Passing Out Parade of Gunnery Instructor (Foreign) Course Held at INS Dronacharya

Passing Out Parade of Gunnery Instructor (Foreign) Course Held at INS Dronacharya

A batch of 14 sailors from eight foreign countries namely Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Maldives, South Africa, Tanzania, Ghana, Philippines and Bangladesh successfully completed the Gunnery Instructor (GI) Course and graduated at an impressive ceremony held at INS Dronacharya, Fort Kochi on 01 February 2019.

Commodore Simon Mathai, NM, the Commanding Officer, reviewed the Passing Out Parade and awarded prizes to the winners. The FOC-in-C South Rolling Trophy for Best Gunnery Instructor(Foreign) and Book Prize for standing First in Overall Order of Merit in GI(Weapons) was presented to William S Masango, Warrant Officer (WO 2) from South Africa, while Mohammad Zakir Hossain, Petty Officer Gunnery Instructor (POGI) from Bangladesh was presented a Book Prize for standing First in the Overall Order of Merit in GI (Sensors).

The Gunnery Instructor (Foreign) course conducted every year by the Indian Navy at INS Dronacharya, Fort Kochi, the 'Centre of Excellence' for Gunnery and Missile Warfare, to bolster our defence cooperation with friendly foreign countries is a very prestigious and much sought after course internationally. The 21-week course had commenced on 10 September 2018 and included a scientific orientation phase, a basic phase to introduce the trainees to Gunnery and Missile warfare, an instructional phase to expose them to instructional techniques and an equipment phase, consisting of training on weapon and sensor systems. The sailors would now be carrying out duties of Gunnery Instructor on board ships and in shore establishments in their respective navies.