India: IAF Commanders’ Conference Gets UnderwayAntony Addresses Air Force Commanders

The first bi-annual Air Force Commanders’ Conference for 2011 got underway at Air Headquarters today. The four-day conference was inaugurated by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in the presence of Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) and Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Chief Marshal PV Naik.

On arrival, the Defence Minister was introduced to the IAF Commanders by the Air Chief. In his welcome address the Air Chief thanked the Defence Minister for his continued support and involvement in IAF’s modernization process. Shri Antony then addressed the Air Force Commanders.

The Defence Minister apprised the Commanders of the security situation in the region and lauded the role of the Armed Forces towards Nation building.  He landed the role of the IAF in humanitarian assistance during the Leh floods and for evacuating Indian citizens from Egypt and Libya.  Shri Antony specifically commended the IAF for conceptualization and operationalisation of various assets and force-multiplies.

The Air Chief in his address to the Commanders reiterated that primacy of operations had to be foremost in all operations in view of the prevailing security situation.  He brought out the need for consolidating the operational availability of weapon systems and sensors due to ‘Times of Transformation’ and declared the period ahead as ‘Year of Consolidation’.  The Air Chief emphasized on the institutionalization of the core values of Air Warriors, which have been elucidated as ‘Mission, Integrity and Excellence’

The IAF Commanders attending the conference include Vice Chief of Air Staff (VCAS), Air Officers Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) of IAF’s seven Commands as well as the Principal Staff Officers at Air HQ.

IAF Commanders’ Conference gets underway

The inaugural day of the conference had reviews on matters of operations, acquisitions, aerospace safety, maintenance, administration and personnel matters concerning IAF’s human resources.

In the remaining days, presentations will also be made by AOC-in-C of each of the seven IAF Commands during the conference. In addition, a separate presentation on a topic relevant to the individual Command’s core operational role, in the present and futuristic context, will also be made and discussed by the Commanders.

Chiefs of the Army and Navy will also interact with the IAF Commanders during the conference. Among the other distinguished invitees who will interact with the IAF Commanders include National Security Advisor (NSA), Shri Shiv Shankar Menon who will address on the subject of ‘India’s International Relations and Security Issues’ and Chairman, National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), Shri PV Kumar.

Guest lectures by Dr. RK Tuli on ‘Holistic Medicine in Management of Life Style Diseases’ and by Rear Admiral K Raja Menon (Retd), Distinguished Fellow, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) and co-author of the book ‘The long view from Delhi’, will allow perspectives on scenario building for National Security.

Indian Press Information Bureau