A new chapter was added to the history of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in UN peace-keeping operations when the largest ever IAF contingent was inducted in Sierra Leone during March, this year. The contingent, named as IAF Contingent Sierra Leone-2000 and comprising four Mi- 8s and four Alouette helicopters along with 148 personnel, was located at Hastings Airfield which is 25 km south east of Free Town, the capital city of Sierra Leone. Three Mi-35 Gunships along with 64 personnel joined the contingent in June. The contingent was commanded by Gp Capt BS Siwach and the IAF Helicopter Squadron- 2000 under the command of Wg Cdr RK Negi and the IAF Helicopter Squadron- 200 1 under the command of Wg Cdr AT Samtani were part of the contingent.

Since the day of its arrival in Sierra Leone, the contingent had been in the thick of hectic action supporting United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) operations. The first challenging operation undertaken by the contingent aircrew was the rescue of three Kenyan battle casualties and UN Military Observers from a place called Makeni, a major stronghold of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels. On landing at Makeni helipad, the helicopter piloted by Sqn Ldr TA Dayasagar encountered a heavy firing from the rebel positions around the helipad. Undeterred by the firing, Sqn Ldr TA Dayasagar helped the casualties and terror stricken Military Observers to board the helicopter and took off with the rebels still firing at the helicopter. As soon as the helicopter was airborne, it developed very heavy vibrations as a result of damage caused by enemy firing and almost became uncontrollable. At this point of time, the helicopter was flying over populated and forested areas with no force-landing field in sight. Using his exceptional skill, he continued to fly the crippled helicopter for almost 10 km before putting it down on the first available clear patch. The emergency May Day call of Sqn Ldr TA Dayasagar was picked by another helicopter on similar mission, piloted by Wg Cdr RK Negi who immediately headed for the force-landing site. Wg Cdr RK Negi soon landed his helicopter next to the crippled helicopter and quickly shifted all the casualties and Military Observers to his helicopter. During this period, the rebels were seen approaching the helicopters from all directions. Under the developing precarious situation due to imminent threat of rebel attack, Wg Cdr RK Negi, perforce, had to take the decision to abandon the crippled helicopter and immediately rescued the crew, casualties and the Military Observers safely to Hastings. This daring and well co-ordinated rescue operation earned a wide-scale appreciation including that from the UN Headquarters, New York.

In what could be termed as one of the most brilliantly executed military operations in the annals of UN peace keeping, the UNAMSIL forces dominated by the Indian contingent, successfully extricated 222 Indian troops of 5/8 GR Battalion held hostage for more than 75 days by Revolutionary United Front rebels in Kadahun. The operations conducted from Kenema and Daru were a classic example of joint Army-Air operations in which the IAF contingent played a very dominant role. A total of eight helicopters which included three Mi-35 gunships, three Mi-8 and two Alouette helicopters led by Gp Capt BS Siwach took part in the rescue operations spread over two days on 15 and 16 July. The IAF aircrew flew 108 sorties in 66 : 55 hours under extremely adverse weather conditions with incessant rain and clouds touching the trees in the most inhospitable hilly terrain in the face of continuous firing from the rebels. While Mi-35 gunships led by Wg Cdr AT Samtani devastated the rebel positions with pinpoint accuracy, Mi-8s led by Wg Cdr RK Negi outmanoeuvred the rebels by inducting and redeploying troops under the most challenging terrain and weather conditions. The Alouette helicopters led by Sqn Ldr GAP Babu maintained a round-the-clock aerial command post over the battle zone and were instrumental in guiding, directing and coordinating the Gunships and Mi-8 helicopters to their targets and swift evacuation of casualties from the battle field amidst heavy exchange of fire between UNAMSIL and rebel forces. But for the key-role played by the IAF contingent, the rescue operations would have become extremely difficult and prolonged with possibilities of a larger number of casualties.

The highly skilled and motivated technical staff of the contingent had been working round-the-clock with a dedication to ensure a very high standard of maintenance practices and almost 100% serviceability of the helicopters which was a rare accomplishment for any organisation in such extremely adverse climatic conditions as were existing in Sierra Leone. The maintenance staff had also displayed their innovative skills by fabricating a very efficient compressor wash system, a peg spanner for easy removal of engine air intake and repairing an important Mi-8 tester by salvaging spares from crashed Sierra Leone Air Force Mi- 17 helicopter.