Graduation ceremony: ‘Rigorous training to offset shortage of personnel’

‘Air Force will play critical role in interstate conflicts in future’.

SARGODHA:


Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman said on Thursday that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) attached high importance to training of combat officers.


He was addressing a graduation ceremony of the combat commanders’ course at the PAF Musaf base.

Suleman said the PAF would offset shortage of staff and equipment by rigorous training of its officers.

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He said the nature of aerial warfare was changing with time, adding that the area of operation was becoming more and more complex.


He said the importance of the Air Force and its centrality to military conflicts was visible in the ongoing operation in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

The air chief said that dominance in air space would be critical to any interstate conflict in the region in future.

He said that equipping the force with latest hardware was important but added that only a highly-trained and a devoted force could be relied upon to fight and defeat numerically and technologically superior enemies. He said the Air Force was capable of taking on any enemy and defending the country’s air space.

Earlier, the air chief awarded certificates and trophies to the graduating officers.

The Chief of the Air Staff Trophy for the best combat commander was awarded to Squadron Leader Tahir Mehmood and Air Officer Commanding Air Defence Command Trophy for the best combat controller was awarded to Squadron Leader Junaid Haq.



Published in The Express Tribune, August 26th, 2011.
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