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Dear Readers,
This DJ issue is dedicated to one of my flying instructors who died recently in Canada. Col Patrick Tierney was no ordinary individual, both as an instructor and a human being he was outstanding. A very clear and upright person, he was an excellent professional and a very good friend. An extract from the dedication of my book "Leave the Army Alone" published in 2007. "Thinking I would never come back alive the CO Logistic Flight Eastern Command Maj (Later Brig) Liaquat Bokhari had lied through his teeth, and he was supported by others. Fie made a statement on oath that I had been inciting mutiny and rebellion among the Bengali Soldiers in Army Aviation detachment Dhaka from March 12, 1971 onwards, and that my actions from Mar 23 to Mar 25 were specially very "suspect" and I had attempted to hijack a helicopter. I had left Dhaka for West Pakistan on March 12, 1971 and only reached Dhaka on a proper "movement order" on 10 days "joining time" on Mar 27, 1971. On Mar 28 Patrick Tierney asked me to do a hovering check on an Alouette-3 even though I was on leave. After the "hovering check" I realized there was some tension in the Crew Room. How can you serve with such congenital liars and thieves like Bokhari who took away most of my music collection during my incarceration in India and who have no qualms about the consequences of their blatant falsehood? I had requested Maj Patrick Tierney that I wanted to go Joydebpur and he got permission for weapons for my batman and myself from Bokhari as the CO. How could I take the weapons from the Quarter Guard on my own without the CO's permission? And I was stupid when I did not name Bokhari when asked how I got an SMG and a pistol out of the Quarter Guard. Luckily for me this blatant liar's misstatements got me off the hook," unquote. It is difficult to find men of the same quality and calibre as Patrick Tierney, may he rest in peace! Some of the frustrations one feels at this deterioration in the ranks of the khakis, redeemed somewhat in the past few years because of...