The Indian Army is the land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS). The Indian Army was established on 1 April 1895 alongside the long established presidency armies of the East India Company, which too were absorbed into it in 1903. Some princely states maintained their own armies which formed the Imperial Service Troops which, along with the Indian Army formed the land component of the Armed Forces of the Crown of India, responsible for the defence of the Indian Empire. The Imperial Service Troops were merged into the Indian Army after independence. The units and regiments of the Indian Army have diverse histories and have participated in several battles and campaigns around the world, earning many battle and theatre honours before and after Independence. The infusion of high technology based precision weaponry has enhanced the lethality of future warfare manyfold. The spectrum of threat ranges from the nuclear to the conventional and the assymetric, with terrorism emerging like a hydra-headed monster. Add to this the rigours of climate i.e. the glacial heights and extreme cold, dense mountainous jungles and the heat and simoom of the deserts. Such are the trying environs in which a soldier operates. However, to a soldier facing such challenges and going beyond the call of duty is but second nature. Life's turbulences and turmoils have a special flavour for him. For those not exposed to a war or war like environment, this flavour is beyond the realms of imagination. The Indian Army soldier is infused by a set of values that make the soldier willingly face a plethora of challenges and difficulties, and when the call may come, to give the ultimate sacrifice in the service of the Nation. The ethos of the Army is ingrained in all soldiers with an unwavering will to succeed, accepting their grave responsibility and an unbridled ability to give their lives for others; confident that in return the nation will look after them and their families. The values of the army infused in the soldier through the years of training. he greatest binding force in the Indian Army remains unit cohesion and tradition. Truly heady is this mixture of Unit identification and traditions of sacrificial valour, handed down through centuries. At one point, victory or defeat becomes irrelevant. What matters is - Has the unit measured up? The Indian Army has time and again lived up to its tradition of valour, heroism, sacrifice and fortitude. It stands vigil along the border, watchful, prepared for any sacrifice so that the people of the country may live in peace and with honour. The Indian Army is that and much more.