The Indian Army got 626 new officers on Friday, with separate passing out parades of the Winter Term being held at Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai and Officers Training Academy, Gaya. Both academies train officers for the short service commission (SSC).At OTA Chennai, 345 Officer Cadets, including 27 women were commissioned at Lieutenants. In addition, four Officer Cadets, including two women from friendly foreign countries also successfully completed their training alongside.General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lt Gen Manoj Kumar Katiyar, reviewed the passing out parade comprising cadets from the SSC-121 and SSC (Women)-35 Courses.He presented the coveted Sword of Honour to Academy Cadet Adjutant Piyush Bisht, for being adjudged as the overall best cadet of the course. Hailing from Garhwal, he also received the bronze medal for standing third in the order of merit. The gold medal for standing first in the order of merit went to Officer Cadet Chirag, while the silver medal went to Battalion Under Officer Pushpindra Rathore.Addressing the gathering, Lt Gen Katiyar gave an overview of the security challenges being faced by the country across carried frontiers. He exhorted the newly commissioned officers to uphold the highest traditions and ethos of the Indian Army and strive to be exemplary leaders in the future.Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command, reviewed the magnificent Winter Term #POP distinguished by immaculate drill precision.AT OTA Gaya, responsible for imparting pre-commission training to the technical stream, 281 officers, including 28 women forming the SSC Technical – 64 and SSC Technical (Women) – 35 Courses took the first step out of the academy.Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command, who is tipped to move to Army Headquarters as Vice Chief of Army Staff, was the reviewing officer. While extending his felicitations to the newly commissioned officers and their parents, he emphasised on the importance of upholding the Indian Army’s values, traditions and ethos.He presented the Sword of Honour Academy Under Officer Kuldeep for being the Overall Best All Round Officer Cadet, and the silver medal for standing second on the order of merit. Battalion Under Officer Aswin Kirupai received the gold medal for being first in the order of merit, while BUO Charan GV received the bronze medal.Military legacy of five generationsAmong the notable passouts at Gaya was Lt Tunmay Shukla, who has become the fifth generation soldier in his family that belongs to Gonda in Uttar Pradesh with a military linage spanning 185 years.The family’s tryst with the uniform began in with Havildar Karta Ram Shukla, who served in the 32 Bengal Native Infantry (Brahmin), Bengal Army, from 1841 to 1859 during which he participated in the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852.Next was Naik Hari Narayan Shukla, served from 1909 to 1923, first with the 3rd Brahmin Battalion, Bengal Army and then with the Army Service Corps. During the First World War, he was deployed to defend the Suez Canal and later served in the Mesopotamian Campaign under the 14th Indian Division.Hari Narayan was followed by Lieutenant Colonel Sri Niwas Shukla, who was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery in 1962 and served till 1990, during which he served in the 1962 India-China War, the Indo-Pak Wars of 1965 and 1971 and Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka in 1987.Tunmay’s father, Colonel Bipin Kumar Shukla, who was commissioned in 1995, is still serving and hs presently posted in Ladakh. He has served in Kargil, Operation Parakram and Siachen. Tumay himself is a computer science engineering graduate.While second and third generations in the armed forces is quite common, fourth generation is rare and fifth generation rarer still. In December 2025, Lt Sartaj Singh from Punjab become a fifth generation soldier on getting commissioned into the Jat Regiment from the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.