Guwahati: The Eastern Air Command’s Shillong headquarters celebrated 63 years of service on Thursday.
The occasion was marked by a wreath-laying ceremony by Air Marshal S.P. Dharkar, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Air Command, at the War Memorial in Shillong, said an official statement.
Eastern Air Command was born in combat and has grown through battles and is one of the lethal arms of the Indian Air Force which controls air operations over a vast area that straddles 11 states, the statement added.
More than three lakh square kilometres of it is made up of the seven northeastern states, Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, and portions of Orissa and Jharkhand.
Additionally, it has control over the 6300 km long international border with Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, Nepal, and Bhutan.
The Command took part in the battles in 1962, 1965, and 1971. Over the years, it has also helped in the evacuation of people affected by landslides, earthquakes, and floods.
Several new inductions have taken place in the Command to meet the changed security scenario, it added.