PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU (DEFENCE WING) GOVERNMENT OF

(NOT TOBE PUBLISHED BEFORE SATURDAY, APRIL 11 1950) I TRAINING COi'IhAND OF THE IAF

BY

S/Ldr L.K. CHOPRA

The seventeenth, birth anniversary of the

strikes a peculiarly fresh and happy note for its Training Command

under RH.D Singh.

It is India: s Air Arm1 s first anniversary after the intro.du

tion of the :n.e "al1—tbrough scheme of training launched in the Air Forca during the year that has just closed, the first after the

reorganasation of the training institutions in the Command on the

new system, and the first after the acquirement of a new status

by the two premier IAF formations Therefore, April 1 of this year is truly a landmark, a pointer to one chapter, which has just finished and to another which now unfolds.

A 1aarack will reveal that the Training Command and its

functions have undergone a steady, unbroken and progressive evolution

sce ia.ependonc'c D:.,y. Thring these last two years and a half the training in the IAF has proceeded with unhampered continuity; 'it has been precisely during this period that some of the most vital decisions on IAF training on modern lines have been taken and implemented.

One of these important decisions has been the formation of the

Training Command itself. It.s progenitor was No.2 Indian Group,

which bore a geographical complexion and gave way to NO2 Training

Group on September 15, 1947, shortly after partition. This Was done I on the principle that the two premier formations, of the IAF thcyuld be

organised. on Tfunc'ionalt lines, and that training should. be ,Th -. .-., distinguished from the operational aspect by it.s task rather than by its location. As days and months went by, the Training 'G-roup became, as it were, a back number, jnerossive of its importance 'and. status. For this reason, the formation was re-designated as Training Command on July 22, 1949, commensurate with its enhanced responsibili- ties. A Complex Affair

Training in the IAF is a complexaffair. At present, there is

clear boundary-line drawn between flying training and ground duticE; training, the former being imparted exclusively at the Air Force Academies at Ambala and Jodhpur, and the latter at establishnients in . The function of the Training Commaiid is confined to training for the ground duty branches of the IAF and it carries this out through five training schools located in , Madras and

Coimbatore. These locations are not always ideal from ovry angle,

because they have been determined partly by historic-al accident but generally speaking, the climtic conditions prevailing at these centres are bracing and,conducive to training.

In the popular imagination, the Air Force means aircraft and

flying. While these two are certainly symbolic of this Service,

it should not be fQrotten that the machine is kept in the air not

by some ropetrick but by a most carefully planned organisation on the ground. Before a machine, takes off, it is tested as "f1yIngfit",

and for this engineers are requIred Having gone up, it must land safely, and for this communication experts are needed. The, pilot who flies the machine must be properly kitted, fed and paid, and hence the need for equipment personnel, catering staff and, account ant officers. Clerks, typists, coolies, drivers, guards, sweepers and. Idhobisi all contribute in their own way to a successful flight,

which can never be accomplished in tsplendid isolationr. It is said that to keep one man up in the air, anything up to 20 men are needed on the ground. -3—

Coiatiand) s Functions

Ir The function of the Training Command is to train men, both officers and airmen, in such a way that they hold their ground on the ground. This at once poses two problems, that the men should specialise themselves within the spheres of their assigned vocations, i.e. they should be proficient as technicians, clerks, equipment r3ts ass tants, fire fighters, motor drivers and accountaLand that they should be good Servicemen, i.e. disciplined loyal, physically fit, psycholoibally well—toned and geared All this falls under 'geAeral service traininEll.

There is a saying in the Air Force that you have first to be a Serviceman and then a tradesman. This is a pointer to the relative stress on the two main prongs of training, and indeed it has been found that sometimes training in Ugenerai servicett is more difficult than training in trades, because the basic requirements for the former are etremely wide

The Training Command has kept a close watch on this aspect and is in a position to say that the mental and physical strata of our men are exceptionally sound for a Service superstructure to be erected. Experience shows that Indian youngmen are highly eoeer, patriotic, intelligent •nnd inclined to imbibe discipline, and, therefore, it my be said of them, as Mahatma dandhi said of Noinru

that I the nation is fu in their handot

Spccialised Service

The Training Command is lucky in havina men of sound cruet and core to train. But no air force can afford to cx!st on

sufficiency in disci1inc and calibre alone. It is a highly specialised Service, and it is a bane of specialism that either one knows things ery well or they are not worth knowing at all.

For instance, given an aeroengine., which provides power to aerial flight, one must either master its mechanism with meticulous

accuracy or shed all pretensions of lending a hand in making the aeroplane go up,. The first essential of good training is, there 1 -r- sound knowiedge,but for- the force to attain the necessary -• efficiency much more is needed.

For a technician, training should be imparted with the help

of the ltest type of machines. Equipment should be abundant and laid out in extensive workshops, in chare of trained instructors

and mec1njcs who should handle their pupils carefully because in their hands will ultimately lie the overall efficiency of the force and the security of the country. The Command makes an effort to let the trainees have the best and the latest within the resources available.

Training Institutions

There are five trining institutions under the Command No.1

Ground Training School, No.3 Ground Training School and Technical

Training College in Bangalore, N. 2 Ground. irainin, School in Madras and N?.3 Air. Force Academy in Coimbatre

lie each of these schools or collses has a different

function to perform, all follow a common system of training, known as the. 11all—through" system.. It simply means that a pu]iJ once dittd in any one of. these institutions, completes his training

from start to finish there. Introduced in June last year, this near 9Ci00 differs from the previous one in that formerly d trainee received preliminary training in one school and higher in another. This often broke the thread of continuity and denied a trainee the close and familiar contact he ostablshes with the staff.

No e l Ground Training School, located it Jalohalli, nenr Bangalore, caters for training in non—technical trddos, includina police, drill instructors, clerks, notor-drivers and catering assistants. Alongside it stands o.3 Ground Tra1nin Sho:l, communication school of the IP, which has about a dozen trades

including wireless operators, electricians, instrument repairers and airfield safety operators, Another institution at Jalahalli is the Technical Training V College, started in the middle of last year, with a large number of British instrUctors. It gives training both to officers ana airmen apprentices, and is considered the backbone of the TechIcal

Branch of the Air Force,

At Tambaram ncr Madras, is No.2 Ground Training Schol,

the biggest and the oldest technical institution in the IAF. This

schoel had, till last year, some 27 trades, but it has now been bifurcated, a part of it having gone to No.3 Ground. TraininL chonl

at Jalahalli. No.3 Air Force Academy at BangalOre trains officeru

for some of the ground duty branches of the IAF, including education,

equipment and accounts.

While this Command of the Air Force trains men to be oi°ficiunt

airrnenU, it also trains them to be fine citizens. An average officer or airman is a good citizen because he has learnt to develop fellow feeling, to take an intelligent interest in current affairs,

to know his Government and to love ]!is country.

Of the other noteworthy activities of the Command, one

is family welfare, which embraces education of children, trainiflH of families in domestic arts and cstablisIrn1eflG of maternity centres. Another is food production, which is being carrL d. on as

an extra effort outside working hours. This is supplomnCd by

the strictest economy in diet on austerity scale.

After two years and a half Of India attaining independence,

the Training Command has been founded on a stable footing.

(NoT TO BE PUBLISHED BEFORE SATURDAY, iU?hIL 1, 1950)

11470.