Brushing A Star Per Chance – 2

It was a cloudy morning after three hectic weeks of high level activity. The Government of France had invited a high level Defence delegation from India, headed by the Defence Secretary, to come to France and and start a new phase of defence procurement. A long line up of French military hardware was laid out for us to inspect and be impressed about. We were dined and wined well. The hardware on offer were all technically excellent. We had not really talked about prices, but of course these items were all expected to be expensive. It was indeed an exciting visit. I was a member of this delegation. I was at that time employed as the Project Manager for the induction of Jaguar Aircraft into the Air Force. My office was integrated into the Ministry of Defence.

A Very Small World – 11 – : Mishti Dances Through East Africa

When I returned from Iraq in February 1976, the immediate family was scattered all over the country.   The eldest was in Bal Bharati Air Force School in her tenth standard.   She could not be shifted till the end of the school term.   The second and the third were with my mother and my brother in Bankura West Bengal attending a School with Bengali medium.    School term ended there in December.   Those two were thus free to move back to me.   My wife set up a small household looking after the eldest and the youngest at New Delhi while I set up another House and brought the middle three children, Sukanya Swagata and Subir with me to Tambaram.   Sukanya was all of 15 years old and promptly became the mother of the house.

A Long and Arduous Path

Some time, in our humdrum daily life, we chance upon opportunities of doing some things of utmost importance without really being prepared for it. Some times the opportunity fructifies and you are able to achieve something memorable and valuable. At some other times, you either do not recognize the opportunity and let it slip by or are unable to take up the challenge for various reasons. On some other times, you get a chance and try your best, but your best turns out to be not good enough. The opportunity dies. These occasions leave a scar on your soul that do not heal with time. My tale today is of such a chance that I could not grab and see through.

FIS…Abjuring a State of Denials

I had taken command of the Flying Instructors’ School at Tambaram on 16th February 1976 and I had found myself in conflict with my bosses at the Command Headquarters just as I began this tenure. I needed better serviceability, more instructors, less interference from the Command HQ and more organizational support to run the unit properly. My demands on the Command HQ looked quite like the case of a truant child throwing a tantrum.

FIS… Asserting Control

As I assumed my Command of the Flying Instructors’ School at Tambaram on 16 February 1976, a strange kind of emotion filled me. I had been a part of this unit on three different periods of my career in the past. I was very fond of the unit and was very proud of it. My previous tenures had been very happy. Now I had arrived at the unit for the fourth time, finally as the Commanding Officer. However, my initial impression of the environment of the unit on arrival was not favorable.

The Prime Minister Crashes

Monday morning was a bit of a rush. Leena had to be taken to the Command Hospital for a biopsy. The earlier we could reach there, the better it would be for me. But which plan of a man or a mouse ever runs smoothly? Rashida Bai arrived late delaying my Breakfast. Shivji had to receive His special Monday-Morning Prayers from Leena and that could not be rushed. My being ready to move out by 9 am really served no purpose. Well… Being as old as I currently am, I have learnt many a trick to keep my cool under adverse circumstances. I was determined not to get irritated; I opened up the laptop and entered the internet. Kartooos had just posted a new entry in his blog. I opened it and was immersed in it immediately. The date of situation of his story was 4 Nov 77, a date I could never forget.

How About Some French Toys?

I had just walked in to the office of the Defence Secretary to move one of my files that needed his okay. Mr Menon normally did not keep any file pending, but this particular file was required by me double quick. I had therefore decided to go and get his signature personally.

F I S: Assuming Command

Some how, I was not surprised in the least when my posting to FIS as its Commanding Officer came to be known. That of course did not mean that I was not a little disappointed. I had already commanded a fighter squadron at the Wing Commander level five years earlier. I had then done a tenure as a Directing Staff at the Defence Services Staff college Wellington, had fought a war as the Chief Operations officer of a fighter base in the Western Sector in 1971, had a short tenure as an Assistant Director in the Air HQ and was in the process of finishing a full tenure as a team leader on deputation to Iraq. All these jobs were in the rank of Wing Commander. Now I was returning to India from my deputation to Iraq and was due for a promotion to the rank of a Group Captain. At that rank the most sought after appointment was that of a base commander of a fighter base. I would have naturally loved to be a base commander. At this stage, to be told that I had to command yet another flying unit at the next higher rank was indeed a bit of a let down.

A Small Incident with Big Lessons

I had just taken over the Air Force Station at Jamnagar as its Air Officer Commanding (AOC).   My wife Leena was still in Delhi tending to the children who could not shift as they were half way through their school/college term.   Jamnagar has one of the busiest air firing ranges of the country; flying units from all over the country send detachments to Jamnagar for an intensive camp of air to ground and air to air firing practice.   Soon after my arrival, a detachment from the Fighter Training Wing (FTW) Hakimpet arrived with their Polish made Iskra aircraft for their routine armament training.    For those readers who are not familiar with the structure of the Air Force let me explain that the FTW trains new young pilots into elements of fighter flying after they graduate from the Air Force Academy.   Such detachments from FTW to Jamnagar are routine affairs and take place normally twice a year.   All arrangements are pre-set.   The instructors from the FTW are normally familiar with Jamnagar and they do their own training without any interference form the station.   Jamnagar just has to provide the flying environment and the range firing facility.   I was therefore not bothered about the presence of a big bunch of very young pilots on my base.

Scaling a Tape Recorder

The Directorate of Air Staff Inspections or DASI as it is popularly known is a powerful directorate.     Technically, its operations were overseen by the Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Flight Safety and Inspections) but the Director DASI had free access to the Vice Chief and the Chief.