A total of 91 cadets on Saturday were commissioned as officers in the Army during the 16th passing out parade at the Officers Training Academy (OTA) here. Of the 91 newly inducted officers, four cadets were from Bhutan and five were from Assam Rifles. Lt General Ngo Minh Tien, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Vietnam People’s Army was the reviewing officer of the passing out parade, while Lt Gen PC Thimmaya, PVSM, VSM, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Army Training Command, was the chief host. Lt General Tien, who arrived at the venue in a ceremonial horse-drawn carriage, was welcomed by Lt Gen PC Thimmaya. Lieutenant General Sunil Srivastava, VSM and Bar, Commandant, Officers’ Training Academy, Gaya was also present on the occasion.
The reviewing officer gave away various awards to the gentlemen cadets who performed well during the training. Wing Cadet Captain Shivam Singh was awarded ‘Sword of Honour’ and the gold medal, while the silver medal was given to Wing Cadet Shubham Shahi and the bronze medal to Wing Cadet Quarter Master Kamat Abhishek Gopalkrishna.
Addressing the parade, which included six Vietnamese Gentlemen Cadets, the General Officer congratulated the gentlemen cadets for their excellent deportment and drill. General Tien urged the future officers to make their nation and their alma mater proud by rendering selfless and honourable service.
He also stressed on imbibing the virtues of military ethos and soldierly qualities. The OTA in Gaya is the third pre-commissioning military academy in the country and was raised on July, 2011 apart from Dehradun and Chennai. Gaya OTA was raised with a motto ‘Shaurya Gyan Sankalp’ (Courage, Knowledge and Resolve).
The OTA was established near Paharpur village on Gaya-Dobhi main road to train both new entrants and serving Army personnel in different conventional as well as non- conventional warfare. At present, the academy conducts training for Technical Entry Scheme and Special Commissioned Officer entries, popularly known as TES and SCO respectively.
