Navy chief emphasises role of retired naval officers

The Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral R K Dhowan, urged the retired naval officers to take responsibility in advocating the importance of maritime issues among civilian counterparts.
At the 24th AGM of the Navy Foundation held at Naval Base here, he emphasised the role of retired naval personnel to take a lead in the matter as he felt that they contributed significantly in the task of Nation building.
He also reiterated that the naval veterans form a large and rich source of knowledge and skill set which needs to be gainfully used for the betterment of the country, according to a release here.

The Navy Foundation is a philanthropic society which was formed in 1988 and registered with the Registrar of Societies.
It presently has 15 chapters across the country located in prominent cities and is governed through four governing councils - North, South, East, West - based at Delhi, Kochi, Mumbai and Visakhapatnam respectively.
The AGMs are held in rotation at locations where a chapter is present.

The Navy has signed an MoU with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship for utilisation of the skill pool of the veteran community towards training and value additions in the civilian sector.
It is intended to progressively undertake skill mapping of serving naval personnel for subsequent productive utilisation even after active service.

The Navy Chief left Kochi on completion of the meeting after visiting important installations in the naval base, including the newly commissioned and the country's first Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence and Surveillance System, where he was briefed on the operational capabilities.