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Iranian Air Force general, last commander of the IIAF Tactical Air Command| Lieutenant General Mohammad Hossein Mehrmand | |
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| Native name | محمد حسین مهرمند |
| Born | 1928 Tehran, Iran |
| Died | 2024 US |
| Service | Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF) |
| Years of service | 1949-1979 |
| Rank |  Lieutenant general(Sepahbod) |
| Commands | IIAF: 204th TFS, Vahdati AFB (Dezful) (F-86) Deputy Commander Operations, Mehrabad AFB (Tehran) Deputy Commander, Vahdati AFB (Dezful) Wing Commander, Shahrokhi AFB (Hamedan) (F-5/F-4) Deputy Commander, Tactical Air Command (TAC) (Shiraz) Commander ,TAC (Shiraz) |
| Known for | Last commander of IIAF Tactical Air Command |
Lieutenant General Mohammad H. Mehrmand was a senior commander in the Imperial Iranian Air Force(IIAF) who served from 1949-1979. He held multiple commands, the last one being the Tactical Air Command (TAC).
Early life
Mohammad H. Mehrmand was born in 1928 in Tehran, where he attended elementary school, and later enrolled in a military boarding school where he completed secondary studies. In 1949 he attended the Imperial Iranian Army military academy aiming to become an officer.
Career
In his first year of study, he transferred to the newly established IIAF academy to become a pilot cadet. He trained on various propeller planes like the De Havilland Tiger Moth, North American T-6 Harvard, and the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. He earned his commission as a second lieutenant in 1952. The following year, as the IIAF was entering the jet age, Lieutenant Mehrmand was sent with a group of 15 pilots including Captain (later Lieutenant General) Nader Jahanbani and Colonel (later General) Mohammad Amir Khatami to train as jet instructors at the US Air Force base in Furstenfeldbruck in West Germany. Upon returning to Iran he was initially stationed at the new Tactical Fighter Base (TFB) 1 at Mehrabad in Tehran, flying F-84 Thunderjets. Shortly afterwards Major Mehrmand transferred to the newly formed Vahdati air force base in Dezful, flying the more advanced F-86 Sabres as a squadron leader. He continued his advancement with further jet instructor trainings in the US and officer courses, as well as several command capacities including deputy wing commander.
In 1972 he took command of the recently established 3rd TFB, known as Shahrokhi, in Hamedan, initially flying Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighters, then the F-4 Phantom II. His four year tenure in Shahrokhi saw the air base become one of Iran's most important and powerful, and it played a pivotal role in the Iran Iraq war of the 1980's.
Last command
By the mid 1970's, the IIAF had grown significantly, and established the Tactical Air Command (TAC) to better manage its operations and command of all ten of the IIAF's tactical bases. Major General Mehrmand became its deputy commander. One year later, he was promoted to Lieutenant General and became commander of TAC. He remained in this capacity until the 1979 Islamic revolution, and oversaw multiple large scale initiatives and joint exercises with the United States and allies, including live fire demonstrations in front of US and Iranian dignitaries.
As the 1979 Islamic revolution unfolded, thousands of US military and civilian personnel and their families in Iran needed to be evacuated. Unrest had spread throughout the cities and into some of the military ranks, where some elements threatened to block the exit of the Americans. Lieutenant General Mehrmand personally intervened and directly negotiated with those elements and convinced them that this would be detrimental to the future of the country, and ensured the safe evacuation of the American personnel.
Lieutenant General Mehrmand retired from the IIAF when it ceased to exist in 1979, and ultimately resettled with his family in the United States where he was active among the Iranian opposition and veterans' community. He has issued statements in support of popular opposition in Iran, and in 2023 he published his memoirs, "High Sky is my Place". He passed away in southern California in the US in 2024.
References
- spiel. "The death of Lt. Gen. Mehrmand, the last tactical commander of the Imperial Air Force". One News Box. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
- ^ Mehrmand, Moḥammad Ḥossein. Buland-i āsmān jāygāh-i man ast: High sky is my place. Pacoima, CA: Ketab Corporation. ISBN 978-1-59584-795-9.
- "History Of The Golden Crown – IIAF". Retrieved 2024-12-29.
- ^ Izadseta, Colonel F. (2022-06-28). Immortals of the Sky. Palmetto Publishing. ISBN 978-1-68515-606-0.
- "Iran-Iraq War in the Air 1980-1988". www.goodwillbooks.com. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
- osprey.com. "Iranian F-4 Phantom II Units in Combat". Osprey Publishing. Archived from the original on 2024-04-14. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
- Dagres, Holly (2020-09-23). "How the Iranian air force turned the tide of the Iran-Iraq war in 1980". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
- "Tactical Air Command – IIAF". Retrieved 2024-12-29.
- Noble, Barnes &. "The Fall of Heaven: The Pahlavis and the Final Days of Imperial Iran|Paperback". Barnes & Noble. Archived from the original on 2023-10-03. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
- "LegiStorm: Congress Revealed". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
- لندن, کیهان. "پیام سپهبد مهرمند امیر نیروی هوایی شاهنشاهی ایران" (in Persian). Retrieved 2024-12-29.
- "IIAF Associationt". www.iiafassociation.org. Retrieved 2024-12-29.