Meeting with Gallantry award winner Wing Commander Sushil Chaturvedi (21720) Flying (Pilot) is a Centre Seat Qualified flying supervisor and an alumnus of the Defence Services staff College and is fully operational on Chetak/Cheetah helicopters with over 5500 hrs of accident! incident free flying experience. Presently, he is the Commanding Officer of a frontline FAC Fit since 27 Jul 09. On 08 May 10, the station was tasked to undertake casualty evacuation in the dusk period of J&K police personnel in critical conditions stranded in a fierce gunfight with. militants in the deep jungles of Lar in the Mahore-gulabgarh area at 9500 ft density altitude. Considering the degree of difficulty of landing at an unprepared area in the dusk period and evacuating from inhospitable and Anti National Elements infected terrain, Wg Cdr Chaturvedi was detailed to lead and undertake the mission. The survivor was stranded in a highly fragmented steep and uneven terrain offering practically no place to land. His first two attempts to land at the site in low conditions of light were aborted due to steep gradient of the site and inadequate place to descend amongst wild growth of vegetation. Despite difficult and trying conditions of inhospitable terrain and gusty winds, Wg Cdr Chaturvedi made a partial landing on a rooftop in a small area of 10 feet x 10 feet of a nearby abandoned house to evacuate one critically injured police constable. With his indomitable spirit, dauntless courage and disregard to personal safety, he saved the precious life of a J&k police personnel thereby boosting the morale of the troops engaged in the anti-militant operations in the J&K sector. This daring operation enhanced the image of IAF yet again. For displaying an act of exceptional courage and professional acumen in the face of challenging odds to save valuable lives, Hon’ble President is pleased to award ‘Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry)’ to Wing Commander Sushil Chaturvedi.
