Army chief advises IMA graduates to evolve with changing times to be combat ready

'Your journey does not end with your commissioning into the army, it is just the beginning of a life of commitment towards self-improvement,' the army chief said.

Chief of Army Staff Gen Manoj Pande on Saturday asked IMA graduates to keep updating their skills to deal with the challenges of rapidly changing dynamics of combat.

Addressing the Passing Out Parade(POP) at the conclusion of the IMA's spring term course, Gen Pande said, "The dynamics of combat are rapidly changing with fast paced development of technology and the battle space has become more complex."

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In such a scenario, technical prowess, mental agility, critical thinking, and quick response will be the key to success, he said, and asked the newly commissioned officers to continuously enhance their competency.

"Your journey does not end with your commissioning into the army. On the contrary, it is just the beginning of a life of commitment towards self-improvement," the army chief said.

The profession of "soldiering" is the noblest of all professions as it gives one an opportunity to don the uniform and serve one's motherland with "selfless devotion," Gen Pande said.

The POP saw the commissioning of 373 gentlemen cadets including 42 from friendly foreign countries into the armies of their respective nations.

The coveted Sword of Honour and the silver medal went to Army under officer Mihir Banerjee and the gold medal to senior under officer Abhimanyu Singh.

Uttar Pradesh had 63 officers commissioned, the highest, followed by Bihar 33, Haryana 32, Uttarakhand 25, and Punjab 23.