Helicopter Unit 153
"Daring Dragons"
The unit crest was conceived at the inception of the unit. It was decided that the crest convey not only the daunting area of operation but also be a mirror to the courage and daring of the unit personnel. Keeping these points in mind the crest was designed with the MI-17 Helicopter framed against the snow covered peak of Himalayas and flanked by two roaring Dragons. The upper half contains the name and the number of the unit where as the lower half, the motto.
The 'Ladakhi Dragon' is the symbol of sinewy strength and awesome power stands for the moral, the strength and the sheer doggedness the unit displays in surmounting the Himalayan Challenges.
The 153 HU, AF was formed on 1 November 1988 at Udhampur. Starting from scratch the unit has come a long way to the present operational status where it is mainly undertaking the task of air maintenance in the Siachen Glacier.
On the day of its inception the unit had about 4 officers, handful of SNCO and airmen. Ahead lay the formidable task of organising the whole unit from the scratch. The place to park and service the helicopter was still no where on the horizon.
On 29 January 1989 the first of the Helicopter ferried in and was received amidst Jubilation. More Helicopters followed in quick succession. High moral and zeal of personnel overcame all operational, administrative and logistics difficulties.
The operational requirement is to air maintain troops deployed at the highest battlefield of the world: the Siachen Glacier.
The unit carries out operations in these sectors and the flying task involves air maintenance, SHBO operation, causality evacuation and para dropping sorties in liaison with army and other paramilitary forces. Apart from the main job of air maintenance in the Glacier the unit is frequently tasked to provide operational and logistics support to Army and Para-military forces deployed in inaccessible areas of the Srinagar Valley.
In May 1989, just a year after its raising, the unit was entrusted with the task of carrying out operation in Srilanka in Op-Pawan. The Unit carried out its operation from Vavuniya. SHBO missions both by day and night were undertaken and the troops were landed at various locations to fight the LTTE. Routine air maintenance sorties were carried out along with the offensive operations of bombing and rocketry. Flying through small arms fire by day and night was a common occurrence.
Apart from routine activities, the unit has carried out various exercises in liaison with the army and commitments at all corners of the country.
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