Soldier and Seventh CPC - Way Ahead

Soldier and Seventh CPC - Way Ahead
 

SEVENTH PAY COMMISSION FOR THE ARMED FORCES
 

The Government  has recently approved composition of Seventh Central Pay Commission. In keeping with past practice it will consist of a retired judge as chairman and one IAS bureaucrat as member and secretary expenditure Government of India as Member-Secretary.
 

In UK soldier’s pay is fixed by Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body (AFPRB), which is an independent body of distinguished men and women from public life and industry.  They visit Army headquarters and units each year to assess reaction to their reports at firsthand and seek out ‘grass roots’ opinion on the issue of the day.  They use the job evaluation scores, MOD evidence and information gathered during visits, to recommend to the Prime Minister the rates for basic and additional Service pay, some allowances and charges for food and accommodation.  The AFPRB Report is produced annually .
 

In US the pay of soldiers is based on the Employment Cost Index (ECI) which is a quarterly measure of changes in labor costs. It is one of the principal economic indicators used by the Federal Reserve Bank. The following are some of the main features of the data:
 

· Shows changes in wages and salaries and benefit costs, as well as changes in total compensation

· Presents data as a total for all workers and separately for private industry and for State and local government workers

· Reports changes by industry, occupational group, union and nonunion status, census region and division, and 15 large metropolitan areas

· Provides seasonally adjusted and unadjusted data

· Presents historical data on changes in labor costs

· Uses fixed weights to control for shifts among occupations and industries.
 

The Congress (equal to Indian Parliament) annually decides the raise in pay of soldiers, which is accepted by the President and in case of disagreement; it is the writ of Congress which prevails.
 

Common factor is both US and UK system is professionalism. In both cases the pay scales are being recommended by a body of experts who have domain knowledge on the subject and are free from the control of government of the day. But strangely in case of India the pay commission is composed of bureaucrats with vested interest to perpetuate hegemony of their cadre and this group is headed by a judge who has no domain knowledge on the subject of Pay and Allowances, however he has been Government advocate in Rajasthan from 1969 till 1985 and a judge thereafter till his retirement in 2008 as Supreme Court Judge and employed in Armed Forces Tribunal since 2008 to 2011. Apparently such a body cannot be expected to do justice to soldiers.
 

Moot question is, what are the Armed Forces to do in the given circumstances?  They have to safeguard their interests . Which is only possible if the armed forces are able to project a justified and coherent case before the Seventh CPC. Some of the suggestions are listed in succeeding Paras.
 

Cadre Management
 

One of the primary reasons for army’s failure to attract and retain talent is poor cadre management policies, which result in short tenures and earl retirement for nearly 94 per cent of All Rank. Thus there is an urgent need is to streamline and restructure, both officer and JCO & OR Cadres of the Armed Forces, especially the Army.
 

Junior Commissioned Officers (JCO) and Other Rank (OR) to get 33 years of service. 

JCOs and OR make up more than 94 per cent of the Army. They retire young due to severely limited growth opportunities with a low pension. Consequently soldiering today has become last option amongst the eligible and only reason recruitment quotas are still being met is high levels of unemployment. The problem stem from poor career management. There is an immediate need to ensure 33 years of service for every person who enrols in the Army. This will put a soldier at par with his civilian counterpart and can be easily achieved through simple internal restructuring of JCO and OR Cadres, through two concurrent in-house measure.
 

· Only one category of Sepoys.  All entries will be at Sepoy level in X Category and specialisation would be offered to Sepoys/ Naiks at appropriate stage of service.
 

· Intake through Combat Arms/ Combat Support Arms.  Direct recruitment into Corps of Signals, Logistics Services and Minor Corps to be stopped and their requirement ought to be met with ‘mid-career transferees’ from Combat Arms and Combat Support Arms.
 

Officer Cadre. The following needs to be done:
 

· Induct all as Short Service Commissioned Officers (SSCO) for initial seven years followed by review and retention of 30%. This will provide level playing field.
 

· Make severance after seven years attractive by providing:
 

Ø Pay and allowances of SSCO be exempt from income tax.

Ø Allow leave encashment up to 300 days at annual maximum of 40 days for first six years and 60 days in seventh year of service.

Ø Lump sum grant equal to seven of years pay calculated on last pay drawn net of taxes.

Ø Provide cost of hostel and tuition fee for a PG course in a Government or Government aided Institute/college net of taxes.

Ø Provide Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) membership at same terms and conditions as others.

Ø Provide life-time CSD facilities.

Ø Life-time Regimental membership in officer institutions and membership of AWHO.

· The officers retained after seven years to be granted Permanent commission and to serve till age of retirement at 59 years except the Chief who will retire at 62 years.
 

NFU and MACP. Non-functional up-gradation be applicable to officers of the Armed Forces and MACP for JCOs and OR.
 

Recommended Pay Scales

Rank	Pay Bend	Basic Pay	Grade Pay	Entry Pay	Military Service Pay @ 25%  of BP + GP	Minimum Entry Pay
Sepoy	PB 1	15600 - 60600	6000	25380	6400	317800
Naik	PB 1	15600 - 60600	7200	29730	7500	37230
Havildar	PB 1	15600 - 60600	8400	34080	8500	42580
Naib Subedar	PB 2	29900 - 104400	12600	40500	10100	50625
Subedar	PB 2	29900 - 104400	13800	51420	13000	64420
Subedar Major	PB 2	29900 - 104400	14400	54450	14000	68450
Lieutenant	PB 3	46800 - 117300	16200	63000	16000	79000
Captain	PB 3	46800 - 117300	19800	76590	19200	95790
Major	PB 3	46800 - 117300	22800	88500	22200	110700
Lieutenant Colonel	PB 4	112000 - 220000	26100	111000	27500	138750
Colonel	PB 4	112000 - 220000	26700	138300	34575	172875
Brigadier	PB 4	112000 - 220000	27300	147300	36825	184125
Major General	PB 4	112000 - 220000	30000	210000	37000	247000
Lieutenant General (Staff stream) (HAG)				225000	37000	262000
DG AFMS/ GOC Corps  (HAG +)				240000	37000	277000
Army Commander (Apex)				250000	37000	287000
Chief				270000	37000	307000

Allowances. It is important that DA be applicable on allowances and Field service and separation allowances be exempt of Income Tax. Some of the allowances specific to the Armed Forces are listed below. Other allowances, as applicable to civilians ought to be available to military as well.
 

· Transport Allowance.          In kind at scale of 30 liters of fuel per car and 15 liters of fuel for two wheelers for all ranks.
 

· Transfer Allowance.    Besides the cost of carriage of household goods it should include cost of changing schools and other incidental expenses.
 

· Entitled Rations.     As hither-to-fore.
 

· Technical Allowances.     May be given with a proviso that these be stopped on the officer reaching the rank of brigadier.
 

· Leave Travel Concessions
 

o Three free warrants per year for the soldiers posted in field area.

o No limit on number of concession vouchers, either for officers or the men.

o Definition of family to include dependant parents.

o Use of private car/taxi and private airlines be permitted on LTC with proviso that maximum permissible claim not to exceed cost of entitled class air/rail fare.

o LTC be permitted at separate stations for self and family.
 

· Compensatory Allowances.
 

Sl. No.	Compensatory Allowance	Allowance (% of Military Pay)
1.	City Compensatory Allowance (Tier-1)	30%
2.	City Compensatory Allowance (Tier-2)	25%
3.	City Compensatory Allowance (Tier-3)	20%
4.	Separation Allowance	50%

· Operational Allowances.
 

Sl. No..	Type of Area and Operations	Allowance (% of Military Pay)
1.	Operationally Active Super High Altitude	100%
2.	Operationally Active High Altitude	80%
3.	Super High Altitude	75%
4.	Operationally Active Highly Uncongenial Field	70%
5.	High altitude	60%
6.	Highly Uncongenial Field Area	50%
5.	Operationally Active Field Area	50%
8.	Field Area	35%

         
 Note: `Operationally Active includes `Counter Insurgency’.

·       
Special Allowances
 

Ser No.	Type of Special Allowance	Allowance (% of Military Pay)
1.	Instructor Allowance	35%
2.	Special Forces Allowance	35%
3.	Flying / Parachute Allowance	25%
4.	Non-practice Allowance/ Technical Pay	20%

Pay Encashment
 

Be permitted for a maximum of 300 days with-in first seven years for officers when serving as SSCO and for JCOs and OR in entire service with proviso that maximum encashment permissible will be not more than 15 days per year.
 

Pension
 

The pension at 75% of last pay drawn when retired on completion of colour service.
 

Courtesy: Yogi

India’s ageing war machine could grind to a halt, Government warned

Frustrated by long delays in replacing their growing stockpile of obsolescent equipment, India’s three armed service chiefs have been warning the government that procurement delays are compromising the country’s war preparedness, military sources have told The Hindu. The government, the sources said, was told the Air Force’s combat jet fleet would soon begin shrinking dangerously, even as the Army was short of tanks and artillery.

The warnings come as Admiral D.K. Joshi, who resigned as Navy chief in the wake of an explosion on the INS Sindhuratna on Wenesday — one of several submarines refitted to serve beyond its design life, because of procurement and modernisation delays in the navy.

Facing severe budgetary constraints, New Delhi has moved to curtail military spending, freezing modernisation expenditure for 2014-2015 — making it unlikely that major acquisitions will take place soon.

On a wing and a prayer

The Indian Air Force estimates it needs 50 squadrons to fight a two-front war — the mandate the forces were given by Defence Minister A.K. Antony. The IAF air force has only 34 squadrons against the 42 it is sanctioned to operate. The six squadrons of ageing MiG21s and two of MiG27s will be phased out in 2018 — leaving in place six Jaguars squadrons, three MiG-29 squadrons, three Mirage 2000 squadrons and 14 Sukhoi Su-30 squadrons.

India is expected to buy 126 Rafale medium combat jets from France, but it is uncertain when the contract will be signed. In the meanwhile, costs for the purchase have soared from the $10.6 billion estimated in 2007, to over $25 billion.

Even if the contract is signed in 2015, the first aircraft will not become available until 2018. Former air force chief N.A.K. Browne had warned, in in December, that delays beyond March, 2017, could compromise the air force’s combat capability.

India’s indigenous Tejas, meanwhile, is also expected to come into service in numbers only towards the end of the decade.

A $3-billion proposal to acquire 56 transport aircraft to replace the antiquated HS-748 transport aircraft has also been delayed, along with another to purchase 197 light utility helicopters, following the alleged AgustaWestland bribes scandal.

The major purchases that have been concluded have all been government-to-government sales from the United States — perceived as corruption-free, though expensive, since there is no competitive tendering. India has bought 12 P-81 long-range maritime patrol aircraft, along with C-17 and C-130J military transport aircraft.

Creaking Army

For its part, the Army says it is facing critical deficits of howitzers, anti-tank missiles, infantry combat vehicles and even assault rifles. India’s programmes to equip its armoured regiments with T-90S main battle tanks and the indigenous Arjun are running years behind schedule. The infantry, meanwhile, is down to half its sanctioned strength of over 88,000 anti-tank missiles, after planned purchases ran into allegations of corruption.

In early 2010, the Army reported it was short of 3,90,000 ballistic helmets, 30,000 third-generation night vision devices, 1,80,000 lightweight bullet-proof jackets, 15,000 general purpose machine guns and 1,100 anti-materiel rifles.

Later this year, the Army is expected to begin testing the 66,000 5.56mm assault rifle it needs to replace substandard but Indian-made weapons it was arm-twisted into accepting in the late-1990s.

In a leaked March 12, 2013 letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the then Chief of the Army Staff General V.K. Singh pointed to “hollowness” in the Army’s fighting capabilities.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Terms of Reference of the Seventh Central Pay Commission approved by the Cabinet

Terms of Reference of 7^th Central Pay Commission have been approved by the Cabinet and are as follows:

a)      To examine, review, evolve and recommend changes that are desirable and feasible regarding the principles that should govern the emoluments structure including pay, allowances and other facilities/benefits, in cash or kind, having regard to rationalization and simplification therein as well as the specialized needs of various Departments, agencies and services, in respect of the following categories of employees:-

Central Government employees - industrial and non-industrial;

Personnel belonging to the All India Services;

Personnel of the Union Territories;

Officers  and   employees   of  the   Indian  Audit  and   Accounts Department;

Members of regulatory bodies (excluding the Reserve Bank of India) set up under Acts of Parliament; and

Officers and employees of the Supreme Court.

b)      To examine, review, evolve and recommend changes that are desirable and feasible regarding principles that should govern the emoluments structure, concessions and facilities/benefits, in cash or kind, as well as retirement benefits of personnel belonging to the Defence Forces, having regard to historical and traditional parities, with due emphasis on aspects unique to these personnel.

 c)      To work out the framework for an emoluments structure linked with the need to attract the most suitable talent to Government service, promote efficiency, accountability and responsibility in the work culture, and foster excellence in the public governance system to respond to complex challenges of modern administration and rapid political, social, economic and technological changes, with due regard to expectations of stakeholders, and to recommend appropriate training and capacity building through a competency based framework.

d)     To examine the existing schemes of payment of bonus, keeping in view, among other things, its bearing upon performance and productivity and make recommendations on the general principles, financial parameters and conditions for an appropriate incentive scheme to reward excellence in productivity, performance and integrity.

e)      To review the variety of existing    allowances presently available to employees in addition to pay and suggest their rationalization and simplification, with a view to ensuring that the pay structure is so designed as to take these into account.

f)      To examine the principles which should govern the structure of pension and other retirement benefits, including revision of pension in the case of employees who have retired prior to the date of effect of these recommendations, keeping in view that retirement benefits of all Central Government employees appointed on and after 01.01.2004 are covered by the New Pension Scheme (NPS).

 g)      To make recommendations on the above, keeping in view:

 (i)   The economic conditions in the country  and need for fiscal prudence;

(ii) The need to ensure that adequate resources are available for developmental expenditures and welfare measures;

(iii) The likely impact of the recommendations on the finances of the State Governments, which usually adopt the recommendations with some modifications;

(iv) The prevailing emolument structure and retirement benefits available to employees of Central Public Sector Undertakings; and

(v) The best global practices and their adaptability and relevance in Indian conditions.

 h)      To recommend the date of effect of its recommendations on all the above.

The Commission will make its recommendations within 18 months of the date of its constitution.  It may consider, if necessary, sending interim reports on any of the matters as and when the recommendations are finalised.

Courtesy: Major Navdeep Singh

Govt announces one rank, one pension for military personnel in budget

NEW DELHI: In a last-ditch gambit to woo the defence community of 14 lakh serving and over 25 lakh retired military personnel, the government has yanked the long-demanded, much-promised but never-implemented one rank, one pension (OROP) rabbit out of its hat in the run-up to general elections.

Finance minister P Chidambaram said the OROP decision will be "implemented prospectively" for armed forces from 2014-2015, with the government transferring Rs 500 crore to the defence pension account in the current fiscal to "close the gap for all retirees (pre-2006 and post-2006) in all ranks".

This comes just after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi told a group of ex-servicemen last week he fully backed their OROP demand, in what now seems to be a scripted interaction. The defence community, after all, swells into a sizeable and vocal vote bank of close to two crore people if family members are also taken into account.

Courtesy: Times of India

ARE WOMEN CLOSER TO FRONT-LINE COMBAT?

The below reproduced article on women officers, authored by Maj Gen Raj Mehta, was published in Geopolitics.

ARE WOMEN CLOSER TO FRONT-LINE COMBAT?

Maj Gen Raj Mehta, AVSM, VSM (Retd)

In a dramatic policy shift on 24 January 2013, outgoing US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta lifted the 1994 military ban on women serving in combat. This landmark initiative will allow uniformed women to be closer to front-line combat roles from mid 2013 onwards - unless there is strong opposition in the US Congress. India, which faces crippling shortages of over 13,000 officers in its armed forces, can learn lessons from this American initiative. It can make a virtue out of necessity by enrolling more women officers to make up its deficiencies. Raj Mehta examines the complex dynamics involved.

***

The recent American announcement allowing uniformed women to enter the hitherto ‘male only’ preserve - the combat zone - has aroused strong emotions worldwide. The male-dominated military world is not excited and a flood of articles have questioned the validity of the policy change. Understandably, women’s rights activists and equal-opportunity enthusiasts the world over are delighted because another male bastion has fallen by the way side. A dispassionate analysis however reveals that the forward movement to “officially” allow uniformed women to enter combat is in actuality a small, breakaway step from the otherwise glacial evolution of allowing American women to enter hardcore combat. It has, however, stopped short of officially allowing women to serve in combat. The fine-print of the policy change allows women to be permanently assigned to a combat battalion as radio operators, medical officers/orderlies, tank mechanics and other critical jobs; assignments barred by the now-rescinded 1994 combat exclusion policy which prohibited women from being assigned to ground combat units.

A Reality Check - Are Women Closer to Combat Now?

 

That combat exclusion, was, in real terms, never strictly applied by the US armed forces and was informally “bypassed” - and therein lies a tale. America has a uniformed strength of 1.4 million personnel of which a significant 14 percent are women both in enlisted and officer ranks. It has deployed over 2, 80,000 women in Iraq and Afghanistan since 1990; suffering 144 women killed in service and over 865 wounded. Under severe manpower availability pressures, the US military got around the exclusion rules by "attaching" women for some jobs to battalions. This meant they were working in combat situations without getting any official credit for the same. Army women veterans wryly say that the new policy has merely legitimized existing arrangements. "We're already doing this stuff," says a former Marine captain, now the Executive Director of the Service Women's Action Network.  She added: “We’re not talking about opening up the Infantry to every woman, but the women who do want to try these jobs should be allowed.” A US Quinnipiac Poll held in February 2012 found that 75% Americans believed women should be allowed on the front-line.

The consuming desire to allow women in combat roles in-so-far as women activists, uniformed women and the female gender in general, is widespread. The men, world-wide are, however, nowhere near as enthusiastic or as supportive of the landmark US policy change, and for a number of “reasons” which they cite as hard evidence. Let us examine their validity.

THE CASE AGAINST WOMEN IN COMBAT

Opinions justifying exclusion of women from combat have coalesced around deep-rooted concerns explained in the succeeding text.

Physical Concerns

Female soldiers are in general, smaller and lighter than male peers, have almost half their upper body strength and 25-30% less aerobic capacity; making their endurance ability far lesser than men. The female skeletal system is less dense and more prone to breakages; in particular to stress fractures. There are concerns too, that women pilots do not cope with g-forces as well as male pilots do. Naval opinion undermines women as submariners because of their need for more space; separate toilets; problems of “hot bunking” (sharing bunks with male peers on shift basis; the word “hot” meaning that the bunk retains the warmth of the last occupant). Estimates pitch the additional cost of catering as a costly $300,000 per women submariner.

Psychological and Physiological Concerns

The perceived negative impact of a combat unit's esprit de corps if a woman peer is wounded or taken prisoner/molested is cited as a key reason for women to be excluded from front-line combat. The Israeli Defence Forces report soldiers going berserk and exhibiting “uncontrollable, protective, instinctual aggression” on such occasions. There is also the fear of women ruining male bonding by bringing in romance and its stressful/competitive fall-outs. Increased pregnancy risks; attendant social disruption and women using their bodily functions and pregnancy to escape combat situations are serious add-on issues.  The issue of a woman’s instinctive underpinnings to nurture and preserve life rather than take it makes men feel women will always be squeamish about killing and bloodshed; an unavoidable fallout of combat.

CONTRARIAN VIEWS FROM VENUS

Uniformed Women are wired to do well

Opinions about women’s ability to cope with combat are not just driven by rhetoric but, equally, by research. A 2008 study by Jennifer Silva of female students enrolled in the US Reserve Officers' Training Corps program found that female cadets saw military training as an "opportunity to be strong, assertive and skillful" and "as an escape from the negative aspects of traditional femininity". The study reported that female cadets "were hyper-vigilant about their status as women performing tasks traditionally seen as men's work”. It is already well known, of course, that women as a gender are far more conscientious than men; are more honest and have far better communication skills; reinforcing IQ with Emotional Intelligence (EI); an asset that women use routinely and men sparingly, and whose possession  could be a valuable life skill.

Women don’t always have to involve in Close Combat

While the Army assertion about women performing physical tasks with noticeably lesser competence than men is indisputably correct, it seems obtuse and archaic to demand that both sexes should be tested by the same yardsticks and female physiology remain the overriding factor in determining women’s combat worth. In an Indian tank regiment of around 650, for instance, only about 200 soldiers actually enter combat as tank crews; with another approximately 200 involved in supporting tasks where the risk of close combat is lesser though still real. That leaves about 250 soldiers who, though in the combat zone, will rarely be involved with warfighting. The implication is clear; women pitched into a combat zone do not have to be “like the boys”. They can still earn professional respect in the roles that US policy has now specified, sparing males for high endurance jobs.

Air Force and Naval Issues

So far as the Air Force is concerned, there is indisputable medical evidence that male pilots are less able to handle g-forces than female counterparts since women are less likely to suffer black-outs due to shorter blood vessel routes in the neck. This does not make men lesser relevant but it certainly makes women pilots more relevant. No wonder then, that western air forces and even the Pakistani Air Force now allow women to fly fighter aircraft. Even conservative India has, as of January 2013, allowed women pilots to fly combat helicopters. The Naval issue has also been needlessly hyped up as some countries realised, after the Norwegian Navy first successfully inducted women commencing in 1985. Women now hold senior positions in both submarines/ surface ships in some Navies.

Can Women Warriors Cope with Combat?

The question of women being brutalized if captured is, of course, real. That said, the brave attitude of Major Rhonda Cornum, now a Brigadier General is worth noting. She was taken prisoner by the Iraqi’s during the Gulf War in 1991. Asked not to mention that she had been molested,  Cornum subsequently disclosed the attack, but said "A lot of people make a big deal about getting molested," adding: "But, in the hierarchy of things that were going wrong, that was pretty low on my list". In 2007, author Kirsten Holmstedt released Band of Sisters: American Women at War in Iraq. The book presents twelve stories of American women on the frontline including America's first female pilot to be shot down and survive, and a 21-year-old turret gunner. The bottom line? Most women can and do cope with combat, though wisdom may lie in their avoidance.

The history of warfighting also supports the contention that women can become skillful in combat. In World War 2, the Red Army of Russia had about 4,00,000 women serving as tank crew, infantry, snipers, military police, medics and nurses. Roza Shanina, a Soviet sniper during World War 2, was credited with 54 confirmed ‘kills’.  Between 1942 and 1945, 12% of Russian fighter pilots were female. Britain’s Special Operations Cell trained 418 female agents as spies of which 119 were shot, including Noor Inayat Khan; an Indian and a direct descendent of Tipu Sultan.

The Indian Situation – No Combat for Women

Indian readers are aware that warrior women have been an important part of India’s religiosity, folklore and history. Durga, a warrior goddess, Kālī, Chamunda ("the killer of demon Chanda and Munda") are widely worshipped. Vishpala is the 8000 BCE Rig-Veda warrior queen who suffered amputation in battle; then fought with iron prosthesis. Razia Sultana, Rani Rudramma Devi, Chand Bibi, Abbakka Rani, Tarabai, Bibi Daler Kaur, Mai Bhago, Begum Sumru, Kittur Chennamma and Rani Lakshmibai are warrior women who proved their worth in battle. This past does not reflect our grim reality in terms of the current positioning of uniformed women in our military society.

Defence Minister AK Anthony has, in a written Lok Sabha response indicated that, in September 2012, the Army was short of 10,100 officers; the Navy 1,996 and the IAF 962; totaling 13,058 officers. Women officers comprise a mere 3.3 percent of Army officer strength; 3.9 percent in the Navy but a healthy 10 percent in the Air Force. Women officer strength, 21years after their recruitment first began in 1992, is 1,214 in the Army, 302 in the Navy and 1,079 in the IAF. These numbers exclude lady medical and nursing officers. The Army recruits women officers in the Signals, Engineers, Army Aviation, Army Air Defence, Electronics and Mechanical Engineers, Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps, Intelligence Corps, Army Education Corps and Law branches. The Navy recruits them into the Law, Logistics, Observer, Air Traffic Controller, Naval Constructor and Education branches. In the IAF, though, women officers are recruited in all branches and streams, except the fighter stream of the flying branch.

Rejecting the combat-role-for-women demand, the Government has cited the HQ Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) report of 2006 and the Tri-Services Committee report of 2011. Women are currently recruited as SSC officers for five years extendable to 14 years of service. Permanent commission is however available in the Law and Education branches of the Services and a few additional technical branches in the Navy and IAF.  

Indian Women Officers Deserve Better

The author has seen women officers in uniform perform with displayed capability in the war zone in J&K for over a decade. He found them spirited, conscientious, gutsy, principled, honest and reliable; capable of sustained hard work at par with male peers. That they could not be tested under fire is no slur on their capability or potential simply because the current rules forbid entry into combat. That said, our crippling officer shortages have often compelled us to “unofficially” use them in the war zone in certain roles. The author did not come across any woman officer who backed out by quoting rules or regulations.  They have carried out assigned military tasks as well as men have; assisted in rural development, schooling, women care; running orphanages, schools, child care projects in “black areas” where they were vulnerable to combat situations - with as much courage as their male peers. Tested in weapon firing; during Engineer bridging camps; night parades and exercises, they have displayed adequate soldierly capability. In May 2012, seven women officers climbed Mount Everest; all being honoured by the President of India for their world class performance.

While actual combat in the Indian case is a long way off; certainly farther than it is in USA, our women officers need to be encouraged by being granted permanent commission. We also need to focus on creating gender sensitization amongst the rank and file of the armed forces and in its General Officer ranks that greater induction of women will help reduce the crippling officer shortages to manageable proportions. For the near time, posting women to combat support units with the same career guarantees that their male counterparts get is a jugad solution that the Ministry of Defence must flesh out soonest in supreme national interest.  

Courtesy: Major Navdeep Singh