Cadets undergo arduous training schedule at INA

The idyllic setting of the Indian Naval Academy (INA) with the hillock, the sea and the tranquil Kavvayi backwaters forming picturesque backdrops for what is deemed as a premier training institution of the Indian Navy offered the best ambience for the four-day long camps held on the INA campus to inculcate leadership qualities, camaraderie and team spirit among the cadets undergoing training there.

The four-day outward bound camps spread over four days from April 11 came to a close on April 14, with the cadets having undergone an array of training programmes aimed at equipping them to imbibe qualities of leadership, comradeship, physical and mental alertness and group morale.

The four camps were named Rookie, Samudramanthan, Samudrasangram and Varuna. As many as 633 trainees of the INA, including 26 women trainees, participated in the camps as they joined an arduous schedule of training programmes ranged from land and river navigation in full battle gear along the rough terrains of the area to weapons handling under stress. By the time the camps ended on April 14 evening, the trainees undertook a series of exercises including crossing of water obstacles, endurance marches/runs, night navigation, jungle survival and navigation in inland waterways.

While camps Rookie, Saudramanthan and Samudrasangaram are aimed at testing the limits of the physical and mental endurance of the trainees, camp Varuna was a purely maritime camp focused on developing rowing and sailing skills and imbibing the spirit of adventure in young naval cadets, a press release issued by the INA said.

The camps drew to a close on Saturday evening with a camp fire at the camp site within the INA campus. The gruelling training programmes during the camp did not hamper the festivity and camaraderie of the cadets as they presented a variety of entertainment and cultural programmes to mark the culmination of the camp, the release said.

Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan, Commandant of the INA, presented trophies and individual prizes to the winners of various competitions held as part of the camps.