‘Update yourself with latest tech’

Addressing students,Kapoor said,“With rapid change in science and technology,it is imperative that you keep yourself abreast of the changes and work hard to enhance your knowledge by every possible means. However,don’t feel overwhelmed by the technology growth in warfare. It is true that the environment on the battlefield has been changing with technological advances. Effective leadership,command and control,are essential to translate technology into real military capability. The role of leadership as ‘task specialist’ and ‘social specialist’ still remains unchanged.”

He said,“The element of leadership are vital in maintaining combat effectiveness,instilling trust in the maintaining fighting spirit in the troops. The fact remains that the greatest technology advancements will never make a professional soldier a helpless bystander. War has been and still fought by human beings. As long as the human factor dominates the battlefield,leadership is the only driving factor to achieve high morale,motivation,and cohesion of your troops.”

Further advising students,he said,“Share your knowledge with those around you. Once you get commissioned as on officer,your man will look up to you for guidance. You will be responsible not only for your own development,but for the safety,development and growth of your juniors,and for the men working with you.”

This year,a total of 258 cadets took degree from the NDA. Out of them,four were from Bhutan. Cadet Vikas Garsa received two trophies including one for the standing first in the science stream and the other for topping the overall order of merit. Other two cadets,Jaspreet Singh and Vivek Sharma also received trophies and silver medals for standing first in the computer science and arts stream respectively.

A coffee-table book,“National Defence Academy-Soaring to Great Heights,” was also released by General Kapoor. Vice Admiral RK Dhawan was present on the occasion.