Chattogram Bureau :
Bangladesh Military Academy (BMA) held a presidential parade to mark the commissioning of officer cadets of the 85th BMA long course.
Bangladesh Army Chief General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed inspected the parade and saluted the parade as the chief guest at the BMA parade ground in Bhatiari yesterday.
He distributed prizes among the taken cadets.
The Army Chief reminded the directional historical speech of the greatest Bengali Father of the Nation to the cadets who completed the training and said, “Today by taking this oath, you are entrusted with the sacred responsibility of protecting the independence and sovereignty of the country.”
He expressed his determination to make the army built by the father of the nation into a trained, disciplined and modern armed force.
250 officer cadets of the 85th BMA long-term course and 3 officer cadets of special course and 7 trainee officers of the 58th BMA special course after one year of military training received commission through a parade after three years of rigorous military training.
There are 228 male and 31 female commissioned officers in the Bangladesh Army. Also among the commissioned officers is 1 Sri Lankan officer who will join his own army.
Battalion Senior under Officer AM Sanjid was adjudged the best cadet in the 85th BMA Long Term Course for excellence in all subjects and received the outstanding ‘Sword of Honour’.
Apart from this, Company Senior under Officer Riyad Hossain won the ‘Army Chief Gold Medal’ for excellence in military affairs and Officer Cadet Harsa Nimesa Thilanha Hitharochy won the Best Overseas Cadet Award.
Later, the cadets took the formal oath and parents and guardians presented the rank badges to the new officers.
At the beginning of the ceremony, when the chief guest arrived at the BMA parade ground, General Officer Commanding (GOC) Army Training and Doctrine Command, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 24 Infantry Division and Area Commander Chittagong Area and Commandant of Bangladesh Military Academy welcomed him.