Our Government asks the Armed Forces personnel to make immense sacrifices for preserving the security of our nation. They man the hostile China and Pakistan Borders and daily fight insurgents in J&K and NE. They have been asked to leave their families and risk their lives, and many of them have made or making the ultimate sacrifice. They have put National Security first and the nation owes them an immense debt of gratitude. When these hero's return home, we owe them more than kind words or prayers. We must do whatever we can to help them make the transition back to civil life.
The Personnel below Officer rank (PBORs) need to quickly get a second career to support their families. Our laws have neither provision for speedy transition or to reemploy our nation's Ex Servicemen (ESM) so that they do not lose out at work because they answered the call of duty.
However, we see that about 60,000 PBORs who are released annually from the Armed Forces (after an average of 20 year stint) are faced with the harsh reality that the service to the Nation has cost them the salary they deserve, their health care, their pension and other benefits.
Even more disturbing, the PBORs who seek help from Zilla Sainik Boards- like nightmare- a system that is crumbling and failing to serve them when they need it most. They have to negotiate a maze of bureaucracy. They are shuffled among multiple agencies of the respective State Governments- only to find after all the bureaucratic run around that they still may have to pay a bribe or hire a lawyer to file their case in court.
Our laws require that Government defends the ESM rights, but those who seek help must wait months, even years, just to get a simple answer from multiple agencies of the Government!
Lt Col James Kanagaraj (Retd)
Filling the submarine gap
1 hour ago
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