NEW DELHI. Air Marshal Harjit Singh Arora took over as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), South Western Air Command (SWAC) at Gandhinagar on October 1. He succeeds Air Marshal RK Dhir PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC who retired on September 30.

The Air Marshal was commissioned in the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot in Dec 1981. He has rich and diverse experience of accident free operational flying which includes MiG 21, MiG 29 and other aircraft in IAF inventory, including helicopters.

He is a meritorious graduate of Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment, Defence Services Staff College and National Defence College. He is also Master of Philosophy in Defence and Strategic Studies.

The Air Officer commanded a MiG-21 Bis Sqn in the South Western sector and later was Commander of Air Defence Direction Centre in the same sector. He went on to command a premier MiG-29 Base on the western border and as an Air Vice Marshal he was Air Defence Commander at Headquarters of Western Air Command as well as Eastern Air Command. As an Air Marshal he has held the appointments of Director General (Inspection and Safety) and was Director General Air (Operations) at Air HQ before taking over as the AOC-in-C.

The Air Marshal has also served as Directing Staff at ‘Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment’ and as a Flying Inspector in the ‘Directorate of Air Staff Inspection’. He was Defence Attache in the Embassy of India, Bangkok, Thailand from 2006 to 2009.

For his distinguished service, he was awarded ‘Ati Vishisht Seva Medal’ by the President on January 26, 2011.

The Air Marshal is married to Baljeet Kaur Arora. In a simultaneous function, Ms Arora took over as President, Air Force Wives Welfare Association (Regional).