The cynosure of all eyes at the attestation parade for new recruits of the Maratha Light Infantry Regimental Centre, Sepoy Virbahadar G. won the overall best recruit medal as well as the Naik Yashwant Ghadge (Victoria Cross) medal, the Hofe trophy and the Col. R.D. Nikam trophy, at Talekar Drill Square here on Monday.
A batch of 214 recruits of Group No. 5/12, who successfully completed their training, were attested to the regiment.
MLIRC Commandant Brig. Santosh Kurup reviewed the parade and the oath-taking ceremony, which was held in the presence of the national flag. The young soldiers took the oath to serve their motherland and to protect its integrity at the cost of their lives. In his customary address, Brig. Kurup reminded them of the regiment’s history. He expressed confidence that the training imparted at the centre would stand them in good stead in the future.
Later, he also gave away medals and trophies to recruits excelling in different spheres of training. The Honorary Captain Keshav Rao Talekar medal and trophy for ‘best in drill’ went to Kishor Patil.
The Major S.S. Brar medal and trophy for ‘best in physical training’ was awarded to Mohan Shitole, while the Col. N.J. Nair medal and trophy for ‘best in fieldcraft training’ went to Vinayak Patil; the Sucha Singh memorial cup and medal for ‘best in outdoor activities’ to Rahul Aghav and the Naik Namdev Jadhav medal and Firing trophy to Hanumant Mhaske, for being ‘best in firing’.
Army officers, junior commissioned officers, and the families of the new recruits were present.
