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MAINTENANCE COMMAND Maintenance Command was formed at Kanpur on January 26, 1955, with Air Vice Marshal Harjinder Singh MBE PVSM as its first Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief. Kanpur was the hub centre of maintenance activities even before independence. The only Base Repair Depot - BRD of the Indian Air Force existed at Kanpur, along with a Repair and Manufacturing Depot - RMD. A unit called Aircraft Manufacturing Depot - AMD, was subsequently added to undertake manufacture of the AVRO aircraft. In the perspective of the industrial revolution in India, when the role of IAF was more clearly defined, the AMD was transferred to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited - HAL. This division of HAL is today known as Transport Aircraft Division, or HAL(TAD) and is based at Chakeri, Kanpur. Its insignia has a micrometre screw gauge with an eagle in the centre in a circle which is topped by India’s national emblem. Its motto in Sanskrit  ‘Sarvada Gagane Charetu’ meaning  ‘Always Flying

TRAINING COMMAND Prior to 1939, there was hardly any training carried out in India either of pilots or ground engineers, there was no organisation at Air HQ level for this purpose. However, when it became impossible to send Indians to the UK for training due to war, it was decided to create training facilities in the country itself. To cater to the expansion of the IAF, a target of 300 pilots and 3000 technical personnel was fixed. To cope with such a large training commitment, a Directorate of Training was formed in Air HQ. A Recruits Training Centre (for discipline, drill, etc.) and a non-technical training centre was formed at Lahore. No.1 Technical School at Ambala provided technical training. These training centres provided intensive training courses, designed to make the trainees fit to shoulder responsibilities as soon as they were posted to the Units after passing out. This system continued till 1947. Independence of India and formation of Pakistan, led t

SOUTHERN AIR COMMAND Southern Air Command with its headquarters at Trivandrum was born on July 19, 1984 out of the changed geopolitical situation around southern peninsula since early eighties super power rivalry in Indian ocean, attempts to destabilise the littoral states and continued ethnic problems in Sri Lanka compelled the defence planners to look afresh the defence requirements of peninsular India in order to effectively defend the Island territories and protect our exclusive economic zones extending deep into the oceans. The need was felt to establish a full fledged Operational Air Command covering the geopolitical area of peninsular India extending to 18 deg N including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep islands in the Arabian sea. Accordingly, on July 20, 1984, Smt. lndira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India inaugurated the Headquarters Southern Air Command at Trivandrum at ‘Belhaven Palace’, an old palace of Maharaja of Travancor

CENTRAL AIR COMMAND Indian Air Force had undergone a major expansion process during the 1950s wherein the command and control structure was reorganised. The No.1 Operational Group of 1947 at Calcutta was revived in 1958 and was given the responsibility of organising and supervising the aerial operations of the IAF in the Eastern as well as the Central sector of the country. Post Chinese aggression of 1962, further requirement of change was felt and the area of responsibility of this Operational Group was bifurcated in two separate commands. Accordingly, Central Air Command (CAC) was formed in March 1962 to keep vigil along the Indo-Nepal boundaries at Rani Kutir, Kolkata. But keeping in view the area of responsibility of CAC, the location of Kolkata was found too skewed towards East. Therefore, in February 1966, HQ CAC was shifted to Bamrauli, Allahabad. Presently, the area covered by CAC ranges from the snow peaked mountains in the North to the Gangetic plains a

EASTERN AIR COMMAND The threat perception arising due to the Chinese occupation of Tibet necessitated the formation of a Command that could effectively oversee the operations of the IAF in the eastern region of the country. With this primary aim, the No 1 Operational Group was upgraded to Eastern Air Command on December 1, 1959 at Calcutta. During the Indo-China conflict of 1962, practical experience highlighted the difficulty of Kolkata being the location of Eastern Air Command. In order to have more effective operational control over the region of the north-east, the Command Headquarters was shifted to Shillong on June 10, 1963. Initially, HQ Eastern Air command was housed in the old buildings located at Nonglyer village at upper Shillong. As the legend goes, the Nonglyer Village, location of HQ Eastern Air Command, was once inhabited by the Khasi clan of Meghalaya. During the Second World War, this was taken over by the Bristishers to develop a military base.

WESTERN AIR COMMAND The origin of the Western Air Command can be traced back to the nascent years of independent India, when the various formations of the Air Force were organised into two groups. These were the No 1 Operational Group which controlled all the flying units including the flying training units and the No2 Training Group responsible for the entire spectrum of training activities except flying training in the IAF. On July 22, 1949 the No 1 Operational Group was re-designated as the Operational Command. The Air Officer Commanding the Operational Command was then of the rank of an Air Commodore. This was upgraded to the rank of Air Vice Marshal in 1958 and later to the rank of Air Marshal. The Command assumed its present name of Headquarters Western Air Command on June 10, 1963, primarily as a consequence of formation of other operational commands and demarcation of specific areas of responsibility. Headquarters Western Air Command, located at Subroto Par

SOUTH WESTERN AIR COMMAND Jai Shree Varte Veeram, meaning victory garlands the gallant, is a bye word to the soul and spirit of one of the most operational commands of the Indian Air Force, the South Western Air Command (SWAC). Originally established as No 1 Operational Group at Jodhpur on September 21, 1972, it was subsequently rechristened as the South Western Air Command on July 23, 1980. The operational area, carved out of the Western Air Command, included most of Rajasthan and the entire Gujarat. The crest of the South Western Air Command depicts the national emblem on the top as a pendant of a garland of flowers with ‘Dakshin Paschim Vayu Kaman’ encrypted inside in a semi circle. The centre is adorned by a dagger with wings. At the base, under the inscription 'Bharatiya Vayu Sena', is a scroll with the command motto ‘Jai Shree Varte Veeram’. In a major expansion in the mid eighties, the units located at Pune and Mumbai were transferred from Central Ai

71 INDEPENDET SUB-AREA (NORTHERN COMMAND) The 71 Independent Sub-Area (Northern Command) of Indian Army‘s formation badge and sleeve patch of this has a mountain deer  on red background.   https://www.scribd.com/doc/298953769/Swamy-s-Symbols-of-India-Volume-1 https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/ARMY/images/Area-Indep-61.jpg https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/ARMY/heraldry/399-Area-Badges.html

SOUTH WESTERN COMMAND The South Western Command  was formally raised on April 15, 2005 and Operationalised on August 15, 2005 at ‘Gothic Lines’ at Jaipur Military Station, with the customary Raising Ceremony and hoisting of the Command Flag by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief. The Command insignia depicts the core aspects of the essence. A silver streak , symbolising strike action, command and information warfare superimposed with a seven pointed star , heralding of the seventh Command of the Indian Army and with it, assured victory. The formation sign symbolises the synergetic employment of all arms and services across the entire spectrum of conflict in a nuclear biological and chemical backdrop; jointmanship, interdependence, interoperability and compatibility between the Services - a key battle winning factor and Proactive, integrated, synergised and information warfare centre function in combat. https://indianarmy.nic.in/Site/FormTemplete/frmTe

TRAINING COMMAND The philosophy of Indian Army’s Training Command  is “No soldier or officer should ever lose his life or limb in combat, because he was inadequately trained”. The aim of the Command is to maximize effectiveness of training and establish a dedicated organization for formulating concepts and doctrines, which are specifically applicable to our operational environment. The requirement was to be met by the establishment of a centralized, independent and high-powered organization, with the requisite infrastructure and resources to meet all aspects of concepts and doctrine development, training policies and institutional training. The Army Training Command (ARTRAC ) came into being on October 1, 1991 at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh. It subsequently shifted to Shimla on  March 31, 1993. Its role includes formulation and dissemination of concepts and doctrines of warfare in the fields of strategy, operational art, tactics, logistics, training and human resource

NORTHERN COMMAND The Indian Army’s Northern Command  is deployed in and responsible for the security of India’s borders with China and Pakistan in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Northern Command with its headquarters located in Udhampur has three major formations viz. the Leh based XIV Corps  responsible for the Ladakh region including Kargil-Dras and Siachen Glacier, the Srinagar based XV Corps looking after the sensitive borders of the Kashmir region and XVI Corps located in Nagrota responsible for the Jammu region. Prior to independence, the Northern Command, with its headquarters at Rawalpindi was a formation of the British Indian Army from 1895 to 1942 and then from 1945 to 1947. North Western Army was formed from Northern Command in April 1942, to guard the North West Frontier which includes the districts of Kohat, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Baluchistan and Waziristan. North Western Army reverted to the title Northern Command in November 1945. Lieutenant Ge

CENTRAL COMMAND Central Command  came into being on  May 1, 1963. Prior to this, Lucknow was the Headquarters of the Eastern Command. After the Chinese aggression in 1962, Eastern Command moved to Kolkata and Central Command was raised at Lucknow. Lt Gen K Bahadur Singh has the distinction of being the first Army Commander. The area of Central Command covers the seven states of Utaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa  and is home to 18 Regimental Centres as well as a large number of logistic and training establishments. The process of selecting a formation sign for Central Command began with its inception. Several designs were considered and finally on  July 31,1963, the Surya was recommended by the first Army Commander who said “The Sun has special merit for Central Command, as the Sun itself, depicted in a round form, stands for strength and light”. The ethos of Surya represents the most potent source of energy, sust

WESTERN COMMAND The genesis of Western  Command  was in the crucible of adversity and forged on the anvil of one of the most momentous and tragic trans-migrations of human populations into the two new nations of India and Pakistan. In June 1947, Punjab Boundary Force was set up for both West and East Punjab, comprising units of both Indian and Pakistan Armies. It was disbanded on September 15, 1947 with the two nations assuming responsibility for their respective areas. It was then that Headquarter Delhi and East Punjab Command was raised for the defence of Delhi and East Punjab areas with the Command Headquarters located at Delhi. The Command was popularly known as the DEP Command and Lieutenant General Dudley Russel, CB, CBE, DSO, MC took over as the first GOC-in-C. DEP Command was redesignated as ‘Western Command’ on January 18, 1948 and Lieutenant General (Later Field Marshal) KM Cariappa, OBE was appointed as the Army Commander, who took over the Command as

EASTERN COMMAND The Eastern  Theatre encompassing the snow-capped peaks of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh towards the North, the jungle clad hill tracts of Nagaland Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura and Meghalaya in the North-East and the alluvial fertile plains of Assam and Bengal, is a veritable conglomeration of flora and fauna in all its imaginable diversities.  Headquarters of Eastern Command , occupying Fort William, the former seat and symbol of authority of the British Empire has an unparalleled aura not experienced by any other formation. Formations and units of the Command bore the brunt during the Chinese aggression in 1962 and were again in the forefront in 1971 Indo-Pak War, which changed the course of history of the subcontinent and installed India as an unchallenged regional power. The Eastern Command sleeve patch  is red, black and red horizontal striped badge  with a rising sun in golden yellow.   https://indianarmy.nic.in/Site/FormTemplete/frmTempSi

SOUTHERN COMMAND The Southern Command , India’s oldest field army has a history spanning over two centuries. Its origin, however, can be traced even earlier to the era of the East India Company in India in the 17th century and the evolution of the Presidency Armies. Pune was established as a military station in the early 1800s and has been synonymous with the Command since then. The Command came into existence in 1895. Today, the Southern Command comprises of its two Corps, 12 and 21 located at Jodhpur and Bhopal. The Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa Area, with its headquarter at Mumbai and the Andhra, Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Kerala Area with its headquarter at Chennai also come within its ambit. Southern Command encompasses nine States and four Union Territories covering nearly forty percent of the Country. This includes an area of about 24,07,315 square kilometers. Southern Command is also the only tri-service theatre. It has within its geographical area the Western,