Flying Officer George Thomas, Mention – in - Dispatches (1065/81)
There were many attempts by the Pakistani Army to re-capture Indian territory in Siachen Glacier. The most well known was in 1987, when an attempt was made by Pakistan to dislodge India from the area. The attack was masterminded by Pervez Musharraf (later President of Pakistan) heading a newly raised elite SSG commando unit raised in the area. A special garrison with eight thousand troops was built at Khapalu. The immediate aim was to capture Bilafond La but after bitter fighting that included hand to hand combat, the Pakistanis were thrown back.
Most of the helipads in this sector are situated near the Line of Control (LOC). The Cheetah helicopters have to face constant threat of firing while landing on these helipads. The main threat is from speculative artillery firing, Surface to Air Guided Weapons (SAGW) and small arms. At times, the pilots are unsuspectingly caught in the crossfire between the Pakistani and the Indian soldiers. It is common to see pilots dodging airbursts, while some have had several near misses.
A variety of flying techniques are employed so that the operations do not suffer. The highest of these posts is at an altitude of 21,000 feet. These are the only air force personnel in the world to operate at such altitudes on a prolonged basis. Added to this is the fact that the helicopters are flying at the extremes of their flight envelope, where the power margin available is small, if not negligible. Any miscalculation or mishandling of controls can result in a catastrophic accident. Over and above, there is the omnipresent threat of enemy fire. The pilots fly fast and low in order to give minimum reaction time to the enemy. The landing on the match-box size helipads is precise, where army men open the door, take out the load, put in their mail/casualty and the pilot executes a quick take-off. The total time on the helipad does not exceed 30-40 seconds. For a single engine aircraft(like a cheetah helicopter), all operational sorties have an element of risk involved. The Siachen Glacier is quite a different ball game altogether. There are areas in the Glacier where the pilot flies with a prayer on his lips. At places there exist crevasses which are exceptionally wide and deep. In the event of a forced landing, they could swallow an entire aircraft without a trace. That apart, the surface of the Glacier and the ground astride it is so fragmented and uneven that one would stand negligible chance of survival during a forced landing. In addition, the pilots have to brave temperatures as low as minus 60 degree centigrade, apart from braving strong winds and flying in poor weather conditions in close proximity of the mountains.
Pakistan had already occupied a vantage point called Quaid Post at 6452 meters altitude named after Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. This is the most important and highest post in the area. From top of this post one can see 80 km around. Entire Saltoro range is visible from here including other posts like the Amar and Sonam which get food and other materials by Indian helicopters. On April 18, 1987, the Pakistan army at Quaid post began firing at the Indian troops. A Junior commissioned Officer and five soldiers were killed at Sonam. It became necessary to gain control over air space for safety of our men and supporting helicopters.
In the operation which followed in which the IAF helicopters were supporting the troops at the border posts, Flying Officer George Thomas flew 42 sorties in a matter of 3 days braving hostile terrain, weather and the incessant artillery shells and rifle firing from Pakistani posts.
