Flying high

Just five days after he was appointed Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command (EAC), Air Marshal Manek Bomanshaw Madon was decorated with the Param Vishist Seva Medal (PVSM) by the President of India on January 26, 2002, notes a com­muniqué from the EAC headquarters in Shillong. The PVSM recognizes his lifetime achievements and distinguished service of the most exceptional order.

Prior to assuming his new responsibilities he was senior air staff officer at Western Air Command (WAC), one of the most operational commands of the Indian Air Force (IAF). His other staff appointments include project manager, Aircraft Project Management Organisa­tion at the ministry of defence, senior officer in charge administration at the Central Air Command and air defence commander at the WAC, notes the write-up summarizing his accomplishments.

For nearly 40 years Madon has been associated with the IAF, being commissioned as a pilot in the fighter stream in 1963. He is known to have flown almost all types of fighter aircraft in the inventory of the IAF with approximately 5,000 flying hours to his credit. Having commanded a frontline MiG-21 squadron "Scorpios” in 1983-85 he enjoys the distinction of presently being the commodore commandant of the squadron, adds the write-up.

In the Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971 Madon was an active participant and the Su-7 aircraft that he had flown in the Khemkaran sector in the operational combat mission in the 1971 war earned him a Vayu Sena Medal. A qualified flying instructor as also fighter combat leader, Madon has served as a senior directing staff at the premier Tactics and Combat Development Establis­hment. An alumnus of the Defence Service Staff College, College of Defence Management, College of Air Warfare, National Defence College and Administrative Staff College of India he was commandant, Air Force Academy in Hyderabad, the alma mater of some of the finest pilots in the world.