  got simplified in  two categories o...

SCENE-1 (Year 1996, Place- MTI, Tambaram, Time - 1300 hrs) Pin drop silence in front of 4(T) Sqn  as WO VB Singh, a very strict ,  no- nonsense approach instructor and course supervisor of ATT-25, Eng fit  is  about to de-brief his trainees .  Now , only loud and clear voice of WO Sahab is heard.Then comes the Flt Lt Kaushal , Flt Cdr of 4(T) Sqn and immediate boss of WO VB Singh in to the scene. He calls , "Mr. V B Singh !"  No response from WO VB Singh. He calls again a little louder, " Mr. V B Singh!!" This time WO Sahab turns back , salutes him and says, " Sir, I will come to you. Let me finish my briefing first."  Flt Lt Kaushal waits for him patiently for a few minutes. WO VB Singh finishes his briefing quickly,  orders entry senior man to march off the flight and then reports to Flt Lt Kaushal . Note-1 WO VB Singh retired as Hon Flt Lt from IAF. SCENE -2 ( Year 2006, Place - DSS of a Traning Sqn , Time - 0600 hrs) JWO Gobardhan Chakraborty ...

Training Centres of  the Indian Air Force are a  'unique University'. They change the overall personality of a trainee . A complete makeover takes place during those two years period.  Training centres change a civilian in to  an Air Warrior, a teenager in to a man and a raw school boy in to a skilled tradesman.  A few words  like 'bloody, get lost, double -up,  fall-in, weak trainee and sentences like  "Do not walk like a pregnant lady" , Do not teach your father how to ---" are added  to the vocabulary of a trainee and a few words like 'Bhaiya, Uncle , Aunty etc are deleted from the dictionary . Now come to the story.   Trainees from Tambaram used to visit Tirupati Balaji Shrine. We also made the plan and it was duly approved by the authority. We were provided  with a service transport and a JWO Sahab  and a Sgt Sahab (along with his wife) were accompanying us.  As book- outs from Training Centre are limited and time bou...