He complimented the award winners for their acts of courage, bravery and distinguished service. The ceremony was attended by a large number of serving and retired officers of the Indian Army and Air Force, civil dignitaries and families of the awardees.

The awards included eight Sena Medals for gallantry, an equal number of Sena Medals for devotion to duty and three Vishisht Sewa Medals (VSMs). Among the Sena Medals for gallantry, one medal was awarded posthumously to Grenadier Virender Singh who laid down his life fighting terrorists. The medal was received by his wife Geeta Devi. Uttarakhand government has offered a job to Geeta Devi in Uttarakhand Purva Sainik Kalyan Nigam, a public sector unit of the state government.

Calling upon the army personnel to uphold the highest values of courage, integrity and professional honesty that had always been the hallmark of the nation’s defence forces, General Sapru said it was imperative that these cherished values be maintained and raised to further heights. “Since the common man looks up to the army man as a symbol of courage and integrity, it was incumbent upon the forces to ensure that their faith is not let down, “ he said.

Referring to the need of providing good training to the army personnel for facing any future eventualities, Gen Sapru emphasised the need for higher quality of training and not merely excessive training. At the Western Command, he said, the emphasis now was on quality training.