AFVOA Newsletters of Year 2012

Page 19 of 80 The Secretary’s report on the Meeting Gone by A Day with Air Warriors -05 Feb 2012 This year, instead of having our usual picnic in the month of Jan, the President wanted to try out some alternatives to have a change. Since we had a Day at Sea with the Navy in Nov, it was decided to approach the Air Force Station, Tambaram for a Day with the Air Warriors in Jan 2012. The AOC regretted for not being able to organise the event in Jan, due to IAF Station commitments; however he welcomed the visit in February. The President wrote to the AOC and the reply was not only spontaneous but also highly encouraging. The AOC had directed his staff to personally ensure that all the arrangements were tied up. Our committee members headed by Brig (Mrs) Muthulaxmy and ably assisted by our local members from Tambaram, Gp Capt Palanisamy and Mrs Lalitha Mohandas, tied up the detailed programme of the visit to the AF Station. Comprehensive administrative instructions were issued by Col TN Raman and RS Varadan to tie up details of transportation from the central RVat ECHS Poly Clinic, Tambaram Railway /Bus Station to pickup our members from North Chennai and also for those who used their own cars to reach the location. The AF had provided two buses for the conveyance of our members. The marshalling and dispatch were coordinated by Col A Krishnaswami and Brig Muthulaxmy. The buses departed at 8.15 am. When all the 102 Veterans with the members of their families reached the Officers Mess AF Station, sumptuous breakfast was served at the Air Force officer’s Mess premises by our Catering contractor Ms Maharaj. Simultaneously, a DVD was screened depicting the heroic deeds of our Soldiers during the Kargil War. This DVD was produced by Col KS Chakravarthi, one of our members. There was good response from the audience. After Breakfast, the AF had organised local tour of the Station along with some static displays. We came back to the Officers Mess, to enjoy the AC comfort and assembled in the large dining hall which also doubled up as the auditorium, with full audio visual equipments already fitted. Beer and Soft drinks were available in a specially created bar for our members. PMC of the Mess as well the Liaison Officer were there to render assistance to our members. During and after lunch, some lilting tunes were rendered by our members Sqn Ldr Unnikrishnan, Mrs Mohandas, and Lt Col M Narayanan which was well received. For lunch, we had invited a few AF Officers and their wives. The AOC had also joined the fun and stayed with us for more than two hours. He played a couple of rounds of Tombola, conducted by Brig VA Subramnyam and Mrs Mohandas. Air Cmde Sharma, the previous AOC also graced the occasion. After that, on a personal request form the AOC Sqn Ldr Unni rendered a couple of songs, in his mesmerising voice. The lucky winners of the game were - Preeti Natrajan, Col Amal Raj, AbhiSelvi, Ajit, Col K. Gopal, Nandini, Lt Col SJ Bhaskar Rao, Lt Col TJ Reddy,Brig Miss Durga Bai, Col and Mrs Amal raj and Lt Col MS Tyagi. On behalf of the members of AFVOA two paintings were presented by Brig Mrs K Muthulaxmi, our Vice President to the PMC of the Officers Mess and the AOC of the Station.