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The Officer Who Turned Back for His Comrade

• Rank: Lieutenant
• Unit: Army Ordnance Corps, attached to 15 Maratha Light Infantry
• Year: 2011
• Award: Ashoka Chakra, posthumous

On 20 August 2011, Lieutenant Navdeep Singh was leading a Ghatak platoon in a high-altitude area near the Line of Control when an infiltration attempt was detected.

He selected the ambush position and led the engagement from the front. During the action, he was fatally wounded while helping protect and evacuate a fellow soldier.

This story is particularly valuable because Navdeep belonged to the Army Ordnance Corps but was serving with an infantry battalion. It demonstrates that courage does not always follow the neat occupational labels civilians associate with military service.