In a landmark visit, the three Service Chiefs together visited the National Defence Academy (NDA) at Khadakwasla in Pune, their alma mater , on August 20 and 21, during which they reviewed the ongoing training of cadets and the available training and administrative infrastructure, the Army said on Saturday.
The Army said in a statement: “The visit marks a historical moment for this prestigious tri-service training Academy as all three service chiefs are coursemates from the 56th Course of NDA, which is rare and unique.” Prior to this, it was only in 1991 that all three Service Chiefs were coursemates. They belonged to the first course of the NDA, the erstwhile Joint Services Wing, the statement said.
The idea of establishing the NDA for training officers of the three services was conceived by a committee headed by the then Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinlek, in 1945, and the Academy commenced functioning at its interim location in Dehradun as the Joint Service Wing in January 1949. The foundation stone of the Academy at Khadakwasla was laid on October 6, 1949 and inaugurated on January 16, 1955.
Admiral Karambir Singh took over as the Navy Chief on May 31, 2019; Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria took over as Air Chief on September 30, 2019; and General Manoj Naravane took over as Army Chief on December 31, 2019.
During the visit, the Chiefs paid homage at the ‘Hut of Remembrance’, which commemorates the sacrifice of NDA officers who laid down their lives in the line of duty, the statement said. In addition to interacting with the faculty and staff, the Service Chiefs also visited their parent squadrons and interacted with cadets, the statement added.
