One hundred and three medical graduates were commissioned into the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) at a Passing-Out-Parade held at Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) in Pune on 05 March 2009. Lieutenant General Yogendra Singh, DG-AFMS & Senior Colonel Commandant commissioned 84 male and 19 lady doctors who have graduated from AFMC into the Armed Forces Medical Services. The parade was commanded by Medical Cadet Harleen Chopra, who follows in the footsteps of Surgeon Lieutenant Commander Wahida Prizm who became the first lady cadet, in 2006, to ever command a passing out parade in the history of the Indian Armed Forces. Medical Cadet Chopra joined AFMC in 2004. She hails from Ludhiana, Punjab and her selection for the coveted command of the most important ceremony of the year at AFMC bears eloquent testimony to the place earned by women in the Indian Armed Forces. After the parade, Medical Cadet Chopra said she did it because she believed in herself and she would be proud if she could inspire anyone else. The ceremony ended with the newly commissioned officers marching out of the parade ground, into a new career.
The day's proceedings started with a salute to Lieutenant General Yogendra Singh, DG-AFMS and Lieutenant General Shiv Kumar Sharma, the Commandant of AFMC. Thereafter Lieutenant General Singh reviewed the parade, accompanied by parade commander -> Medical Cadet Harleen Chopra. Then Lieutenant General Singh and Lieutenant General Sharma piped in all the 103 newly-commissioned officers. The Graduate Wing of the AFMC was established on 04 August 1962 and the newly commissioned officers will join the ranks of 5,444 graduates of AFMC, who have excelled in medical professions all over the world. The first commissioning ceremony was held at AFMC, Pune in 1982.
The Passing-Out-Parade was followed by the academic awards presentation ceremony. Lieutenant General Singh awarded the prestigious President's Gold Medal, Kalinga Trophy and 41 other trophies, prizes and medals to recognize outstanding achievement in academics and all round performance by undergraduates. The President's Gold Medal was awarded to Medical Cadet Gurpreet Kaur. This year, out of 43 academic awards, as many as 28 have been won by lady cadets. This year also saw AFMC upholding its long tradition of academic excellence. In the recently concluded Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) examinations, AFMC students scored a pass percentage of 100% in I MBBS, 100% in II MBBS, 100% in III MBBS (Part-I) and 96.87% in III MBBS (Part-II).
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