STATE TIMES NEWS
NEW DELHI: Air Force has contingency plans in place to deal with any calamity. Rest assured any time such a contingency comes up, the Indian Air Force will always look after its people and also the people of the Nation. We are a very specialised service and very proud as professionals to say that we are exclusive by our profession but are totally inclusive in serving the Nation. This was stated by Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha after releasing a book on the occasion of tenth anniversary of the infamous tsunami of 2004 authored by Air Commodore Nitin Sathe titled ‘A Few Good Men and the Angry Sea’ at Air Headquarters here on Friday.
The book is a recollection of memoirs of the author who, as a Wing Commander, was posted to Air Force Station Carnicobar following the tsunami. Amongst other dignitaries who attended the function was Air Commodore B.S Krishna Kumar, who, as a Wing Commander had been posted in as Commanding Officer of a helicopter unit at Carnicobar, just about seven weeks prior to the horrific event.
When the earthquake struck, little did people of Carnicobar realise that they would soon be facing the wrath of the seas. People ran out of their houses in their night suits and those were the clothes that many were finally left with because their belongings were consumed by the sea. Dressed only in his Pyjamas and vest, then Wing Commander B.S Krishna Kumar took off in his helicopter and rescued about 300 people on 26 December 2004. Kumar quoted from the diary of a survivor, “The wail of the grieved ones was strong enough to rip apart the strongest of hearts while the joy of people reuniting with their families was also beyond imagination.”
Following the tsunami, Indian Air Force posted 11 officers and a bunch of dedicated men, including Wg Cdr N Sathe who had volunteered to go there, to take charge of bringing up the operational fitness of the Air Force base within 100 days. In his book the author has provided detailed accounts of heroism and leadership on the part of men of his own team as well as ones that arrived later on and how all teams worked together towards the deadline of 100 days to make Carnic operational.