Air Chief Marshal
Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admir ...
Satish Kumar Sareen,
PVSM
Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...
,
AVSM,
VM,
ADC
ADC may refer to:
Science and medicine
* ADC (gene), a human gene
* AIDS dementia complex, neurological disorder associated with HIV and AIDS
* Allyl diglycol carbonate or CR-39, a polymer
* Antibody-drug conjugate, a type of anticancer treatment ...
(born 1 March 1939) was the
Chief of Air Staff of
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
from 31 December 1995 till 31 December 1998.
Early life
Satish Kumar Sareen's family originally hailed from
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...
, in present-day
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
where he was born on 1 March 1939. His family moved to
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
during the
Partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
.
Training
Sareen joined the
IAF in 1954, where he was part of the
Joint Services Wing
The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together before they go ...
(JSW) in
Dehradun
Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...
. The JSW was a predecessor of today's
National Defence Academy. Sareen graduated from the first batch of the JSW and went onto the AFFC for flying training. He was
commissioned on 29 May 1957. Sareen stood first among the fighter stream pilots and was awarded the Himmatsinghji trophy.
Career
In 1957, Sareen was posted to No.20 Squadron flying Vampire Fighters. He moved on to No.4 Squadron flying the Organs. It was with No.4 Squadron that he took part in the Goa Operations in 1961 when he flew several sorties against Portuguese targets. After the operations in
Goa
Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
, Sareen took up his first non-operational appointment when he attended the Pilot Attack Instructor (PAI) course. He distinguished himself in the course and was retained as an instructor in the PAI Program, where he helped impart training to others following in the same stream.
When the
Indo-Pakistani War broke out in 1965, Sareen was with No.29 Scorpios Squadron flying the Ouragans at
Gauhati. He undertook some sorties against targets in
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
, but the fighting was minimal in the Eastern Sector. After the war, Sareen moved to No.27 Flaming Arrows Squadron flying the
Hawker Hunter
The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-R ...
. After a brief stint, he was part of a detachment of pilots earmarked for conversion to
MiG-21s. Sareen moved back to No.29 Squadron after it converted back to the
MiG-21.
In January 1970, Sareen attended the
Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) at Wellington. He passed out of DSSC in November 1970. Now a
Squadron Leader
Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...
, Sareen joined
Eastern Air Command as the
Chief Operations Officer with
Agartala
Agartala () is the capital city of the Indian state of Tripura, and is one of the largest cities in northeast India. The city is governed by the Agartala Municipal Corporation. The city is the seat of the Government of Tripura. It is located on ...
AFB in
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
near the East Pakistan border.
Agartala
Agartala () is the capital city of the Indian state of Tripura, and is one of the largest cities in northeast India. The city is governed by the Agartala Municipal Corporation. The city is the seat of the Government of Tripura. It is located on ...
was base to some Gnat fighters during the
1971 Ind-Pak War. He was responsible for planning and launching extensive
fighter,
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
, transport operations including several successful strikes on the
Chittagong City
Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...
. For his role, Sareen received the
Vayu Sena Medal
The Vayu Sena Medal is a military decoration, usually awarded in peacetime for a job well done in the Indian Air Force. However, it has been granted during times of conflict for acts of gallantry in the face of enemy, though not in the same numb ...
.
After the war, Sareen took over as Ops 1 Officer with
Eastern Air Command HQ. In 1973, he was posted to No.1 Squadron flying
MiG-21s in
Adampur
Adampur is a town, a municipal council and a sub-tehsil in Jalandhar district in the Indian state of Punjab.
Geography
Adampur Doaba is located at . It has an average elevation of 233 metres (764 feet). It is located at a distance of ...
as Senior Flight Commander. After more than two years with the Squadron, Sareen received an opportunity to be posted to the
Iraqi Air Force as an instructor. This was part of longstanding bilateral arrangements between the two air forces in the 1970s. Sareen took up the offer and was posted to
Al-Kut military airbase in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. During his tenure in Iraq till 1977, Sareen undertook more than a 1000 instructional sorties.
In 1977, Sareen was the
Chief Operations Officer of No.15 Wing at
Bareilly
Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The city ...
. He got his first command soon after at the same airbase, No.24 Squadron flying the
MiG-21bis. After promotion to
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...
in 1981, he took over an Air Defence Signals Unit in the Eastern Sector. Numerous Staff Appointments followed, he was Air Defence Commander, WAC, and SWAC. Air Attaché to the
High Commission of India in London
The High Commission of India in London is the diplomatic mission of India in the United Kingdom. It is located in India House on Aldwych, between Bush House, what was Marconi House (now Citibank) and Australia House. It faces both the London S ...
. In 1989, he returned to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and was commander of
Srinagar Air Force Station
Sheikh ul-Alam International Airport also known as Srinagar Airport and Budgam Airbase, is an international airport serving Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is owned by the Indian Air Force, and the Airports A ...
in the
Jammu
Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi Ri ...
and
Kashmir Valley
The Kashmir Valley, also known as the ''Vale of Kashmir'', is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of the Indian- union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range and ...
. He was awarded the
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime Dis ...
(AVSM) for distinguished service in 1990. Soon afterwards he took over as ACAS (Ops) at Air HQ in the rank of
Air Vice-Marshal.
After a short stint as SASO
Central Air Command
''Nigrahya Rasava shastrava''
, colors =
, colors_label =
, battles = 1962 Sino-Indian War, East Pakistan Operations 1971, Operation Meghdoot, Orissa Super-Cyclone Relief, 1999
, anniversaries =
, commander1 = Air Marshal Amar Preet Sin ...
, Sareen took over
South Western Air Command
Victory embraces the brave
, colors=
, colors_label=
, battles= Atlantique incident, Bhuj earthquake relief, 2001, Gujarat flood relief, 2005
, anniversaries=
, commander1= Air Marshal Vikram Singh, VSM
, commander1_label= Air Officer Co ...
as AOC-in-C. After about a year, he moved onto as the AOC-in-C
Western Air Command
, colors=
, colors_label=
, battles= 1962 Sino-Indian War, 1971 India-Pakistan War, Operation Meghdoot
, anniversaries=
, commander1= Air Marshal Sreekumar Prabhakaran, AVSM, VM
, commander1_label= Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief(AOC-in-C)
, n ...
- India's Premier Air Command. It was in this capacity he received the
PVSM
Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...
in 1995. Sareen was posted back to Air HQ as the
Vice Chief of Air Staff responsible for all
IAF defensive & offensive operations and intelligence activities.
Finally, in December 1995, he was promoted to Air Chief Marshal to take over as the
Chief of the Air Staff,
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
. His tenure saw the
nuclear tests in
Pokhran. Within the Air force, it saw wide-ranging changes in the strategic, operational, training, maintenance and flight safety doctrines & performance of the
IAF. Particular attention paid to the welfare of serving and retired
Air Force personnel
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Gravity of Earth, Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating Atmo ...
and their families. Air Chief Marshal Sareen retired on 31 December 1998, handing over the charge to Air Chief Marshal
Anil Yashwant Tipnis
Air Chief Marshal Anil Yashwant Tipnis, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC (born 15 September 1940) served as Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force from 31 December 1998 to 31 December 2001. He commanded the Air Force to distinction during the Kargi ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sareen, Satish
1939 births
Living people
Chiefs of Air Staff (India)
Vice Chiefs of Air Staff (India)
Indian Air Force air marshals
Indian Air Force officers
Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal