A ceremonial Passing Out Parade (POP) of 212/23T/Permanent Commission and Short Service Commission/102 Aeronautical Engineering Course, was held at Air Force Technical College on 01 June 2024, amidst the presence of dignitaries, officials, air warriors, parents and air veterans. The parade embodied the successful culmination of 74 weeks of rigorous training, wherein a total of 60 engineering officers including 20 women officers passed out from the college.
Air Marshal SP Dharkar, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command (EAC), IAF was the Chief Guest for the event and he also inspected the parade as Reviewing Officer (RO). On arrival, the RO was received by Air Commodore Ashutosh Shrivastava, Commandant of the college. The parade was marked by a spectacular flypast by Dornier aircraft and sky diving demonstration by the ‘Air Devils’ team of the IAF. The ‘Air Warrior Drill Team’ also showcased their skills during the parade.
The RO awarded trophies and medallions to the officers who excelled in the course. The prestigious ‘Sword of Honour’ for first in the order-of-merit was awarded to Flying Officer Rahul EV, the ‘President’s Plaque’ for the best officer in professional subjects and General Service Training was awarded to Flying Officer Nunna Uooha. ‘The Chief of Air Staff Medals’ for first in the order-of-merit in Electronics and Mechanical streams were awarded to Flying Officer Ritu Ranjan and Flying Officer Pathivada Hemant Kumar respectively.
The AOC-in-C, EAC addressed the gathering and congratulated the graduating officers. The Air Marshal exhorted the officers to be focused on operational readiness by being innovative, keeping abreast of advances in technology, constantly upgrading knowledge and skills to tackle maintenance challenges thereby ensuring optimum availability and reliability of assets. He also urged the officers to strive to remain physically and mentally fit to be able to excel in achieving all assigned tasks.
