Meet Ravi Chaudhary, the Indian-American set to assume top leadership role in Pentagon

In Minneapolis, the son of an immigrant pair dreamt of cruising through American skies as an Air Force pilot. Years later, the dream transformed into reality. And on Wednesday, a group of people in the US Senate cast a vote to confirm him as the assistant secretary of defence for the US Air Force. 

The man in question is Ravi Chaudhary, an Indian-American who has made headlines for assuming one of the top leadership roles in the Pentagon. On Wednesday, the US Senate confirmed him as the assistant secretary of the Air Force for Energy, Installations, and Environment after he secured a vote of 65-29, with over a dozen votes from the GOP. 

Chaudhary has a stellar educational background. According to PTI, he holds a Doctorate from Georgetown University with a specialisation in executive leadership and Innovation, an M.S. in Industrial Engineering from St. Mary's University, an M.A. from Air University in Operational Arts and Military Science, and a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the Air Force Academy of the United States. 

Furthermore, he holds multiple certifications from the Department of Defence, including in systems engineering, program management, and test and evaluation. His career trajectory has seen it all. From serving as an Air Force pilot to being a systems engineer, Chaudhary's professional experiences are what have made senators like Amy Klobuchar "confident" in his ability to do justice to his new job.

From flying to engineering, a look at Chaudhary's brilliant career

The newly-confirmed assistant secretary also served in the US Air Force between 1993 and 2015 as a C-17 pilot. He was a part of multiple American military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also performed ground deployment by serving as the director of the personnel recovery centre at multi-national corps in Iraq.

Chaudhary is also the former senior executive at the US Department of Transportation, where he worked as the Director of Advanced Programmes and Innovation, Office of Commercial Space at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). As a NASA fellow, he was deeply involved in space launch operations for the global positioning system (GPS), as well as in International Space Station protection activities. During the Obama presidency, he joined the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and played a key role in advising the POTUS about initiatives that can boost support for veterans in the AAPI community.