Indian Army celebrated its 68th Army Day today. General Dalbir Singh, Chief of the Army Staff reviewed the Parade at Army Parade Ground, Delhi Cantonment and awarded fifteen Sena Medals (including five posthumously) for individual acts of Gallantry and thirteen COAS Unit Citations for commendable performance of their respective units.Every year Indian Army celebrates 15th January as ‘Army Day’ to commemorate the day when General (later Field Marshal) K.M Carriappa took over the command of Army from General Sir F.R.R Bucher, the last British Commander-in-Chief in 1949 and became the first Commander-in-Chief of Indian Army post Independence.In the past six decades, the Indian Army has grown to be a professional and humanitarian force, while serving in the most adverse and diverse conditions. Indian Army also acquitted itself extremely creditably in internal security and counter insurgency operations over prolonged periods and has extended invaluable aid to civil authorities in disaster management and maintenance of law and order.
On the occasion of Army Day, an impressive parade was organised at Army Parade Ground, Delhi Cantonment, where Army contingents including seven Mechanised (T-90 Tank, BMP II, Brahmos Missile System, Akash Missile System, Smerch Multi Barrel Rocket Launchers, Troop Level Radar and Integrated Communication Electronic Warfare System) and nine marching contingents participated. The marching contingents also included an Army Dog Contingent wherein the dogs and their trainers marched in unison past the saluting dias. The Army Dogs are utilized for specialist jobs like explosive detection, tracking, guarding and assaulting. Tableaux of Indian Army as also of the Veterans depicted their role and contributions towards the nation. Motorcycle display by the Army Daredevils was the other attraction during the parade. A grand finale was a combat demonstration, which showcased battle drills and combat techniques of the Army units. Combat actions included straffing runs depected by the RUDRA armed helicopter & special tactics for insertion and extraction of soldiers behind the enemy lines were depicted.Earlier in the day, wreaths were laid at Amar Jawan Jyoti, India Gate by the three service chiefs to commemorate the Army Day.