NDA Passing Out Parade in Pune today

Every year, two batches of cadets pass out from India's premier tri-services military academy which based at Khadakwasla in Pune

The Passing Out Parade is taking place at the Khetrapal Ground in Pune. (Express Photo: Arun Horizon)

After three years of gruelling training, the cadets of the 142nd course of the National Defence Academy (NDA) are all set to pass out from the academy, following the Passing out Parade (POP) which is taking place in Pune on Monday morning.

Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari is reviewing the parade, which is being held at the Khetrapal Ground, named after Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, a posthumous recipient of the Param Vir Chakra who was killed in action in the Battle of Basantar in the Battlefield of Shakargarh during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971.

With the historic Sinhagad Fort as the backdrop, the cadets in their white summer uniforms, are set to display an immaculate parade, a key symbolic representation of their professional training at the academy.

The Parade culminates with a final slow march which has a background score of the poignant tune of Auld Lang Syne played by Military Band. The trainers and faculty at the academy share their pride with parents and family members of the passing out cadets.

The final moments in the academy are marked by the march past the Quarter Deck, with cadets from fresher courses cheering their passing out seniors. The breathtaking flypasts of the Indian Air Force fighter jets add a completely different dimension to the emotional setting.

Every year, two batches of cadets pass out from India’s premier tri-services military academy which based at Khadakwasla in Pune, to continue with the one more year of pre-commissioning training at the academies of their respective forces – Indian Military Academy in Dehradun for Army, Air Force Academy in Dundigal and and Indian Naval Academy in Ezhimala.

All three present service chiefs — Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari, Navy Chief Admiral Hari Kumar and Army Chief General Manoj Pande — are from the 61st course of the academy.

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