INDIAN FLAG

FLAG OF INDIAN ARMY

MARCH PAST BY INDIAN ARMY

By: John Jacob, COO and Associate provost

      When i remember my days in the Army, there are few things which come to my mind as to what makes  the “Indian Army” as one of the “Greatest Institutions” to which our country looks upon, in the face of external/internal threat and natural calamities.

Let me share these thoughts with each one of you which i believe are the pillar of this ” Greatest institution”.

1. Spirit of Self sacrifice for a Greater Cause

The motto of  the Indian Army is “Service before Self”

It is written at Chetwod hall of the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun:

“The safety, honor and welfare of your country comes first, always and every time”,
“The honor, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next”,
“Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time.”

Army ensures that every officer cadet achieves this spirit of self sacrifice with adequate training, continuous indoctrination of right values, by teaching the examples of great leaders and exposing to the glorious history before being finally inducted /commissioned into service.

2. Importance and Emphasis on Training
   

A very common Slogan which one will find in most of the Army Cantonments says  :

 “The more you sweat during Peace

The less you bleed during War.”

Many ask this question “What does an Army do during peace?”.

The reply is that they train and train and train till it becomes their second habit and there is no doubt in anyone’s mind, how to act / react / respond, when the call of the duty befalls on them all of a sudden.

3. Secular to the core

Attendance in Temple, Gurudwara, Mosque and Church is mandatory for all during festivals irrespective of the religion into which one belongs to, though they have the freedom to practice their own religion. The Commanding Officer leads the prayer irrespective of whatever is his religion by birth. They attend this with their families and  spread  the message of coexistence within the rank and file. 

4. Written Rules and Regulations – No ambiguity of what and how to do or behave

Army is an institution where one will find written rules, regulations, directions, SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) on all matters (in corporate language it is known as “Process driven organization”), starting from Mess Etiquettes,  firing a missile, code of conduct towards ladies and local population of different regions,  to how to attend telephone calls etc.

It is also ensured that whenever aberrations in habit / behavior / action is observed, the same is corrected / reprimanded without any delay, by a senior, which he considers as his sacred duty, responsibility and commitment to organization, so that a subordinate is groomed up well as per the organizational requirement and that is what helps the Army to continue to keep the “Values, Traditions and Customs” across the organization irrespective of which unit of the Army one belongs to.

5. Shoot to Kill

Soldiers are trained to achieve maximum effectiveness by minimum force possible. However, in case, they are forced to open fire especially in an internal turmoil, in all likelihood the same will be to kill the leader who has been identified or to wound him critically, preferably below the knee, so that the nefarious designs of the trouble maker is totally neutralized.

This result oriented approach which can be achieved only through continuous training, gives the image of  the Army to the world that “Once the Army is out, the issues will be resolved, whatever be the ground situation”.

6. Camaraderie across Rank and File

Irrespective of the rank on the shoulders, the concern and care across the rank is of very high order and families are also been taken care of, in the units / cantonments with the same spirit. The feeling that my family is well taken care, puts the soldier in the warfront / conflict zones at ease and motivates him to give even the supreme sacrifice for the nation.

7. The Rigors of Training

Army draws it’s officers and subordinates from different regions, and of different educational back grounds. It is those initial years of training that makes them unlearn their past and relearn those required by the individual as a soldier. The Army has a “Unified Training Command” which continuously evaluates the standard of training and ensures that entire Army is trained in such a way that everybody exhibits one behavior irrespective of the academy (Army has different academies IMA (Indian Military Academy at Dehradun), OTA (Officers Training Academy, Chennai), NDA (National Defence Academy, Pune etc) where they are trained. But for this emphasis on rigorous training, the world’s 2^nd largest Army comprising of 13 Lakhs troops could not have behaved in one rhythm. One can literally see the transformation which takes place in a cadet before and after the training and that is what is expected out of any training.

8. Leading by Example – Leading from Front

As a matter of principle, officers lead from front depending on the nature and priority of the situation. Even at the ground operational level, it is the young Lieutenants who charge from front, followed by other soldiers and is the reason for high fatality rate of young officers during conflict. This is the very reason why the ordinary soldier has so much faith in the system, even in the face of greatest adversity that he will not be left high and dry and the officer who eats and plays with them will be available at all times.

9. No lowering of specified standards for selection

Indian Army has a shortage of 11000 officers (sanctioned strength is 48000 and held strength is 37000). It is not because that there are not sufficient applicants to fill vacancy. It is because Army does not select an officer who does not meet / qualify a specified standard which is set in respect of Physical, Psychological and Attitudinal levels. (Another reason for shortage is that now Industry offers good opportunities for youngsters which were nonexistent earlier).  Army never looks for super intelligent / super physical fitness / super skill levels, though these can be a bonus / help in selection. While the selectors look for the minimum set  educational level and minimum set physical standards, equal emphasis is given to understand whether the individual has a positive approach towards life, whether he/ she has the ability to work as a team, how does the individual respond / react is an adverse situation and whether an individual is amenable to training (Amenable to training is an important aspect as most of the deficiencies in human capabilities / skill / attitudes can be rectified incase the individual is amenable to training and Army has a well streamlined  training process / facilities to support after selection).

10. Values which cannot be compromised

Every soldier since his joining is being constantly assessed year after year for the following traits : (a) Integrity (b) Loyalty (c) Honesty (d) Hardworking  (e) Planning Ability (f) Persistence (g) Perseverance (h) Team work.

 The result of evaluation is being shared by his / her superior who advises him / her to take necessary step for correction and a helping hand is also extended. The entire record of these assessments is available at the record centre for future evaluation.

11. Unity of Command and Direction

The only reason why Army is capable of achieving the desired output, is that, once a decision is taken after due deliberations at appropriate levels across the organization, further there is no looking back / deliberation on whether to implement or not, at the implementation stage and all wastage of energy, time, confusion is avoided and all resources across the organization through rank and file work with unity of purpose and all so called obstacles vanishes in front of such unified actions.

It is also ensured that when the implementation is successfully achieved, all praises are showered to others and when implementation fails, the sole responsibility for the same is taken on to the shoulders by the leader himself.

Because of this capability of “Unity of Command and Unity of Direction” to move as one entity, even when a decision needs to be corrected or altogether reversed, the same also gets implemented with lightning speed.

12. Multifaceted Balanced outlook

As a general policy the tenure of an officer is 02 to 03 years in a unit / organization. However, basic soldier mostly remains in one unit till retirement. In a period of 30 years of service, an officer travels across 10 to 15 organizations, located at geographically distant places across the length and breadth of India and abroad, forcing him and his family to adapt to different customs, cultures, languages and human values. As an officer, he also gets an exposure to different organizations, processes and systems, and interacts with large number of people which moulds him to a personal of different outlook and thinking process which makes him stands out for rest of his life.

13. Corporate Armies

In the early days, when no Corporates / MNCs / big companies existed, the Army was the only institution / organization which had such a fine regimen of systems and processes and ran like a well oiled machine in extremely difficult situations. In the current era, we can find a large number of Corporate which have imbibed these basic tenants of Army which helps them to build strong, vibrant, multi region, people with different creed – cast – religion in an inclusive manner. The only difference is that Corporate has a business eye / financial motive on their actions where as Army displays a self sacrificing, selfless service to the Nation and fellow countrymen.

14. Army is here to Stay

It is once said: “Every nation will have an Army. The question is whether it is  “Own Army “or “Somebody else’s Army” ”.

 Let us hope and pray that “ARMY” our Greatest Institution, runs so year after year, motivating generations, irrespective of the rapid degradation of values taking placing in our society.

JAI HIND

(About the Author : Lt Col John Jacob (Retd), is a Graduate in Civil Engineering from NIT Nagpur who was trained in Indian Military Academy at Dehradun before joining Corps of Engineers and served for 22 years in different capacities. During his service in the Army, he served in 09 organizations which were located at geographically distant places across India. He also possesses a “Masters in Personnel Management”, “Masters in Applied Psychology” and “Post Graduate Diploma in Quality Management”. He also did an ”Executive Program (Regular) in Business Management from IIM Bangalore”. After working with “Indus Towers”, the “World’s largest Telecom Tower Company” at Delhi and Mumbai in different capacities, he currently works as the “Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Associate Provost” of SAINTGITS Group of Institutions, since 01 Jul 13.)