A total of 137 naval officers graduated on Saturday at an impressive ceremony held at Pakistan Naval Academy. Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Asif Sandila was the chief guest on the occasion. The graduating class comprised 104 midshipmen including 16 midshipmen from allied countries, and 33 Short Service Commission officers including 10 female officers.
Addressing the ceremony, Admiral Sandila said that today as a nation we are cautiously navigating through myriad of challenges and Pakistan Navy is no exception to it. He said that we have to be mindful of the growing maritime capability in our region. We have to be geared up and ever ready to counter piracy, terrorism and extremism in the ocean region of our interest and for maintenance of global peace on the high seas. Most importantly, he continued, we must guard against the internal threat, which perhaps is the most challenging.
Admiral Sandila reaffirmed that we would not let a weakness creep in our resolve to defend our motherland. He was of the view that Art and Science of warfare are easily taught and learnt but donning the mantle of leadership is not a classroom subject. "There may be born leaders, but there is none amongst you who lacks the essential makeup of a leader. The inherent prerequisite of your brand of leadership mandates that those who follow you need to trust you to the extent of putting their lives at risk. Your calling is leading from the front and this implies wearing an invisible badge of honour that is all too visible to your followers through the prism of your confidence, calmness and competence", he added. The chief guest urged the passing out officers to keep abreast of the emerging technologies, new age weapons and concepts of technology driven warfare. He also extended his felicitations to the officers and their parents.
Earlier in his welcome address, Commandant Pakistan Naval Academy apprised the audience of salient features of training the officers had gone through. He added that young cadets of brotherly countries of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Maldives, Nigeria, Palestine, Sudan and Yemen are also being trained at Pakistan Naval Academy. Later, the chief guest awarded prizes to the cadets who displayed outstanding performances and earned distinctions. Commandant gold medal was awarded to cadet Ayesha Bint-e-Rafique whereas cadet Roheel Shahzad received the Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee gold medal.
For the best overall performance, Midshipmen Muhammad Sayyaf Pasha was presented the coveted Sword of Honour. PNA Dirk was accorded to midshipmen Hassan Noor. Allied cadet Ahmed Nazwan grabbed CNS Gold Medal. Fox'l squadron received proficiency banner for its overall best performance. The ceremony was attended by a large number of senior naval officers, ambassadors, officers from sister services, civil dignitaries and parents and relatives of the passing out officers.
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