Woman cadet Rekha Singh, wife of late Naik Deepak Singh who made the supreme sacrifice during the Galwan clashes and was awarded Vir Chakra posthumously, was commissioned into the Indian Army on Saturday following completion of her training from the Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai.
She was among the cadets who completed their training and a spectacular parade reviewed by Chief of Army Staff, Bangladesh Army, S M Shafiuddin Ahmed marked the passing out ceremony of Short Service Commissioned officers at OTA on April 29.
The Army tweeted: 'Woman Cadet Rekha Singh, wife of Late Naik(Nursing Assistant) Deepak Singh, #VirChakra(Posthumous) got commissioned into #IndianArmy after completing her training from #OTA #Chennai. Nk Deepak made the supreme sacrifice during the #Galwan Clashes.'
The face-off between the Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley occurred in 2020.
For the first time, five women cadets got commissioned into the Artillery Regiment and in all, 186 cadets, including five gentlemen cadets and 24 women cadets from Bhutan completed their training at OTA, a defence release in Chennai said.
'The immaculate drill of officer cadets marching to enthralling martial tunes left the audience spellbound. It was a proud moment for the officer cadets and their parents, as also the instructors and administrative staff of OTA Chennai, who over the last one year of integrated training have seen the transformation of these proud men and women into future leaders of the Indian Army.'
As many as 121 gentlemen cadets and 36 women cadets got commissioned into various arms and services of the Indian Army.
'A new beginning commenced, when for the first time, five women cadets got commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery.'
Bangladesh Army General S M Shafiuddin Ahmed, who is the reviewing officer, complimented the officer cadets and OTA staff on achieving excellent all-round standards.
He exhorted the cadets to always adhere to the core military values of 'selfless service to the nation' and strive for excellence in all their endeavours.
