Admiral R. Hari Kumar, Chief of Naval Staff, reviewing the passing out parade of the first batch of Agniveers from INS Chilka in Odisha on Tuesday.
.A total of 2,585 Agniveers, including 272 women of the Indian Navy, passed out from the portals of INS Chilka, in Odisha, on Tuesday.
The post-sunset Passing Out Parade, said to be the first-of-its-kind ceremonial, was held under the aegis of Southern Naval Command. The parade was reviewed by Admiral R. Hari Kumar, Chief of Naval Staff, in the presence of Vice-Admiral M.A. Hampiholi, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, Member of Parliament P.T. Usha, former Indian Women Cricket team captain Mithali Raj and other senior naval veterans.
The passing out parade marks not only the successful culmination of 16 weeks of their ab-initio rigorous naval training, but also the start of a new voyage in the Indian Navy, where men and women will work together to make the Indian Navy a combat-ready, credible, cohesive and future-proof force.
During his address, the CNS urged the passing out trainees to hone their skills further and develop a strong foundation of knowledge, willingness to learn and commitment to excel in their respective careers that lay ahead. He also urged them to uphold the Navy’s core values of Duty, Honour and Courage, in pursuit of nation building.
The Chief Guest also awarded medals and trophies to the meritorious Agniveers on the occasion.
Amalakanti Jayaram, Agniveer (SSR), Ajith P, Agniveer (MR) were awarded Chief of the Naval Staff Rolling Trophy and Gold Medal for Best Agniveer SSR & MR respectively in men’s category.
Khushi, Agniveer (SSR) was the Best Woman Agniveer in the overall order of merit. A Rolling Trophy, instituted to commemorate the vision of Late General Bipin Rawat, the first CDS, was awarded to her by Rawat’s daughters.
During the valedictory function, the Chief of the Naval Staff gave away the overall Championship Trophy to Eklavya Division and Runners-Up Trophy to Angad and Shivaji Division. He also unveiled the summer edition of Ankur — the bilingual trainees’ magazine of INS Chilka, in the presence of Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command and Commodore NP Pradeep, Commanding Officer, INS Chilka.
