A VERY POSITIVE AND HEARTENING VIEWS FROM A SOON TO BE A VETERAN WHO ATTENDED RETIRING OFFICERS SEMINAR HELD AT SOUTH BLOCK..13 NOV 2017.

*Douglas McArthur once said*:

“ A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.”

I am Col. V.S. who will be leaving this great army after a fortnight with pride on my chest and praise for my Army on my lips. While today, actually, neither am I too happy nor disgruntled  at the state of affairs of our great army . But sitting in South Block, I realised that things are not that bad either. I am sure the likes of Gen Bam will endorse my views which I am going to share now.

*Rank parity or the Equivalence Issue.* I must confess that the chief clearly brought out that certain oversights/ anomalies/ mistakes done by the service headquarters in the past are being addressed in the right earnest now and amended in the present time frame. Letters of 2006 and 2008 vintage have already been cancelled. The issue of JCO being a gazetted officer has also been clarified and letter cancelled. Things are being looked into at the highest level and even the RM has assured full support in this regard.

*NFU.* The chief talked in great detail about Gp A , Gp I and all India Services and mentioned vehemently that, we are a different service and no comparison with any of  these are warranted and will not be in our favour. Ours is a pyramidical structure and we should therefore not try to compare and group ourselves with them. Our terms and conditions of service are very challenging and difficult . This fact is very clear to all and therefore we should not unnecessarily bother about it as we deserve the NFU more than anyone else.

*Pay Commission and MSP .* Our habit of categorising JCOs and ORs together and calling them as JCO/OR in our daily parlance has landed the JCO with same MSP as Jawans. He felt that JCOs MSP in any case should be much more than Jawans. We should therefore, desist from using loosely coined terms as they have a major ramification. He also said that there was a need to address the issue of lesser Pay and Pension accrued due to MSP of Maj Gens & Lt Gens in comparison with Brigadiers. This anomaly needs to be addressed  and steps are already underway to address these important issues.

*Restoration of rations*. The chief categorically mentioned that the government is saving just about Rs.4 crores only after stopping rations in kind for officers in peace stations. In all probability the government will take a decision and reconsider to restore ration for officers in times to come in peace stations. This would dispel all rumours in the environment.

*Personal weapons for Infantry.* He said that if we analyze, just about 2 lakh personal assault weapons are required for Infantry and Mechanised Infantry, the rest may do good with weapons like AK 47 which is as it is most effectively being used by us and other forces for specialised purposes all over the world.

It's truly heartening to see that todays retiring officer have taken an informed and measured view of factual data and exuded a lot of positivity. 

I think would be highly inappropriate on my part to not share such positive vibes among brothers  in uniform who are being snogged by a lot if vicious rumours and misgivings  by means of great doses if misinformation.

The spreading rumours and bashing the hierarchy must stop (which more often than not is based on rhetorics and vitiated emotions than facts and logic). Thanks .”_* 

Recd from friends in South Block

 

Col NK Balakrishnan (Retd)

(SOURCE-VIA GROUP E-MAIL)