Chennai, Tamil Nadu — A Filipina was among the over three hundred new Army officers to graduate from India’s prestigious Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai, Tamil Nadu state.
After 49 weeks of intensive course work and training, 2Lt. Kim Janzen Obdin, PA, graduated this Saturday, 07 September 2024, from the OTA’s 32nd Short Service Commission Course (SSC) for Women.
2Lt. Obdin was one of five foreign women cadets in the 32nd SSC, and one of a total 15 foreign cadets who graduated from various OTA courses for this most recent term.
She joined 297 Indian graduates and fellow foreign cadets at the solemn “Passing Out Ceremony” at the OTA’s Parameshwaran Drill Square.
On hand at the ceremony from New Delhi was Philippine Defense and Armed Forces Attaché Col. Rolando Gomez who, with an Indian ‘foster parent’, took part in the Pipping Ceremony and affixed the stars denoting rank, on the shoulders of 2Lt. Obdin.
Col. Gomez also presented 2Lt. Obdin a Certificate of Recognition issued by the Philippine Embassy in New Delhi, in acknowledgement of her achievement.
Established in 1962, the OTA is a premier Pre-commission Training Institution of the Indian Army. It specializes in the so-called Short Service Commission (SSC) in the Indian military system. OTA trains around 750 Army officers annually.
The new Second Lieutenant is one of four Philippine Army cadets studying in India, as the Philippines and India bolster defense and military cooperation, including in the sphere of military education and training. The two countries are marking 75 years of diplomatic relations this year. END
