Reiterating the Indian Air Force's commitment to defend the sovereignty of the country's skies and to safeguard national interests, Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne said that in its 81st year, the air force stands at the threshold of a new era that would define its stature as a potent strategic force.
Addressing air warriors of all ranks, besides invited guests on the occasion of the 81st anniversary of the founding of the Indian Air Force (IAF) here, Air Chief Marshal Browne said: "81 years of our glorious history is replete with shining examples of our collective achievements. Today, the Indian Air Force stands at the threshold of a new era - an era which will redefine our stature as a potent strategic force equipped with precision, networked and space enabled force capabilities."
Urging air warriors to continue to strengthen their capabilities, enhance their vigilance levels and respond effectively to security-related challenges, he further said: " While induction of modern technology will certainly bring along greater capabilities, it will still be our pioneering spirit, capacity to embrace new technologies and our approach to adapt in the face of emerging challenges, which will remain as the abiding principles of our future growth path."
Describing the Indian Air Force as a great legacy, Air Chief Marshal Browne said: " Do remember that the assets entrusted under our care are both expensive as well as scarce. The safety and security of these is our prime responsibility. While ensuring their physical security is important, there is also an increasing need to ensure security of our vital communication and operational information networks."
He said that the past year had been quite a challenging one for the IAF, in terms of resource management and consolidation war fighting skills. Operational resilience too had been tested.
"Year-on-year, our proud air warriors (have) performed with distinction. I am extremely confident that the remarkable cohesiveness displayed between our operational, maintenance and administrative echelons during exercises will continue to grow with time and have a force multiplier effect on our future capabilities," he said.
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"Air Warriors, as the primary instrument of national power, the IAF's mission is to provide a wide range of sovereign options to our national leadership. We also remain deeply committed to our important nation building responsibilities," Air Chief Marshal Browne said.
He made a special mention of the IAF's response to the massive humanitarian tragedy in Uttarakhand in June this year.
" (It) aptly symbolises our approach to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief commitments. Operating in a time critical and operationally demanding environment, our air warriors resolutely weathered the daily challenges and saved the lives of more than 23,000 of our distressed countrymen. 'Op Rahat' besides highlighting our professional competence, grit and determination also showcased the ability of our air warriors to innovate and engineer 'out of the box' solutions in the face of daunting odds. We are grateful to our countrymen for their appreciation of our efforts and would like to assure them that they would always find the air warriors the first to respond to any disaster relief contingency which may arise in the future," he said.
"An important priority area for us is to empower and prepare our air warriors for the Air Force of tomorrow. Based on periodic reviews and feedback from the field units, we have developed a new airmen training pattern. Starting from January 2014, this training pattern will be implemented and would address our contemporary training needs. Besides this, special emphasis is also being placed on improving quality of life. IAFBA has implemented many welfare schemes aimed towards fostering a sense of well-being and improving the environment in all our units/stations. In the last year itself, we have disbursed ' 367 crores as welfare loans, grants and assistance to our air warriors and their families," he said.
"The Dte of Air Veterans, established last year, has been regularly addressing many long standing issues and this has helped in enhancing the sense of belongingness amongst our veterans. We are also actively pursuing all the pending issues with regards to the Pay Commission and I have personally taken up the matter with the government. These and many such initiatives would always continue to remain at the heart of our efforts towards improving the quality of life of our people. The Indian Air Force remains firm in its belief that 'integrated jointness' is the way ahead. It is also our belief that the core competence of each service, indeed, of all organs of national power must be synergised to generate the desired effect and capability. Here, I wish to assure the Army, the Navy and other security agencies of our commitment towards delivering joint capability response options in any future national contingency," he said.