Odia IAF officer gets Macgregor medal
Bhubaneswar: Wing Commander
Devidutta Panda
, an Odisha native, was among five defence personnel presented with the prestigious MacGregor Memorial Medal by Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Anil Chauhan, during a ceremony at the United Service Institution of India in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The medal, established in 1887, recognises outstanding achievements in reconnaissance, exploration, survey and adventure. Wing Cdr Panda's remarkable contributions to adventure sports, including participation in 22
mountaineering expeditions
to peaks like Mt Everest, Mt Dhaulagiri and Mt Lhotse, earned him the honour.
"I am glad and humbled to be considered for the prestigious medal, which has been awarded to top-notch explorers and adventurers such as Col Narendra 'Bull' Kumar in the past," said Panda after receiving the medal.
His achievements include completing several Alpine-style expeditions without support staff, scaling virgin peaks, and exploring hidden valleys. He has successfully completed the challenging 72-km Khardungla run in both 2023 and 2024, alongside achievements in ice climbing and long-distance cycling.
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As vice-principal of Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling (2017-2020), he initiated the search and rescue course. His contributions to the
Indian Air Force
, included establishing the first responder course, training air warriors in aircrew rescue operations from crashed aircraft.
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