Group Captain Ashok K Chordia is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and the College of Air Warfare. A former Assistant Director of Operations (Para), he has served as the Commandant and as the Chief Instructor at the Garud Regimental Training Centre. As a Parachute Jump Instructor, he has jumped from 10 different types of IAF aircraft--from the vintage Packet and Dakota to the state-of-the-art Special Operations aircraft, C-130J Super Hercules. He has carried out test jumps with newly developed parachutes and trial jumps during the induction of AN-32 and IL-76 aircraft. He is a founding member of Akashganga, the IAF's Skydiving Team. He alongwith Wg Cdr SK Banerjee holds The Limca Book Record for forming and flying the first ever parachute formation in the Indian skies. He led a team of Parachute Jump Instructors in Operation Cactus (the Maldives, November 1988). He is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi.