When KB, Chotu and Manoj joined the National Defense Academy in 1976 at the age of 17-17, they would hardly have imagined that one day these batchmates would be the Chiefs of the three armies together. There was a similarity in them then that the father of three had served in the Indian Air Force. Today, after 44 years, all three are at the top of their service.
When Lieutenant General Manoj Mukund Narwane replaces General Bipin Rawat as the next Army Chief on 31 December, he will be at the helm of the country's armies along with his NDA coursemate – Admiral Karambir Singh and Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadoria.
Batchmates of Admiral, Air Chief Marshal and Next General
Admiral Karambir Singh became the 24th Navy Chief of the country on 31 May and the helicopter pilot's wing adorns his white uniform. Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Bhadoria became the Chief of the Air Force on 30 September and his wing of the fighter pilot is seen on the blue uniform.
All three were part of NDA's 56th course
Lieutenant General Manoj Mukund Narwane will take charge of the 28th Army Chief later this month. They have a paratrooper wing on their Olive-Green uniform. All three were part of the 56th course of NDA. After completing a 3-year course as an NDA cadet, the three reached their respective service academies, where they were commissioned as officers in June-July 1980.
Date of birth, career record, merit, seniority …. all are taken care of
A senior officer said, "It is very rare that 3 coursemates of NDA are the chief of their respective armies as it brings with it many things like birth date, career record, merit, seniority and luck with all of them."
This is why it is rare for batchmates to become the heads of the three armies
The service chief can serve till the age of 62 years or up to 3 years (whichever is earlier) and on the other hand the Three-Star General (Lieutenant General, Air Marshal and Vice Admiral) retires at the age of 60 years. This is evident from how rare it is for the three batchmates to become chiefs in their respective services.
A similar coincidence was formed even 3 decades ago
Our colleague, the Times of India, spoke to the officers and several Veterans, but they seem to remember only one such instance. In December 1991, in the passing out parade of the 81st course of the NDA, the then chief of the three armies – General S.K. F. Rodrigues, Admiral L. Ramdas and Air Chief Marshal N. C. Suri was present. This was also a rare scene as all three were NDA batchmates.
Narwane and Singh are friends even during school days
Lieutenant General Manoj Mukund Narwane and Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Bhadoria were part of the 'Lima' squadron in the NDA, Admiral Karambir Singh was in the 'Hunter' squadron. One officer said, 'At first both were also squadron mats. Apart from this, Admiral Karambir Singh and Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Narwane were friends before joining NDA as both had studied in the same school for a few years.