Air Marshal Devendra P. Hirani on Sunday assumed charge as the Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at the Headquarters of Eastern Air Command of the Indian Air Force, officials said. Air Marshal Hirani was commissioned into the Indian Air Force on December 15, 1990, and is a Qualified Flying Instructor with close to 5,000 hours of flying experience on a wide range of helicopters and trainer aircraft.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA), the Defence Services Staff College and the College of Defence Management, Air Marshal Hirani has also attended the National Defence College in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Over the course of his distinguished career, he has commanded a training unit as well as key frontline air bases in the Northern sector.
The Air Marshal has held several important staff appointments at Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS), Air Headquarters, Command Headquarters and Headquarters of Air Officer Commanding (AOC), Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. He has also served as a DASI inspector and was deputed to the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of a United Nations Peacekeeping Mission.
Before assuming his present assignment, Air Marshal Hirani served as the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Personnel, Airmen and Civilians) at Air Headquarters. In recognition of his exemplary service to the nation, Air Marshal Hirani was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2015 and the Yudh Seva Medal in 2022.
The Eastern Air Command, headquartered in Shillong, is responsible for safeguarding India’s eastern and northeastern airspace, including sensitive borders with neighbouring countries. The Command plays a vital role in air defence, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, and maintaining operational preparedness in a strategically important region.