Son of a Subedar stands first in IAF graduation

The only son of a Subedar of Indian Army received President Plaque and also the Chief of the Air Staff Sword of Honour for standing first in the 203^rd pilot’s course.

Flying Officer Gajulapalli Navin Kumar Reddy of Andhra Pradesh made his parents proud by standing tall in the 152 Flying officers that graduated at an impressive parade at the Air force Academy here at Dundigal on Saturday morning.

In all 31 flight cadets got into fighter division including Navin, 12 into Transport, 32 into Helicopter, 11 into Navigation, 8 into Logistics, 2 into Accounts, 4 into Education, 10 into Meteorology and 42 into Administration got their honours from the hands of Chairman of Chief of Staff Committee and Air Chief Marshall Birender Singh Dhanoa.

“I like the speed that the fighter aircraft offer. That was the main reason why I chose IAF. The thrill always keeps me motivated. Everyone won’t get this chance. I have put in a lot of hard work to reach here,” Navin Reddy said attributing his achievement to his parents and his teachers at the Academy. From here Navin will be joining the fighter stream to fly his frontline dream fighters. “Speed will continue to increase but spirits will not go down,” he said. Navin’s father G Pulla Reddy and mother Sowjanya are from Giddalur of Prakasam district in AP.

Air Chief is an Alumnus

“I was here 41 years ago; I have fond memories of this station. Did a lot of flying here as a cadet and also as an instructor,” said the Air Chief Marshall remembering his days as a cadet at the academy. My Message to the boys if you want the world, then fly safe and happy landings, and an air force is a skill-based service, but it is also a military service so you have to be a good leader of men,” he said in an interaction with media.

Answering a question on the recent crash of IAF transport aircraft in Arunachal Pradesh accident he said “We will go into details as to what has happened, and how do we make sure that it doesn’t happen again. Remember in Arunachal Pradesh the terrain is treacherous and most of the time it is cloudy. When you travel in such terrain man many accidents occur. We need procedures in place so that it won’t happen again”.