Nominated as the best Air NCC Squadron of the Maharashtra directorate,the No 3 Maharashtra Air Squadron of the NCC has a legacy of serving as the incubator for nurturing young talent to join the tri-services It is probably the only place,in literal sense,where dreams get wings - real wings. And true to its identity of being a perfect incubator for inspiring students to join the Armed Forces,the No 3 Maharashtra Air Squadron of the NCC has been literally flying high as the unit has been nominated as the best Air NCC Squadron of the Maharashtra directorate for the second time in a row. Cadet Atharva Inamdar has been selected the best Air Wing Cadet of the state,a third consecutive time. We have been nominated as the best air squadron of the Maharashtra directorate. I myself have been an NCC cadet and that probably helps me understand the cadets point of view easily. I treat each cadet as a potential officer and groom them that way. In fact,my officers and I have been working with a motto - 'Inspire to aspire' - and it seems the motto has worked well for us, says wing commander Puneet Sharma,commanding officer,No 3 Maharashtra Air Squadron,NCC. The efforts of the staff and the commanding officer have indeed yielded results as over the past three years,25 officers have joined different wings of the Armed Forces from the unit. The No 3 Maharashtra Air Squadron unit has a legacy of inspiring students to join the forces. So much so that over the past 50 years,200 cadets have joined the tri-services to become officers from the same unit. The growth over the past three years has been exponential. In the last two years,out of the 17 cadets who have joined the Armed Forces from nine city-based NCC units,10 are from the No 3 Maharashtra Air Squadron, adds Sharma. Nationally,the NCC has over 15 lakh cadets,about four lakh of which belong to the senior division. Every year,the best cadet is selected from each unit,who after competition is declared the best cadet of the NCC. The unit has a legacy of having produced the best NCC cadet over the past two years and the management is sure that this years nominated cadet - Atharva Inamdar - will make the unit proud once again. The credit of grooming us goes to the officers. The unit has given us a lot. I have a dream of becoming a pilot and the credit of showing me that the dream can become a reality goes to the unit and its officers, says Inamdar.
