THE LEAP INTO NEXT GENERATION
OF AIRCRAFTS: 1981--

At the time of Independence in 1947, the Royal
Pakistan Air Force inherited planes, which were
in pretty bad shape. They were not even enough
to protect the country from the aggression it was
feeling from two sides of its borders. There were
just a couple of bases, and one without proper
runway signs and equipment.

Many of the pioneering Pakistan pilots, who had less
than hundred hours flying experience, were to become
instant instructors and planners of an almost non
existent Air Force infra structure.

The two runways built by the British were at
Rawalpindi and Risalpur; which may account
for initial decades of higher volume of ethnic
Punjab and NWFP soldiers and pilots. It took
a while to build and equip bases in other areas,
and get the local Sindh and Baluch population
interested and excited about a profession where
you do not make much money and die any moment!

Even a decade later, pilots of Air Chief Marshal
Anwar Shamim's generation, who trained for
hours on those earlier generation planes, were
literally saying their final goodbyes to their families
every day.

Good or bad, Pakistan's military budget seems
to have been a priority since independence, because
of the relations with India and Afghanistan;
the earlier need to defend East Pakistan;
to build the military from ground zero;
and a constant state of war possibility
followed by proxy war during the cold war
era. India going Nuclear was perhaps the most
expensive arms deterrent weapon Pakistan
was forced to acquire. It needed expensive
flexible delivery mechanism.


INDUCTION OF F-16 INTO PAF:

Buying F-16 was a very important decision
for Pakistan; and it was not taken lightly by
Air Chief Marshal Anwar Shamim. He also
knew about the corrupt practices in the sale
of military equipment.

He initiated a clause that would make kickback
illegal, mirroring one USA had. FMS made a
lot of enemies for not letting any one "eat"
off of this deal, as far as he could control things.

When he was at the dinner after the F-16s were
ready for delivery the Company's President said
at dinner speech; that " it was the cleanest
deal the company has ever done with a
foreign country." The Pakistani Ambassador
and his staff were present also.

Air Chief Marshal Shamim remembers that as
one of the proudest moments of his career.
His " Legion of Merit" during Reagan administration
is recognition of the outstanding Air Force professional
levels achieved under him, and his personal integrity.

THE U.S. NATIONAL ARCHIVES & RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
Executive Order 9260--Legion of Merit
Source: The provisions of Executive Order 9260 of Oct. 29, 1942, appear at 7 FR 8819, 3 CFR, 1943-1948 Comp., p. 1222, unless otherwise noted.

1. The decoration of the Legion of Merit shall be awarded by the President of the United States or at his direction to members of the armed forces of the United States and members of the armed forces of friendly foreign nations, who, after the proclamation of an emergency by the President on September 8, 1939, shall have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services.
2. Awards of the decoration of the Legion of Merit may be proposed to the President by the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Air Force, each acting upon the recommendation of an officer of the armed forces of the United States who has personal knowledge of the services of the person recommended.
3 (a). The decoration of the Legion of Merit, in the degrees of Commander, Officer, and Legionnaire, shall be awarded by the Secretary of Defense or his designee, after concurrence by the Secretary of State, to members of the armed forces of friendly foreign nations.(b). Recommendations for awards of the Legion of Merit, in the degree of Chief Commander, to members of the armed forces of friendly foreign nations shall be submitted by the Secretary of Defense, after concurrence by the Secretary of State, to the President for his approval.
[EO 9260 amended by EO 10600 of Mar. 15, 1955, 20 FR 1569, 3 CFR, 1954-1958 Comp., p. 245]

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
Codification of Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders
FOREWORD
The Codification of Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders is an editorial codification prepared by the Office of the Federal Register and is not intended to be used as a definitive legal authority. It is published to provide in one convenient reference source proclamations and Executive orders with general applicability and continuing effect. This codification covers the period April 13, 1945, through January 20, 1989--a timespan encompassing the administrations of Harry S. Truman through Ronald Reagan--and replaces the previous volume, which covered the period January 20, 1961, through January 20, 1985. Proclamations and Executive orders issued before April 13, 1945, are included if they were amended or otherwise affected by documents issued during the 1945-1989 period.