‘First batch of Agniveers were like rockets, sharp and highly educated’

Brig Ajeet Ashok Deshpande, Commandant of AOC Centre, trained Agniveers for Indian Army, retiring after 34 years of service.

Brigadier Ajeet Ashok Deshpande, Commandant of AOC Centre, Secunderabad is a satisfied person having earned the distinction of training the first batch of Agniveers under the Agnipath scheme introduced by the Union government last year.

Brig Ajeet Ashok Deshpande demits office on Wednesday (July 31) after a distinguished service of 34 years in the Indian Army having held important positions across the country. “When the first batch of youngsters came for training I found them to be very sharp and highly educated. They were like rockets,” he recalled with a sense of pride as the Agniveers passed out from the portals of AOC Centre to join the Indian Army last June.

54-year-old Brig Ajeet Ashok Deshpande joined the Officers Training Academy, Chennai after his graduation in Zoology Honours from the prestigious Fergusson College, Pune and was commissioned into the Ordnance Corps in August 1990.

During the 34-years, Brig Ajeet Ashok Deshpande has served in various areas from the mountains of Leh, Kargil and Sikkim to the sand dunes of Rajasthan; but, training the Agniveers was the best part of the stint in the Indian Army, he says, adding that they were trained to ensure the highest standards and quality.

As Brig Ajeet Ashok Deshpande finally hangs his uniform, he has so far overseen direct training of 3,000 Agniveers in four batches. During his service he held varied appointments, including two stints at the Military College of Materials Management (MCMM), serving in an Infantry DOU druring Operation Parakram. In his tenure at the MCMM, Brig Ajeet Ashok Deshpande is credited with introduction of the first Ordnance Officers Information Technology (OOIT) and Advance Logistics Management Course (ALMC) courses. In a rare coincidence, Brig Ajeet Ashok Deshpande was the Commander of Faculty of Technical Stores (FOTS), an appointment which his father Col A.N. Deshpande had also held.

But, the most challenging stint was in Srinagar when Article 370 was abrogated in the Valley in 2019. “For three months, I had to work without a mobile or internet connectivity as a Brigadier. It was the very challenging phase,” he said.

At AOC Centre, Secunderabad under his supervision, numerous infrastructural developments took place. Post-retirement Brig Ajeet Ashok Deshpande is settling down in Secunderabad.