Air Chief Marshal
Vivek Ram Chaudhari
PVSM AVSM VM ADC
Official portrait
24th Chief of the Air Staff
Assumed office
30 September 2021 (2021-09-30)
President
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
Preceded byR. K. S. Bhadauria
45th Vice Chief of the Air Staff
In office
1 July 2021 (2021-07-01) – 30 September 2021 (2021-09-30)
Preceded byHarjit Singh Arora
Succeeded bySandeep Singh
Personal details
Born (1962-09-04) 4 September 1962[1]
NationalityIndian
Children2
ParentRambhau Ganapat Chaudhari (Father)
Military service
Allegiance India
Branch/service Indian Air Force
Years of service29 December 1982 - Present
Rank Air Chief Marshal
UnitNo. 28 Squadron
CommandsChief of the Air Staff
Western Air Command
Lohegaon Air Force Station
8 Forward Base Support Unit
No. 28 Squadron
Battles/warsOperation Meghdoot
Kargil war
Service number16978[2]
Awards Param Vishisht Seva Medal
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Vayu Sena Medal

Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, PVSM AVSM VM ADC is an air officer of the Indian Air Force. He currently serves as the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). He took over as the 24th CAS succeeding Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria on 30 September 2021.[3] He earlier served as the 45th Vice Chief of the Air Staff and as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Air Command.[4][5][6][7]

Early life and education

Chaudhari was born to Rambhau Ganapat Chaudhari. His mother was a school headmistress. His grandfather was a teacher at the Zila Parishad school at Koli, a village in Hadgaon taluka.[8][9] He studied in primary school at Nanded. The family moved to Hyderabad as his father started a company there. He thus did his schooling from BHEL Higher Secondary School, Ramachandrapuram, Hyderabad.[10] He subsequently moved to Pune and enrolled in a military school. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (61'st Course), the Air Force Academy and the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington (DSSC).[11]

Career

Chaudhari was commissioned in the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot on 29 December 1982. He is a Category 'A' qualified flying instructor, and Instrument Rating Instructor and examiner. He has a flying experience of over 3800 hours on various fighter aircraft including MiG-21, MiG-23MF, MiG-29 and Su-30MKI. He was also a pioneer member of the Surya Kiran Aerobatic Display Team.[12] As a fighter pilot, he flew operational missions during Operation Meghdoot and Operation Safed Sagar.[13]

Chaudhari has commanded the MiG-29 squadron No. 28 Squadron IAF at Jamnagar and the forward base in Awantipora in Jammu and Kashmir. He also served as the chief operations officer of the Srinagar Air Force Station.[14]

Flag officer

As an air commodore, he served as the Air assistant to the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik. He subsequently commanded the Lohegaon air base in Pune. He has served as an instructor at DSSC Wellington as well as Defence Services Command and Staff College at Lusaka, Zambia.

After promotion to Air Vice Marshal, Chaudhari served as the Assistant Chief of Air Staff Operations (Air Defence) at Air headquarters and as the Deputy Commandant at the Air Force Academy, Dundigul.[15] He subsequently was appointed the Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Personnel Officers) and later as Deputy Chief of Air Staff at Air HQ.[16][17] On 1 October 2019, he was appointed Senior Air Staff Officer of the Eastern Air Command in Shillong. After a short stint, on 1 August 2020, he was appointed Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Air Command.[11]

Chief of Air Staff

On 21 September 2021, the Government of India appointed Chaudhari as the next Chief of the Air Staff after the retirement of Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria on 30 September 2021.[18]

Honours and decorations

During his career, Chaudhari has been awarded the Vayu Sena Medal in 2004, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2015 and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2021 for his service.[17][2][19]

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Vayu Sena Medal Samanya Seva Medal Operation Vijay Star
Special Service Medal Siachen Glacier Medal Operation Vijay Medal Operation Parakram Medal
Sainya Seva Medal High Altitude Service Medal Videsh Seva Medal 75th Anniversary of Independence Medal
50th Independence Anniversary Medal 30 Years Long Service Medal 20 Years Long Service Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal

Dates of rank

InsigniaRankComponentDate of rank
Flying OfficerIndian Air Force29 December 1983[20]
Squadron LeaderIndian Air Force29 December 1993[20]
Wing CommanderIndian Air Force17 May 1999[20]
Group CaptainIndian Air Force1 March 2006[20]
Air CommodoreIndian Air Force1 September 2009[20]
Air Vice MarshalIndian Air Force1 April 2013[20]
Air MarshalIndian Air Force1 October 2018 (AOC-in-C from 1 August 2020)[20]
Air Chief Marshal
(CAS)		Indian Air Force30 September 2021[21]

Personal life

He is married to Neeta Chaudhari. They have two sons.[15] His son Mihir Chaudhary is also an officer (Squadron Leader) in Indian Air Force.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF". Indian Air Force. 30 September 2021.
  2. 1 2 "President Confers Gallantry and Distinguished Service Awards". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 26 April 2015.
  3. ↑ P, Rajat; Sep 21, it / TNN / (21 September 2021). "Air Marshal VR Chaudhari to be next IAF chief | India News - Times of India". The Times of India.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ "AIR MARSHAL VIVEK RAM CHAUDHARI PVSM AVSM VM ASSUMES CHARGE AS VICE CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF". PIB. 1 July 2021.
  5. ↑ "Rapid Turnover in IAF Brass". Bharat Shakti. 29 May 2021.
  6. ↑ "Air Marshal VR Chaudhari AVSM VM Assumes Command of Western Air Command". 1 August 2020.
  7. ↑ @DefencePROPalam (1 August 2020). "Air Marshal VR Chaudhari has taken over as the Air Officer Commanding in Chief of Western Air Command" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ↑ Online, Lokmat (22 September 2021). "नांदेडचे सुपुत्र एअर मार्शल व्ही. आर. चाैधरी हाेणार नवे वायुसेना प्रमुख" [Air Marshal V.R. Chaudhari, sonnof Nanded going to become new Air chief.]. Lokmat. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  9. ↑ "नांदेडचे भूमिपुत्र होणार हवाईदल प्रमुख! Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari to be next IAF Chief". 24 September 2021.
  10. ↑ "नांदेडचे भूमिपुत्र होणार हवाईदल प्रमुख! Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari to be next IAF Chief". 24 September 2021.
  11. 1 2 Air Marshall Vivek Ram Chaudhari to be next IAF chief lokmat.com
  12. ↑ "Air Marshal V R Chaudhari to take over as chief of IAF's Western Air Command". The Economic Times. 25 July 2020.
  13. ↑ "Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari takes over as Indian Air Force chief".
  14. ↑ "Service Record for Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari 16978 F(P) at Bharat Rakshak.com". Bharat Rakshak.
  15. 1 2 "Air Marshal VR Chaudhari AVSM VM takes over as the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff". 2 October 2018.
  16. ↑ @proshillong (4 October 2019). "Air Mshl VR Chaudhari AVSM VM took over as Senior Air Staff Officer at EAC, #Shillong on 03 Oct 19. He is a Cat-A QFI,with over 3800 hrs of flying exp on various fighter aircraft. Prior to this assignment,he was the DCAS at Air HQ" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. 1 2 "Air Marshal VR Chaudhari AVSM VM takes over as Senior Air Staff Officer of Head Quarters Eastern Air Command". 4 October 2019.
  18. ↑ "Air Marshal VR Chaudhari to be appointed IAF's new Chief of Air Staff". The Indian Express. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  19. ↑ "President Shri Ram Nath Kovind approves 455 Gallantry & other defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel on Republic Day". PIB. 25 January 2021.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Service Record of Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari". Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  21. ↑ "Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari Takes Over as the Chief of the Air Staff". Indian Air Force. New Delhi. 30 September 2021.
  22. ↑ "IAF chief Vivek Ram Chaudhari: Ready for any eventuality, focus on being atmanirbhar".
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