An impressive Commandant’s parade which marked the culmination of training of 325 Indian and 70 Gentlemen Cadets from nine friendly foreign countries of Autumn term, 2020 was organised at historic ‘Chetwode Drill square’ of Indian Military Academy (IMA) on Thursday.
The Commandant of the IMA, Lieutenant General Harinder Singh was the reviewing officer (RO) of the parade.
In his address, the IMA Commandant told the cadets that the Army’s reputation rests firmly on their shoulders. He said that the GCs have earned this honour with hard work and they need to retain it by living up to the Army’s core values of Character, Competence, Commitment and Compassion. The General Officer in his address to the Cadets said that “once commissioned, you shall be put in a furnace to test your strength and purity. Remember purity of action results from purity of intention. Hence, be genuine in your concerns for your men. If you show them your competence, your men will respect you, but if you show them your concerns, they will trust you and happily take a bullet for the task you assign. Understanding your men by capitalizing on their strengths and weaknesses is a continuous learning process and an important human resource management skill which you need to master from your experience.''
The General Officer also extended his compliments to the 70 Gentleman Cadets from nine friendly foreign countries that have endured the rigorous regimen of training and are now getting ready to don ranks in their respective armies, as Officers. He addressed them specifically while stating that “the strong bond of togetherness that you have developed in IMA shall foster into a bond that will keep the diplomatic and military ties between our nations strong and vibrant.†In the end, he encouraged the GCs to put their best foot forward for the final Passing out Parade (PoP) and wished all the GCs the very best in the years ahead. The Commandant said that IMA has taken a decision to invite the parents of the passing out contingent for the POP. Lt Gen Singh said that the parents should strictly adhere to the Covid-19 protocols while taking part in the events.
