New Delhi: Veteran fighter pilot Air Marshal DC Kumaria will on Saturday take over as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Air Command (WAC).
Kumaria will take over the `sword arm` Command of the IAF replacing Air Marshal NAK Browne, who will be taking over as the Vice Chief of Air Staff.
Commissioned as a fighter pilot in 1973, Kumaria has undergone courses in the United Kingdom and also served as an Instructor at IAF`s top gun school Tactics and Air Combat
Development Establishment (TACDE).
He has also served as India`s Defence Attache in Italy and is also credited for scripting IAF`s Air Power doctrine in 1994.
The officer has commanded a frontline Jaguar Squadron specialising in Maritime Strike Role as well as a fighter airbase. He has operational experience of flying all versions of MiG-21 and Jaguar aircraft.
Kumaria was also the first Director General Air (Operations) at Air Headquarters. Before being appointed as the WAC commander, he was serving as the Senior Air Staff
Officer (SASO) at the South Western Air Command at Gandhinagar.
PTI
