Two Mohali institute alumni commissioned as pilots in IAF

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 19

Two alumni of the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (AFPI), Mohali, were commissioned in the rank of Flying Officer into the Indian Air Force at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal, near Hyderabad, today.

Flying Officer Preetinder Pal Singh Bath has joined the fighter stream, while Flying Officer Sehaj Sharma has opted for the helicopter stream. They were awarded their flying wings by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, who reviewed the combined graduation parade (CGP).

Preetinder had joined the AFPI in 2015 and the National Defence Academy (NDA), Kharakvasla in 2017. He belongs to Pathankot where his father Rajinder Singh is a lecturer and mother Amanpreet Kaur is a teacher.

Sehaj had joined the AFPI in 2014 and then proceeded to the NDA as an Air Force cadet. His father Dharvinder Sharma is a Senior Assistant in the Indian Red Cross Society in Amritsar.

Parents of the newly commissioned officers were not invited to witness the parade due to Covid restrictions. Though the pandemic placed severe constraints upon the training infrastructure, the Air Force Academy completed the prescribed syllabus within the stipulated period and logged a total of 20,500 flying hours over the last one year, which is the highest ever in its history.