Meet the 5 Ladakh troops commended by Army chief Gen Naravane today for fighting off Chinese

SOURCE: INDIA TODAY

Let’s talk for a moment today about the single official photograph released by the Indian Army today. The picture, taken at an undisclosed forward area in eastern Ladakh, shows Army chief General Manoj Naravane pinning commendation badges on a line-up of soldiers. With Leh Corps commander Lt Gen Harinder Singh behind him and Army Northern Commander Lt Gen YK Joshi to his left, the Army chief

Commendation cards, in the form of metal badges, are awarded for ‘individual acts of gallantry or distinguished service or devotion to duty performed either in operation or non-operational areas’. In this case, the five soldiers chosen for the field decoration from the leadership were involved in two separate incidents on the Line of Actual Control, forty days apart.

The first three badges were pinned by the Army chief on soldiers involved in the June 15 incident at the Galwan Valley’s Patrol Point 14. India Today has learnt that the badges have been given to a soldier from a frontline infantry unit and attached units that saw action in the violent escalation.

The June 15 clash involved personnel from 16 Bihar, 3 Punjab and two artillery units, the 3 Medium Regiment and 81 Field Regiment.

The other two badges were on soldiers from the 17 Kumaon regiment (called the Bhaduria Paltan for actions in the 1971 war) for acts of valour in the violent May 5-6 night brawl with Chinese troops in the Pangong Tso sector.

The brawl is seen as the starting point of the continuing standoff between troops in the area. The Pangong sector has since seen an aggressive mobilisation by Chinese forces along the Finger 4 ridgeline, with another brawl taking place in the last week of May. Things have remained tense in this area ever since.

While the Commendation badges are an immediate recognition of field valour, it is highly likely that soldiers and officers from these units will receive operational decorations in the coming months, as will Colonel Santosh Babu and the 19 men who were killed in action fighting Chinese troops nearly a kilometre deep across the Line of Actual Control.

Speaking about the commendations, Army infantry veteran and commentator Brigadier Sandeep Thapar (Retd.) said, “Imagine the morale of the troops, the unit and the Corps if the Army chief could pin a Vir Chakra on brave troops in the field at times like this. Commendation badges are the only thing the Chief can award because the Chakra decorations are decided at the MoD level. I do wish there could be a field award system that would permit decorations immediately during times like this. Would go a long way in recognising troops immediately.”

The Army chief rounded off his two-day stop in Ladakh with visits to Darbuk, Demchok and Chushul today, after spending time with recuperating soldiers from the Galwan clash at the 153 General Hospital in Leh on Tuesday.

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