It was undeniably a wonderful day for the achievers at Air Force station who looked back at their past with pride and honour. The officers at Air Force Station, Chandigarh (12 Wing) were looking satisfied while celebrating the Air Force Day on Wednesday with the commendable work they and their fellowmen did during the past one year.

During this tenure the officers worked for earthquake victims in China by managing the disaster relief program and also in Kabul for the unfortunate people victimized by the bomb attacks on Indian embassy. The station was also successful in safe landing of an AN-32 aircraft at the world’s highest airfield called Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) at Aksai Chin while the officers also undertook a high altitude trek in the Himalayas.

This base has also acted at the time of crisis when the road links were severed between Jammu and Kashmir during the strife and has been providing with the basic necessaities to the people residing in the valley.

The two major operations were that which included the IAF immediate intervention in Kabul and China. The Indian Embassy bomb attack which took place on July 7,2008 at Kabul was devastating as it led to death of four embassy staffers including an IFS officer. The Centre reacted quickly sending forth instruction to the IAF base in Chandigarh to take control of the situation which immediately sent IL-76 aircraft to Kabul via Delhi for the rescue operation with medicines and personnels and returning back at Palam at midnight.

Strengthening the bonds between the neighbours at the time of crisis, the 12 Wing base efficiently embarked on the operation to rescue the unfortunate people as well as to provide them with relief from the destruction caused by the earthquake in Sinchuan province in China. The disaster took place on 15 May, 2008 and one IL-76 of 25 Sqn was sent forth for a Humanitarian / Disaster Relief (HA/DR) mission to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) with 96.2 tonne of relief material including tents, blankets, food, medical supplies and sleeping bags.

The Air Force officers also contributed in the major disaster that engulfed the Sate of Bihar, the floods that took place in August.