394 cadets pass out of IMA, 66 from region, 10 belong to foreign nations

Vijay Mohan

Chandigarh, June 8

A total of 66 cadets from the region were commissioned as Lieutenants from the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, on June 8. These include 34 from Haryana, 21 from Punjab, 10 from Himachal Pradesh and one from Chandigarh.

A total of 394 gentlemen cadets of the 154th Regular Course and 137th Technical Graduates Course, including 39 cadets from 10 friendly foreign countries, passed out of the IMA. The passing out parade was reviewed by Lt Gen MV Suchindra Kumar, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, who said the dynamics of combat are changing rapidly and that technological transformation has been continuously impacting the character of modern wars. “In fact, all these domains are being refined with every passing day with the use of disruptive technologies, thereby increasing the complexities of wars. Today’s wars are the wars of ideas, intellect and innovation. Be prepared, to be at the forefront to meet these challenges,” he said.

“The use of space, cyber and cognitive domains in warfare are contemporary realities. Information warfare, drones, autonomous systems, exploitation of electromagnetic spectrum and man-machine teaming comprise the new normal,” he said.

The coveted award of the Sword of Honour for being adjudged as the best overall cadet and the gold medal for standing first in the order of merit was received by Academy under Officer Praveen Singh, who hails from Agra.

In addition, 10 officers from Haryana and five from Punjab were also commissioned from the Officers Training Academy, Gaya, as part of the 48th Technical Entry Scheme and 52nd Special Commission Officers courses, the passing out parade of which was also held today.

True to tradition, this term’s passing out parade too witnessed several instances of newly commissioned officers carrying forward their family legacy of bearing arms in the service of the nation.

Amongst them was Lt Tribhuvan Singh Shaktawat from Rajasthan, whose father Late Maj Natwar Singh Shaktawat had made the supreme sacrifice in 2003 while battling terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir and was decorated with the Sena Medal for gallantry. He was then serving with 4 Rashtriya Rifles.

Lt Ayush Singh Rathore, who has been commissioned into the Sikh Light Infantry became the fourth generation officer since his great grandfather to serve in the Army, while Lt Vinayak Orpe, who has opted for the Parachute Regiment has become the third.