from captain.. to half colonel

MAKING OF AN INFANTRYMAN -II

While the usual highs and lows, ups and downs of life as a young officer continued, soon I found myself being treated with an almost informal manner right from the ‘old man’ to the senior NCOs of the battalion. It was out of mutual confidence, I inferred. The tenure at my hometown proved to be busy for me as I was now ‘newly married’ and in charge of the Adjutant’s appointment. With my parents also around, at times I found it difficult to attend to everyone. I cursed and cribbed and continued. We all got used to the new way of life and soon my whole family was a part and parcel of the original family called the battalion.

Then was the first outing. Having spent slightly more than one year at my hometown, I was posted to one of the most prestigious institutes of the army, The Infantry School at Mhow. The midnight oil burnt during the young officers course had finally borne the fruit. I was on the ‘other side of the table’ now… not a student anymore but an Instructor. The environment was different from that one finds in the unit. Category ‘A’ establishments of the Army ( Infantry School being one of them ), have their own way of functioning and own pace of life to which one gets used to immediately and addicted very soon. Besides the privileges there lies the sacred moral responsibility of a teacher. I had to live up to the standards of a role model for countless young officers, JCOs and men. I had a public image now, though very restricted but still it was there. Facing young officers is never an easy task when you know that whatever you tell them is going to be taken as a gospel. I found myself more confident and also mature. The instructional staff was from different units of infantry and I got the larger picture which further strengthened my beliefs about our men. The NCOs and JCOs worked with efficiency of an MBA graduate, with the timing of an atomic clock and with the finesse of a world class musician. There was never a dull moment and even the most challenging tasks were performed with ease and as a team. Never did our parent regiments figure in our lives as a matter of discord. Everyone had only positives to contribute. All my apprehensions regarding working in a new environment were put to rest, forever.

At Mhow ,each day was a learning even for the instructors. Whenever we got free time during the office hours, it was gainfully used in fruitful professional discussions and clarifications on concepts related to our subject. The free time was actually ‘free’ and was spent in small get togethers or at the swimming pool or the officers institute. There was free flow of ideas and thoughts ‘both ways’ and all of us benefited in the true sense. Despite the democratic environment, the functioning was smooth and streamlined and very few changes were allowed in the training programme, that too without any inconvenience to the students. The function of the school still stays in the memory as one of the finest experiences of my life. At the Infantry School, I had the honour of interacting with students from different infantry units and I realized that all units have same / similar ethos and traditions which eventually bind us all with a sense of oneness and brotherhood to a degree beyond ones imagination.

The tenure at Mhow was cut short when my battalion was selected to go on United Nations Peace Keeping Mission. With less than a months notice for me to pack and move, I was back to my hometown and then to New Delhi where the battalion had concentrated for preparation for the mission. After a wait of nearly six months we finally flew over to the alien lands. With our fingers crossed and mixed emotions we landed at Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, a newly born small African country on the western coast of the famous Red Sea. Forty percent of the unit’s strength was in Ethiopia, across the heavily guarded and devilishly mined borders. The low profile infantry soldiers , now donning the sky blue beret caps and displaying the UN badges were the keepers of International Peace and were the National representatives. We were working amongst a mix of army contingents and civilian staff from across the world. ‘Globlalisation had finally struck’. Our each action was being watched and evaluated by a host of players and the pressure was tremendous. One wrong step could have pressed the ‘undo’ button and there was no scope for recovery thereafter. But we came out with flying colours, winning everyones appreciation. The language, people, customs and new rules of engagement were not to deter the infantrymen who could convey everything to everyone using a self devised sign language with punctuations from English. All JCOs had picked up new trades too. The unit’s Subedar Major was the most skilled forklift operator, the MT ( mechanical transport ) JCO was our local air traffic controller. Few other units had also contributed to the Indian contingent, but to all others we were INDBATT or the Indian battalion.

The United Nations is a resourceful organization and we had everything in abundance, helicopters on call, unlimited supply of fuel, water, food and so on…… we enjoyed twenty four hours of generator based electricity too. Everything was ‘state of the art’. But our men were never awed by all this glitter. We manned the sentry posts as we did back home and there was no ‘letting down of guard’. The stay in the mission area was professionally as well as financially rewarding. Village lads who had so far travelled only by buses or trains were now part of the crowd at New Delhi, Dubai and Adis Ababa International airports. Each man had an opportunity to fly in the MI-8 helicopters with the Russian pilots. The battalion was spread over more than 300 km of the Ethiopian-Eritrean borders with thirty boys manning a post at hottest inhabited place in the world located 100 metres below the mean sea level. Most of the posts were to be maintained by air and the mechanical transport staff had automatically assumed the duty of air traffic management. The drivers were soon adapted to drive the ‘ right hand drive’ vehicles on the ‘wrong side’. Constant patrolling of the border areas resulted in consolidation and furtherance of peace process. Having left a lasting impression on the hearts and minds of everyone, INDBATT-1 was replaced by INDBATT-2 and we were back at New Delhi where orders to move to the frozen frontiers on the highest battlefield on earth, awaited us. In two weeks time, from land below the sea level, we found ourselves headed for heights well beyond 18000 feet and temperatures well below anyones wildest imagination. The adaptability of the infantrymen was once again proven beyond doubt and for one year the battalion manned a vital portion of the famous Line of control and gave enemy a ‘bloody nose’ in each of ‘his’ attempts to break the battalion’s resolve. Comrades were injured and lost but spirits were only strengthened and resolve was only stronger. With the weather joining the enemy and communications cut off, the infantryman braved the blizzards and avalanches, climbed numbing heights, crossed unpassable crevasses and climbed almost vertical ice walls to do the his job of guarding the frontiers. Living in frozen bunkers, ice caves and dangerously dangling fibre glass huts, faces blackened by the kerosene fumes, one thing that was not affected was his smile.

From the abundance of the United Nations to the scarcity of the mighty glacier, the infantryman was as modest and humble and as devoted to his duty. Very few armies can boast of such quality of soldiers. At the glacier once again the soldiers were hardened, the boys converted to men and men to superhumans. Battalion’s achievements were duly recognized and rewarded. More than the rewards we earned invaluable experience and brotherhood.

Having left the unit at a beautiful peace station on the west coast, I am at the start point once again. This is the great and enviable Indian Military Academy. Here the instructions are not to over influence the Gentlemen Cadets with any arm or service but in my heart I know that I carry a fire. A fire that has polished and hardened me all these years. A fire which has guided me through the most difficult times. A fire which is the purest of the things that one finds in this world. I know that however best I may try, this fire shall be seen in my very being and people around me will draw warmth and inspiration from it. This fire is the love and faith of the men that I have served with and led. This fire carries


the sacred colour and warmth of the blood that our men have shed in the line of duty. This fire is the spirit of INFANTRY.