New Delhi: Air Force Record Office (AFRO) on September 14 celebrated 80th anniversary of its formation with ceremonial fervour at Subroto Park in New Delhi. The function was attended by senior serving and retired officer.

The Air Officer Commanding AFRO, Air Commodore A.R. Shendye delivered a performance status report as a prelude to the ceremony. He gave a gist of the events being undertaken to commemorate the event which includes inauguration of the AFRO History Cell and Museum by Air Vice Marshal GS Bedi, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (PO), a Musical Evening graced by Air Vice Marshal S Ravi Vridhachalem, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (PA&C), Mini Sports Olympiad, Walkathon (for ladies), Marathon (for men), Painting Competition (for children), Cycling Expedition, Tree Plantation and Blood Donation Camp.

The highlight of the evening was the release of a Coffee Table Book titled ‘AFRO Through the Ages’ by Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command.

The AFRO can justifiably take pride in being one of the oldest IAF formations. After its formation as IAF Record Office at Ambala in 1939, it changed several locations such as Lahore in 1941, Bombay in 1942, Madras in 1946 and New Delhi in 1947 before its permanent location at Subroto Park in 1966. During its eight decades of existence, its growth has been closely interlinked with that of the IAF. Initially handling the end to end HR management of only 14,100 Hawai Sepoys in 1947.

Now, it has grown into a mammoth institution looking after nearly 1,43,000 Air warriors. Its aim now is to automate all manual processes and reduce paper movement between outlying field units and AFRO, thereby enhancing transparency and accountability. The skilled and dedicated personnel of ‘Team AFRO’ follow the IAF tenet of “Mission, Integrity and Excellence” in the discharge of their duties so that the IAF touches the sky with glory.