Pune:
For academy cadet captain G Dayakar Reddy, it had always been a dream to be a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force. And he gave everything it took to realize the dream.
Reddy, who bagged the President’s gold medal for standing first in the overall order of merit of the 122nd course at the National Defence Academy (NDA), is now set to join the Air Force Officers Academy at Hyderabad from July 7.
Son of a pharmacist from Vizianagaram district in Andhra Pradesh, Reddy had no one in the family to look to for inspiration in his pursuit of a career in the armed forces. His first association with a regimented life came when he joined the Sainik School at Korukunda in Vizianagaram.
“I always wanted to be a fighter pilot and I am looking forward to my training at the finishing academy,” said Reddy. He belongs to the ‘Oscar’ squadron, which has bagged the champion squadron banner at the NDA for the third successive year.
Battalion cadet captain Sashbind Singh Pal, who stood second in the overall order of merit to bag the President’s silver medal, comes from a family with a military background. “My father, Subhedar S M Singh, is posted at the Ordnance Depot at Talegaon near Pune,” he said.
Pal, who hails from Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh, did his schooling at the Military School in Belgaon, Karnataka prior to joining the NDA. He belongs to the ‘Echo’ squadron of the academy.
“I was not so good in studies but I was good at sports,” he said. “Right from childhood I wanted to have a career in the armed forces. “I want to join the infantry.”
Battalion cadet adjutant J S Aswal also belongs to a family with a military background. “My father, Rajinder Singh Aswal, is a subedar in the army. He inspired me and wanted me to become an officer in the armed forces,” said Aswal.
“It’s an altogether different feeling to be part of the NDA and I am eagerly looking forward to my training at the officers academy,” said Aswal, who hails from Garwhal in Uttarakhand region. “I got to learn a lot of things during my life at the NDA,” he added.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Pune / TNN / May 31st, 2012