Diptendu Choudhury
Diptendu Choudhury | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Commandant, National Defence College | |
| In office 16 December 2019 – 30 November 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Srikant |
| Succeeded by | Manoj Kumar Mago |
| Personal details | |
| Awards | Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Vayu Sena Medal Vishisht Seva Medal |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  India |
| Branch/service |  Indian Air Force |
| Years of service | 22 December 1983 – 30 November 2021 |
| Rank |  Air Marshal |
| Unit | No. 15 Squadron |
| Commands | National Defence College Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment No. 15 Squadron No. 24 Squadron |
| Battles/wars | Kargil War Operation Parakram |
| Service number | 17335[1] |
Air Marshal Diptendu Choudhury, PVSM, AVSM, VM, VSM is a retired officer of the Indian Air Force. He served as the 32nd Commandant, National Defence College. He assumed the office on 16 December 2019 succeeding Vice Admiral Srikant and served till his superannuation on 30 November 2021.[2]
Early life and education[edit]
Diptendu Choudhury is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Pune. He is an alumnus of Royal College of Defence Studies, UK, a Post Graduate in Strategy and International Security from King's College, London and Master of Philosophy on Defence and Strategic Studies. He is currently pursuing Ph.D. in air power and has also authored a large number of service papers. He is serving as a Distinguished Fellow, at Vivekananda International Foundation[3][4]
Career[edit]
Diptendu Choudhury was commissioned as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force. In a career spanning over 37 years, he has as more than 5,000 hours of flying experience across various fighter jets. He is fully operational on MiG-21, MiG-27, MiG-29 and Su-30 aircraft.[5]
He is a fighter combat Leader and an instrument rating Instructor and Examiner. He has served two tenures at TACDE first as an Instructor and then as Commandant. He has led three International exercises – Red Flag, Desert Eagle and Garuda exercise.[1]
As Group Captain, he served as the Commandant at Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment. Later, he served as Director (Joint Planning) at the Air Headquarters, New Delhi.[5]
As Air Commodore, he served as the Air Officer Commanding of 35 Wing at the Suratgarh, Rajasthan in the South Western Air Command. Later, he served as the Air Officer Commanding of 1 Wing at the New Delhi under the Western Air Command.[5]
As Air Vice Marshal, he served as the Air Defence Commander at Central Air Command. Later, he served as the Air Officer Commanding at the Composite Battle Response and Analysis Group (CoBRA) at Maharajpur and Air Officer Commanding in Gandhinagar. He served as the Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Inspection.[6]
After his promotion to Air Marshal in April 2019, he served as the Senior Air Staff Officer, Western Air Command till 15 December 2019.[5][7]
He took over as the Commandant, National Defence College on 16 December 2019 from Vice Admiral Srikant.[8] Under his command, a Chair of Excellence on National Security was setup at the National Defence College.[9]
Honours and decorations[edit]
During his career, Diptendu Choudhury has been awarded the Commendation card by the Chief of the Air Staff in 1992, Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2022, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2018, Vayu Sena Medal in 2011 and Vishisht Seva Medal in 2007 for his service.[10][11][12][13]
  
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| Param Vishisht Seva Medal | Ati Vishisht Seva Medal | Vayu Sena Medal | |
| Vishisht Seva Medal | General Service Medal 1947 | Samanya Seva Medal | Operation Vijay Star |
| Operation Parakram Medal | Operation Vijay Medal | Sainya Seva Medal | Videsh Seva Medal |
| 50th Independence Anniversary Medal | 30 Years Long Service Medal | 20 Years Long Service Medal | 9 Years Long Service Medal |
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Air Marshal Diptendu Choudhury - BRF". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
- ^ "Air Marshal D Choudhury assumes charge as Commandant of National Defence College". Defence Star. 2019-12-16.
- ^ "Diptendu Choudhury". IDSA. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
- ^ "Air Marshal Diptendu Choudhury (Retd), PVSM, AVSM, VM, VSM, Distinguished Fellow, VIF". Vivekananda Internation Foundation. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
- ^ a b c d "Air Marshal D Choudhury AVSM VM VSM takes over as SASO Hq WAC" (Press release). PIB. 2019-04-01.
- ^ "Air Force Station Gandhinagar celebrates 50th anniversary". Times of India. 2017-04-21.
- ^ "Air Marshal D Chaudhury assumes charge as Western Air Command SASO". United News Of India. 2019-04-01.
- ^ Peri, Dinakar (2020-11-09). "National Defence College is the crucible of strategic leadership, says Commandant Air Marshal D. Choudhury". The Hindu.
- ^ "President Kovind approves establishment of 'Chair of Excellence' on national security at NDC". Business World.
- ^ "President approves 384 Gallantry Awards and other defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel on Republic Day" (Press release). PIB. 2022-01-25.
- ^ "390 Republic Day Gallantry and Other Defence Decorations Announced" (Press release). PIB. 2018-01-25.
- ^ "440 Republic Day Gallantry and other Defence Decorations Announced" (Press release). PIB. 2011-01-25.
- ^ "Republic Day Gallantry and other Defence Decorations" (Press release). PIB. 2007-01-25.