KUALA LUMPUR: Come Monday, Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) chief Gen Tan Sri Ackbal Abdul Samad is set to retire.
The air force will have a change-of-guard at its helm, when Ackbal is expected to hand over command to his deputy Lt Gen Datuk Seri Mohd Asghar Khan Goriman Khan, at the former's retirement parade at the RMAF base in Subang.
Asghar will then be promoted to a full general.
Popularly known by his fighter pilot call-sign 'Krueger', Ackbal's successor Asghar is also another fighter pilot – going by the call-sign 'Gunjiz'.
Both have also been trained as front-line commanders and as instructor pilots on the Russian-made jets - the MiG-29N Fulcrums and Sukhoi Su-30MKM Flankers, respectively.
A Defence Ministry spokesman confirmed the change-of-guard, following Ackbal's farewell call as the 19th RMAF chief to the various air bases in the country, the past two months.
More recently, he also paid courtesy calls on Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
When contacted, Ackbal acknowledged to the New Straits Times of taking leave before his retirement.
Ackbal, who hails from Johor, is the eldest in a family of four and will turn 60 on Sept 4.
He enrolled in the Boys Wing of the Royal Military College in Sungai Besi as a 16-year-old, before pursuing his military career as an RMC Cadet, commission as a second lieutenant in 1982.
He is the pioneer batch of Pilatus PC-7 pilots who obtained their 'wings' from RMAF Alor Star in 1983.
Ackbal, subsequently, did his fighter-conversion training on the Aermacchi MB-339A at RMAF Kuantan.
He went on to fly the A4 PTM Skyhawk and the Northrop F-5E.
In 1993, he was selected to attend the Test Pilot School in the United Kingdom, flying an array of aircraft and simulators – from the Royal Air Force's Jaguar to the Czech Republic's Aero-Vodocody L-39 Albatross, the Hawk T-MK 1, the Lear Jet-variable stability test platform, the BAE 146, the Saab 2000, the King Air Beechcraft B220T, Air Gliders and Aerobatic Extra 300 aircraft.
His big break came in the early 1990s when he was part of the RMAF's MiG-29N project team to be trained in Russia.
He later commanded the MiG-29N No. 19 Squadron for the 'Smokey Bandit's aerobatic team that debuted at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (Lima) in 1995 and 1997, where Ackbal was the solo display pilot.
In 2012, as the Air Operations commander, Ackbal was instrumental in supervising the aerial bombing of the Sulu militants who invaded Lahad Datu, Sabah.
He rose through the ranks before becoming RMAF chief on Jan 2, 2020.
Ackbal is married to Puan Sri Norainy Shahar Alam and they are blessed with three sons and a daughter.
Meanwhile, Asghar, who will turn 58 on Dec 26, had his early education at Sekolah Menengah Sultan Badlishah in Kulim, Kedah.
He enlisted as an Officer Cadet at the Royal Military College, Sungai Besi on July 18, 1983, before embarking on his flying career at RMAF Alor Star in 1984.
He did his fighter conversion at RMAF Kuantan in 1985 and began flying the A4 Skyhawk fighter bomber before piloting the F-5E, MiG-29N and Sukhoi 30MKM fighter jets.
In 1992, Asghar underwent a flight instructor course at the Royal Australian Air Force base in East Sale to later become an F-5E and MiG-29N instructor.
Asghar had served as commanding officer of No. 19 MiG-29N squadron in Kuantan in 2007, and the No. 11 Su-30MKM squadron in Gong Kedak in 2012.
He rose through the ranks and was promoted to lieutenant-general as the RMAF Air Education and Training commander, before becoming RMAF deputy chief on Jan 3, 2020.