Swordarm » Entries tagged with "Army Chief"
Appointment of Army Chief – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
Amidst speculation and heated debates about the delay in appointment of the next army chief, rumours about the two senior army commanders likely to be superceded are doing rounds. One argument being forwarded is – “shouldn’t merit rather than seniority be the criterion?” As arguments go, its a tempting one, one which is difficult to disagree with. But it’s not without its pitfalls. For the sake of argument, let’s assume that there is significant difference between Army Commanders in terms of their merit or suitability for the job. What would be the parameters on which such differences could be measured? How would the performance of a Northern Army Commander dealing with Counter Insurgency operations be compared with that of, say the Western Army Commander who’s peacetime deliverables would be substantially different? … Read entire article »
Generally speaking
A propensity for shooting off his mouth and the inability to look beyond his nose has landed up Gen VK Singh in yet another embarrassing situation – of having either to make an unpleasant meal of his own utterings, or to go back on them on one pretext or the other. Other notable occasions have been when he went back on his written undertaking accepting a false date of birth, when he withdrew his case from the Supreme Court after friendly advice from an empathetic bench, and when he had to render humble apologies to the same court and the J&K assembly for his statements in their contempt. The latest incident relates to the former general’s impulsive tweets castigating the army chief designate. Since opinion is sharply divided about the personalities … Read entire article »
Every way you look at it you lose
This post is not about individuals. It is not about who is right and who is wrong. Enough has been written on this blog about that, right from the inception of this sordid affair. Some extracts are quoted below for context:- “Today it is not an individual issue at all. It is an issue of the office of the Chief of Army Staff. It is an issue of the image of the Army .…… By polarizing the entire organization into followers of different camps headed by possible beneficiaries of the outcome of this ‘battle’, aren’t you seriously undermining the very fabric of the army?” (From An open letter to the COAS – 1 Jul 2011) “The fact that some political leaders have made public statements joining cause leads one to believe that … Read entire article »
Casus Belli Aching
Just when commentators were concluding that Gen VK Singh will be remembered for posterity as the Chief who went to court for getting ten more months in office, the General has yet again managed to spring a surprise. Going public with allegations that he was offered Rs 14 Crore as bribe for accepting sub-standard vehicles for the army, he is back in headlines. While he did not go as far as naming the perpetuators of the tantalizing offer, a recent official press release by the Army claimed that the offer was made by a retired Lt Gen on behalf of a PSU and a foreign firm. The release also claimed that the recent stories about communication interception equipment being used without authorization by the Army in the capital have been … Read entire article »
Filed under: Blogitorial, Civil Military Relations, COAS, Military, Values
Pull of the Lanyard
The Regimental system is one of the cornerstones of the Indian Army. Regimental spirit is the glue that binds fighting arms together in a unique bond of loyalty, camaraderie and selfless service. The spirit transcends decades, seniority and other barriers to bring all ranks of a regiment together, professionally and personally. In war and under adverse situations of all kinds, it is the thought of keeping the flag of the regiment flying high – “paltan … Read entire article »
Filed under: Appraisal System, Blogitorial, Military, Promotion System, Regimental spirit, Values, Welfare
Internal Deficiencies?
Image by baxiabhishek via Flickr Assistant Commandant GP Singh of CRPF has written a letter to the Army Chief, expressing his ‘annoyance’ at the latter’s remarks in the aftermath of the Dantewala massacre. As per an item in the Pioneer newspaper, the officer citing limited success of several joint operations of the Army and CRPF in Punjab, J&K, North East and Sri Lanka, opines that such failures are not due to training deficiencies, but other reasons. He talks about the Chief’s remarks ‘disturbing his inner soul’. He goes on to say that “every organisation has merits and deficiencies.” A positive view of the emotional outpouring of the officer is that such feeling of loyalty and ‘josh’ for one’s outfit is an extremely good sign. Pride for one’s unit and organisation is a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Audacity, Blogitorial, Civil Military Relations, Military