On 80th anniv, AFRO gets history cell and museum

TheAir Force Record Office (AFRO) which began its journey in Ambala in 1939 on Friday celebrated its80th anniversary at the Subroto Park here, during which a history cell and museum was also inaugurated, officials said.

During AFRO's eight decades of existence, its growth has been closely interlinked with that of the IAF, they said.

"After its formation as IAF Record Office atAmbalain 1939, it changed several locations, such as to Lahore in 1941, Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1942, Madras (now Chennai) in 1946 and New Delhi in 1947, before finding its permanent location atSubrotoPark in 1966," the IAF said in a statement.

The 80th anniversary of its formation was celebrated with ceremonial fervour at Subroto Park in southwest Delhi, where serving and retired senior officers were present.

Air Officer Commanding AFRO, Air Commodore A RShendyedelivered a performance status report as a prelude to the ceremony. He also gave a gist of the events being undertaken to commemorate the event.

The activities included inauguration of the AFRO History Cell and Museum by Air Vice Marshal G SBedi, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (PO), a mini sports olympiad, walkathon (for women), marathon (for men), painting competition (for children), cycling expedition, tree plantation and a blood donation camp, the statement said.

The highlight of the evening would be the release of a coffee table book titled 'AFRO Through the Ages' by Air MarshalRaghunathNambiar, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command, the IAF said.

"Initially handling the end-to-end HR management of only 14,100HawaiSepoysin 1947, today it has grown into a mammoth institution looking after nearly 1,43,000 air warriors," the statement said.

Its aim now is to automate all manual processes and reduce paper movement between outlying field units and AFRO, thereby enhancing transparency and accountability, the statement said.