Sword of Honour is awarded to the cadet who stands first in the order of merit. An officer cadet has to perform well in physical tests, academic training, weapon training, leadership qualities, field engineering and drill.
For the first time in the history of Officers Training Academy, two lady cadets secured the top honours, including the coveted ‘Sword of Honour’, at the passing out parade held in Chennai.
Academy cadet adjutant (ACA) Preeti Choudhary received the Sword of Honour whereas senior under officer (SUO) Vreeti was awarded the silver medal.
Sword of Honour is awarded to the cadet who stands first in the order of merit. An officer cadet has to perform well in physical tests, academic training, weapon training, leadership qualities, field engineering and drill.
Smartly turned Cadets march past at Passing Out Parade held at Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai. General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command Lieutenant General Dewan Rabindranath Soni, reviewing the Passing Out Parade on 10 March 2018. pic.twitter.com/nwaS35J3xt
— DPR (@SpokespersonMoD) March 10, 2018
Both these young and inspiring ladies (now lady officers) from Haryana beat more than 200 gentleman cadets to bag top honours. Vreeti quit a highly-paid job in Japan as a design engineer before joining the OTA.
In the 55-year history of OTA, from the portals of which 105 courses have passed out till date, it is only the third time that a lady cadet has won the Sword of Honour.
September 2010 was a landmark in the history of the academy when the first lady cadet, AUO Divya Ajith Kumar was awarded the Sword of Honour and the President’s Gold Medal, a feat repeated only once later by AUO M Anjana in March 2015.
Among other lady cadets who passed with flying colours are LC Shusmita Pandey, wife of martyr Major Neeraj Kumar Pandey, and LC Neeta Deswal, wife of late Major Amit Deswal who was martyred while fighting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.
