Air Marshal RJ Duckworth Vishisht Seva Medal , took over as Senior Air Staff officer , Headquarters Western Air Command on 16 Dec 19. An alumnus of National Defence Academy , he was commissioned In the fighter stream of IAF on 28th may 1983 . He has over 3000 hours of experience on various fighter and trainer aircraft and is a Qualified Flying Instructor . He is also an alumnus of Defence Services Staff College Wellington and the National Defence College.
During his career , the Air Marshal has a number of significant field and staff Appointments which include command of frontline MiG-21 Sqn , Chief Operation Officer and Station Commander of a premier fighter base , Director Strategic Ops in SFC , Air-I at Eastern Air Command , Deputy Commandant College of Air Warfare and Principal Director Ops (Air Defence Weapon systems) at Air HQ. As an Air Vice Marshal , he has tenanted appointments of Assistant Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (technical Intelligence) at HQ IDS , Air Officer Commanding Advance HQ Central Air Command and Air Defence Commander , Southern Air Command . Prior to taking over as Senior Air Staff Officer Western Air Command , he held the appointment of Senior Air Staff officer Central Air Command .
In recognition of his distinguished service , The Air Marshal was awarded ‘Vishisht Seva Medal ‘ by the President of India in 2008