Air Marshal Chandrashekharan Hari Kumar, PVSM, AVSM, VM, VSM, ADC is a retired officer of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

. He served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Western Air Command from 1 January 2017 to 28 February 2019. He assumed the office from Air Marshal Shirish Baban Deo and was succeeded by Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar.

Early life and education

''Kumar'' is an alumnus of Rashtriya Indian Military College

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

, National Defence Academy, Defence Service Staff College, Wellington and National Defence College, New Delhi.

Career

''Kumar'' was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on 14 December 1979. He has clocked over 3300 hours of flying and is a qualified flying instructor. He held several key operational and administrative appointments at various stages of his service including Fighter Combat Leader of a

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames in ...

squadron; Commander of a front line fighter base; Ops-1A; Air-I at HQ WAC; Deputy Director Air Staff Inspection; Director Operations (Joint Planning); Assistant Chief of the Air Staff Operations (Offensive) at Air HQ; Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at HQ South Western Air Command; instructor at Fighter Training Wing (FTW), Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE) and College of Air Warfare (CAW). He was the AOC-in-C Eastern Air Command prior to his appointment as AOC-in-C Western Air Command. ''Kumar'' has been awarded several medals: the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (January 2018), the

Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM, ) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime D ...

(January 2016), the Vishisht Seva Medal (January 2015), the

Vayu Sena Medal The Vayu Sena Medal () is a military decoration, usually awarded in peacetime for a job well done in the Indian Air Force. However, it has been granted during times of conflict for acts of gallantry in the face of enemy, though not in the same n ...

(January 2011) and the CAS commendation (October 1997).

Personal life

''Kumar'' is married to Mrs. Devika and they have two sons. He enjoys travelling and reading.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Chandrashekharan Hari Living people Indian Air Force air marshals Recipients of the Vayu Sena Medal Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal 1979 births Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal National Defence College, India alumni Defence Services Staff College alumni