The Eastern Air Command is one of the five operational commands of the Indian Air Force. Currently headquartered in Shillong in Meghalaya, it had its beginning as No 1 Operational Group on 27 May 1958 at Ranikutir in Calcutta as a part of the Govt's increasing emphasis on defence of the eastern borders. The Operational Group was upgraded as Command on 1 December 1959 with headquarters at Fort William, Calcutta and Air Vice Marshal KL Sondhi as the first AOC-in-C of the Eastern Command Indian Air Force#Rank structure. After the 1962 Indo-Chinese War, The decision was made to raise a full-fledged command at Shillong. The area of responsibility of the command now covers 11 states, and is bound by the international boundaries of Nepal, Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh incorporating 6300 k