AHMEDABAD, JAN 15
The Indian Army Ocean Sailing Expedition from Mumbai to Okha in Gujarat was flagged off in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The team will be sailing in the Arabian Sea and will return to Mumbai on January 27. The 13-day exercise will test the skill of sailors on high seas, an official said.
The 43-member expedition, which includes 27 support staff, is being led by Lt Col M K Singh, assisted by Lt Col Shashikant Waghmode, Sena Medal.
It comprises four more officers, two Junior Commissioned Officers and 35 other ranks from various arms and services to include Engineers, Electronic Mechanical Engineers, Signals, Sikh Light Infantry and Maratha Light Infantry troops.
The team will sail in four non-motorised Seabird class boats, supported by ground support team, which will move along the coastal land route for immediate support, the official said.
The expedition was flagged off by Lt General Michael Mathews, PVSM, VSM, Commandant of the Pune-based College of Military Engineering and Colonel Commandant, the Bombay Sappers and Brigadier M J Kumar, Sena Medal, Commandant, Bombay Engineer Group and Centre at Kirkee, the official said.
This expedition is being held to celebrate two hundred years of the saga of valour, sacrifice and accomplishment in the service of the Indian Army in January 2020. In the course of the last 200 years the Bombay Sappers have earned 31 Theater Honours and 37 Battle Honours, in addition to one Victoria Cross, one Param Vir Chakra, one Ashok Chakra and numerous gallantry awards, displaying the grit and courage of the Bombay Sappers.
