Rajinder Singh takes over as IAF TC chief

BANGALORE:  Fighter pilot, avid cricket buff and an ace golfer. Air Marshal Rajinder Singh, the new AOC-in-C of the Indian Air Force (IAF) Training Command (TC) in Bangalore is a man with many roles rolled into one. Onboard the IAF for the past 38 years, Rajinder Singh who took over as the TC chief on Thursday, was baptised into the IAF in 1974, straight into the fighter stream.He did his schooling from Sainik School, Thiruvananthapuram and passed out from the National Defence Academy. Logging over 3,100 hours of flying on multiple platforms, including the Hunter, Marut, Kiran and MiG variants, Rajinder Singh is a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College.With an Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Vayu Sena Medal to boot, Singh is the only officer across all three streams of Services to receive commendations the Chiefs of Army, Navy and the IAF.Speaking to Express, Rajinder Singh said that a great challenge awaits him. “It is an honour because everyone aspires to reach as high as one can in the Service. The job today is more challenging than ever before due to the paucity of resources, especially trainer aircraft which impinge directly on the output of TC,” he said.He said that he is donning the new role at a time when the IAF is on the cusp of a great transition into a modern and lethal aerospace power.