Number of IAF recruits from Guj increasing: Air Marshal Mehra

Gandhinagar, Apr 30 (UNI) Breaking the myth of being war shy people, increasing number of Gujaratis have joined the Indian Air Force in recent years, South-Western Air Command's outgoing Chief Air Marshal P K Mehra, said here today.

''As part of our recruitment drive, we have been organising air awareness campaign in recent years. During such campaign in 2003, 500 youth joined IAF in Ahmedabad and 200 youth in Jamnagar. This number was almost double during the last year's campaign in Gujarat,'' he said addressing a farewell press conference said.

''Every year 6000 people join the Air Force in the country, of which we would like to recruit 1500 from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Our aim is to have 25 percent recruitment from these three states,'' Air Marshal Mehra said.

Talking about other feats achieved during his tenure, he said ''We have been able to establish network enabled operations during exercise, through which we are able to netwrok with air base and air command.'' ''In times of floods and other disasters we have carried out relief work successfully. During the last year's flood in Surat, Anand and Kheda, one of our sergeants lost his life while saving the stranded civilians in a rescue operation,'' he added.

Air Marshal Mehra got commissioned in IAF in 1968 after graduating from National Defence Academy in 1966. He also took part in 1971 operations, flying Hunter aircraft from Hasimara and Kumbhigram.

UNI