Shillong, Dec 1 (IANS): The headquarters of the Indian Air Force's Eastern Air Command in Shillong on Thursday completed 63 years of service.

The occasion was marked by a wreath-laying ceremony by Air Marshal S.P. Dharkar, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Air Command, at the War Memorial here, officials said.

The Eastern Air Command was born in combat and has grown through battles. It is one of the lethal arms of the Indian Air Force which controls air operations over a vast area that straddles the eight northeastern states, West Bengal, Bihar, and parts of Odisha and Jharkhand covering over three lakh square kilometres.

It also controls the air space over the 6,300 km-long international boundary with China, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Bangladesh.

The Eastern Air Command participated in the 1962, 1965, and 1971 wars and over the years has impressively contributed towards the evacuation of victims of natural calamities like floods, landslides, and earthquakes.

An officer informed that several new inductions have also taken place in the Command to meet the changed security scenario.