Time proven methods to combat corruption in the Armed Forces

Extracts from Brig Grant Memorial Lecture by Lt Gen Ashok Joshi(Retd) PVSM, AVSM
Aberrations and Correctives

Many of us have listened to the Army Chief on the TV and seen his very visible concern and anguish. Yes, something has gone wrong and the system cries out for correction. We know that he must be very busy thinking of remedies to put things right. Such things are not amenable to brain waves. We are sure that a great soul searching in on. Even so, here are some ideas about what could be done.

I remember one of the former Army Chiefs thinking aloud in exasperation thus: “Is there a chain command downwards, and a chain of contempt upwards?” Contempt and command do not coexist. A commander who is visibly guilty of wrongdoing axes his own moral authority; thereafter he is a commander only notionally. His leadership has evaporated. He merely occupies the appointment and puts on the rank. His subordinates obey him when they want to or when they cannot get away. A commander who cannot enforce his will by inspiring his subordinates is dead wood. This is the worst adverse impact of corruption. Such a person has to go and this has to be achieved without causing even greater collateral damage. Court martial of a senior commander brings in its wake the very philosophy of military command. Military ethics do not allow a subordinate to sit in judgment over orders that he has got. He is not expected to examine its legality, or to hesitate. An inquiry and court martial calls into question the entire spectrum of orders that he might have given—including many legal and appropriate ones—but now the subordinates who give evidence are likely to suspect everything. This needs to be avoided. The man must be persuaded to go. Such things have been done in the past and it works provided the senior commanders bring to bear their moral authority and they are supported by the powers that be. Legally valid provisions exist.

It is only right that the Armed Forces should take the latest aberrations very seriously, appoint study groups, and chart out a course of action. It is better to look at the larger picture than waste energy and time on proven bad hats. The rot has taken a generation to spread; it may take that long to be eliminated.

A Russian proverb says that the fish will rot from the head. It is very meaningful as far as the Armed Forces are concerned. If the rot is to be stopped the beginning is to be made at the top. In a strictly hierarchical organization in which example is nine points of teaching, correction at the top will yield results in a comparatively short time, and some changes need to be brought about in short order so that the impulse travels down swiftly.

With a single fiat, the senior officers could refuse to dine in places where cooking is not done in messes. “Five stars are out, officers’ messes are in” should be the simple message. The Armed Forces have prided themselves over the years in not making an invidious distinction between the junior most officers and the senior most. There must be no fundamental difference in life style. Shared life styles in messes creates cohesiveness; a la carte culture of exotic foods and wines for seniors destroys it. It is nothing short of shocking that some of the units and institutions have gotten in the habit of employing event managers. One day, some one may want to employ an event manager to stage an opposed river crossing. Have become so very redolent and laid back in the wise of nawabs of days gone by? You will soon be looking subsidiary armies. Some Arthur Wellesley may be waiting in the wings.

Hardihood is a professional requirement of the Armed Services: “luxury must be out and hardihood must be in”. Mere athletic prowess is not enough. Sports, in particular, team games must be ruled in; and the fancy gym-culture can be kept at an arms length.

The Corporate culture is the very antithesis of the subculture in the Armed Forces. Their differing value systems are derived from different attitudes to life. Profit making by the corporate sector involves earning the best price that the buyer is willing to concede based on the principle ‘caveat emptor’, even if some of the profit is later ploughed back into the Society in charity to good causes. The Armed Forces teach an individual that he must yield a little more to the common good than what he gets in return. Leadership in the Armed Forces is about winning battles at all costs, not about claiming bonus on profit. Interestingly, it is amusing to note that the prefix Honourable appeared in the name of the East India Company.

Some of the algorithms, devices, and techniques learnt and taught in management institutions certainly improve efficiency and productivity. They must be learnt from the industry and the corporate and business houses, but the Armed Forces must shun the corporate culture that puts price on everything. What price do you place on life and limb of a man, or on his long separation from his family, or on defeat or victory for that matter? Corporate houses can live for years on low or no profits, or they may acquired by some other, but there is no prize for runners-up in our profession as Field Marshal Maneckshaw was fond of reminding us. Corporate houses serve the country well. But for their entrepreneurial drive and skills of the corporate sector national wealth would not increase. We need them but our values are different. The Armed Forces ought to respect them but keep the difference. The Armed Force certainly need to incorporate respect in the value scale but for which they cannot become an organic part of the nation.

Problems that arise from avarice and greed are far more difficult to get rid off. However, conspicuous display of wealth could be discouraged. Our contemporaries did see the prince of Baroda, Kapurthala, Jaipur ride bicycles to work and the mess. There was a well thought out purpose behind this.

Close contact with civil administration cannot be avoided during long drawn out counter-insurgency operation or during aid to civil authority. Officers and men both learn bad habits. Such units may actually have to be quarantined for a while.

Local purchases and procurement can and do contaminate the Armed Forces. Central procurement agencies must be told in categorical terms that they had better earn there keep; a failure in central procurement would not be tolerated. At least the units would be protected from the virus resident in local purchases.

It must be made difficult to hide ill-gotten gains or their display by claiming that they are inherited. Suitable declarations can be designed so that a senior officer knows that he cannot account for his ill-gotten wealth by making false claims of inheritance.

An institution of advisory council could be created, e.g. the Army Advisory Council, comprising six elected three star Generals, the serving Chief, and presided over by an elected former Chief. All matters concerning the effectiveness, efficiency, and reputation of the Army could be discussed.
Conclusion

At times like these, one recalls the poetic lines. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness.” We still have fresh memories of Siachen and Kargil; of our ships dealing very decisively with pirates; of our Air Force performing exceedingly well in joint exercises with the Sukhois in the showcase. The pay commission has generally yielded a reasonable deal for those serving at present in Armed Forces. You have Honda Cities in the parking lots of officers’ messes. But, then there is news about land scams in the Army, cases of molestation and misappropriations in the news—everything that brings uneasiness.

Hardihood is a prime professional requirement, most definitely for the Army. Soft life and luxury have to be abjured in professional interest even when you can afford. We must not emulate the US forces by opting for ways of living which do not suit us.

Eventually, these aberrations would go, one hopes. But some deconstruction would have to be undertaken before the mansion is restored to its former glory.