The Commandant of the Air Force Academy is the head and in-charge of all the functioning of the
Air Force Academy
An air force academy or air academy is a national institution that provides initial officer training, possibly including undergraduate level education, to air force officer cadets who are preparing to be commissioned officers in a national air forc ...
in India. The Commandant of the Academy is a
Three-star rank
An officer of three-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-8. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, three-star officers hold the ...
officer holding the rank of
Air marshal. He is supported by the Deputy Commandant, a
Two star Two star, two stars and similar may refer to:
* A grading of a hotel, restaurant, film, etc. in a star (classification) scheme
* Two star petrol, a class of Leaded petrol formerly sold in the UK
* Two-star rank, a senior military rank
* Two-Handed ...
appointment, the Chief Instructor (Flying) (
Air Commodore rank officer) and the Chief Ground Instructor (
Air Commodore rank officer). The current Commandant is
Air Marshal B Chandra Sekhar.
History
The foundation stone of the Air Force Academy was laid by the then
President of India
The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...
Dr. Zakir Hussain
(8 February 1897 – 3 May 1969) known as Dr. Zakir Husain, was an Indian educationist and politician who served as President of India from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969.
Born into an Afridi Pashtun family in Hyderabad, Husa ...
on 11 October 1967. The academy was established in 1969 and started operations in 1971. The vision was to concentrate most of the ab-initio officer training of the Indian Air Force under one roof.
Air Commodore J. D. Aquino, the commandant of the Air Force Flying College Jodhpur, was the first Commandant of the academy.
The appointment was held by an Air commodore till 1976, when it was upgraded to
two-star rank
An officer of two-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-7. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, two-star officers hold the rank ...
. It was further upgraded to
three-star rank
An officer of three-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-8. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, three-star officers hold the ...
in 2011.
List of Commandants
See also
*
Commandant of the Indian Military Academy
The Commandant of the Indian Military Academy is a post created in 1932 for the purpose of leading the Indian Military Academy in its education of "gentleman cadets". The Commandant must hold a rank of lieutenant general ( three star equivalent) ...
*
Commandant of Indian Naval Academy
The Commandant of the Indian Naval Academy is the head and in-charge of all the functioning of the Indian Naval Academy. The Commandant of the Academy is a Three-star rank officer holding the rank of Vice Admiral. He is supported by the Deputy C ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
{{Indian military academies and colleges
Indian Air Force
Military academies of India
Indian military appointments
Indian Air Force appointments