EASTERN AIR COMMAND
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.