Satish Kumar Sareen was born on 01 March 1939 in Rawalpindi (Now in Pakistan). At the time of partition his family shifted to Delhi. In 1954 he joined the Indian Air Force. Sareen did his graduation from Joint Services Wing in Dehradun (presently known as National Defence Academy) and also completed his flying training. Satish Kumar Sareen received the Himmatsinghji trophy for standing first among the fighter stream pilots. After that Satish Kumar Sareen was appointed to No.20 Squadron for flying Vampire Fighters. During Goa operation in 1961 he flew many sorties against Portuguese attack as part of No.4 Squadron. After that he attended the Pilot Attack Instructor (PAI) course and subsequently served as instructor of PAI Program. In 1965 war against Pakistan he flew several Ouragans at Gauhati as part of No.29 Scorpios Squadron. After the war he was appointed to the No.27 Flaming Arrows Squadron.

After completing the Defense Services Staff College course in 1970 Satish Kumar Sareen led the Eastern Air Command as the Chief Operations Officer at Tripura. During the 1971 War for his courageous leadership he was awarded the Vayu Sena Medal. After the war Satish Kumar Sareen was appointed as Ops 1 Officer at Eastern Air Command HQ. As Senior Flight Commander he flew MiG-21s in Adampur as part of No.1 Squadron. After that he was sent to Al-Kut military airbase in Iraq as an instructor of Iraqi Air Force. In 1977 he returned to India and joined No.15 Wing as a Chief Operation Officer. After that he commanded the No.24 Squadron flying the MiG-21bis.In 1981 Satish Kumar Sareen was promoted to the rank of Group Captain and led an Air Defense Signals Unit in the Eastern Sector.

After that Satish Kumar Sareen held many posts like- Air Defense Commander of WAC and SWAC, Air Attaché to UK. After returning back to India he commanded the Srinagar Air Force Station in the Jammu & Kashmir Valley. In 1990 he was awarded the Ati Visist Seva Medal in 1990 for his good performances and subsequently promoted to the rank of Air Vice Marshal. As AOC-in-C he served South Western Air Command and Western Air Command. In 1995 he was awarded the Param Visist Seva Medal. After that Satish Kumar Sareen served as Vice Chief of Air Staff responsible for all IAF defensive & offensive and intelligence activities at Air Head Quarter. In December 1995 he assumed the charge of Chief of the Air Staff as Air Chief Marshal.

Air Chief Marshal Sareen retired on 31 December 1998 after completing 41 years of distinguished service to the nation.