Image of the Armed Forces

Image of the Armed Forces
The image of an organisation also depends upon the confidence and satisfaction radiated by its members. Away from the spit and polish, pageantry and orderliness, what matters is the contentment of those who voluntarily preferred the service in uniform. A variety of factors leave many disillusioned about their job. Their opinions and impressions based on personal experiences, when expressed by word of mouth, may not exactly enhance the military's 'good image'. Serving members apart, the most effective ambassadors of the Armed Forces are the 23 lakh strong ex-servicemen who are spread across the panoramic mosaic of India.With about 55,000 personnel being added to this pool every year, the ex-servicemen have immense potential for shaping public opinion through their post retirement pursuits such as writing, interaction with students, training activities etc. Regrettably, the ex-servicemen themselves are not organised very cohesively, with the retirees in lower ranks almost left to restart earning a living. The long-standing demand of 'one rank one pension' remains unfulfilled till date. Many pledges and promises made by politicians regarding their resettlement are lost in the ravages of time. Ex-servicemen with little or no gratitude towards their 'uniformed past' could not be expected to further the positive image of the Armed Forces.

Empowering the Ex-Servicemen
The role of ex-servicemen in radiating the image of the Armed Forces has been touched upon earlier. The ex-servicemen often find themselves caught between the inconsistent responses by the State and Central governments. A number of committees have submitted recommendations towards improving their lot but many of these recommendations remain dishonoured. The government needs to view the ex-servicemen as a trained pool of skilled manpower, which is available for a second innings in the service of the nation. This large human resource can be tapped for nation building activities. Apart from technical jobs, ex-servicemen can contribute to a variety of fields like vigilance, health, education, sports, physical training, adventure activities, police and paramilitary training. The recommendations of the KP Singh Deo Committee, the Sharad Pawar Committee and more recently the Khurana Committee have to be seriously considered for implementation. The financial objections to the implementation of 'one rank - one pension' also need to be removed at the earliest. It is in the interest of the Services and also the Government that the ex-servicemen, particularly the Personnel Below Officer Rank (pbor), look back upon their yesteryears with pride and a sense of gratitude.

The paras are only extracts. Click link below for reading the full article:
Image of the Armed Forces – Arresting Negative Trends by Lieutenant Commander Yogesh B Athawale
USI Journal