Wearing black armbands in memory of the CRPF jawans killed in Pulwama terror attack, officers and men of the Indian Army Saturday received awards for bravery in field and anti-insurgency operations from the Eastern Army Commander at a sombre ceremony here.
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, Lt Gen M M Naravane and all members of the force wore black armbands.
"Any loss of life is a sad incident, we are all brothers in arms. We will continue to work in synergy and will not let one or two incidents affect our morale," Naravane told newspersons after the Investiture Ceremony at Fort William, the Eastern Command headquarter.
He was referring to Thursday's terror attack in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir when a Jaish suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into a CRPF bus, killing 40 personnel.
Every time there is an incident, it is analysed and the required fine-tuning is discussed and decided at the top and is disseminated to all levels, Naravane said.
This year one Yudh Seva Medal, 10 Sena Medals (Gallantry), one Bar to Sena Medal (Distinguished), five Sena Medals (Distinguished) and 12 Vishisht Seva Medals were presented.
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During the ceremony, 18 units of Eastern Command were awarded the Unit Appreciation by the GOC-in-C, Eastern Command, which include 10 infantry battalions, two artillery regiments, two engineer regiments, one aviation squadron, one ASC battalion and two Assam Rifles battalions for exemplary professional performance.
An Investiture Ceremony is conducted once a year in all commands to confer various awards for personnel who have distinguished themselves by acts of individual gallantry or rendered exceptional service beyond the call of duty, an Army official said.