SERVING IAF RUNS IN FAMILY FOR THESE OFFICERS

There were many stories of determination and passion for the Air Force that emerged from the 216 newly commissioned officers, including 46 women, who graduated from the Air Force Academy, Dundigal, near Hyderabad on Saturday.

Group Captain (Retd.) K.J.S. Dihot who was beaming at the sight of his son Amandeep Singh Dihot being commissioned as a Flying Officer in the Fighter stream, remarked that three generations of his family had now served in it in different capacities. In memory of the brother, also in the IAF, whom he had lost to the tsunami in Car Nicobar, he was running an academy in Rajpura, Punjab, “to give guidance” to youth for joining the IAF. “My son is the first product of the academy,” he said.

Flying Officer Deepak Khiria, from Rajasthan, said a cherished dream had come true.

Drive and commitment were equally visible in the women officers. Anu Rana, daughter of Commandant J.B.S. Rana of the BSF, who refused to join the Indian Army despite being recommended thrice and got into the IAF on her fourth chance, said it was the fulfillment of a childhood dream.

Flying Officer Nidhi Singh said she was perpetuating a tradition, her father Girish Singh serving as JWO in the Air Force while brother Neeraj is getting ready to join it after his engineering degree.