10 Army Heroes who preished as Siachen

Our salute to brave soldiers

Rest In Peace
My humble request to
Justice Mathur Chairman 77th CPC & his team
Kindly visit & stay in Air Force Station Pathankot
See the live Stress Level of
Self/IAS/IPS & Compare

I am sure you will learn the real stress level & will be forced to revise your stress level Matrix of 7th CPC.which
Will be as per pre 1973 status level
For Pay/Pension
Moreover it will not be only in line with world Armies
But you will be doing a Great service to nation by honouring Forces Status in line with loyalty of forces

Col Lamba (One Man Army )

शहीद संदीप संतोष ह्याळीज

भावपूर्ण श्रध्दांजली

 

बागलान तालुकयातील आखातवाडे गावातील भूमीपूत्र श्री संदीप संतोष ह्याळीज सीमेवर लढाईत वीरमरण आले. पार्थिव आज संध्याकाळपर्यंत आखातवाडे येथे आणण्यात येणार आहे.

 

Col Santosh Mahadik - Supreme Sacrifice & Effects

Hi All,

Forwarding  a mail that I recd from Col Ramesh Alwar ( Retd ) . He has written this mail, in the aftermath of the martyrdom by Col Santosh Mahadik SM , yesterday in Kupwara. I personally feel that his suggestions are on the correct lines and need to be reinforced and shared with all the stake holders.

Colonel  N K Balakrishnan (Retd.)

 

Dear Veterans,

May his soul rest in peace. For a soldier death while fighting for the nation is the highest goal. Col Santosh would have discharged all his accumulated Karmas in this final sacrifice and earned supreme bliss. No doubt the loss is irreparable but we should remember what Sri Krishna Paramahatma told Arjuna that the wise grieve neither for the dead nor the living. The Aatma is immortal. Sri Krishna also pointed out to Arjuna that the Self is indestructible. Col Santosh's sacrifice will not be in vain for the Nation as well his dear family.

I wish to raise a point that Civilian Officers from the MOD should attend the funerals of service personnel from time to time as a matter of policy. Greater exposure to service and operational conditions will reduce the current apathy, indifference and ,if I may add, considerable hostility to our needs. Sitting in the comfortable confines of the same office for decades, the civilian counterparts are bound to lose touch with the harsh realities of service life. They become paper tigers very early in their careers and develop many misconceptions that appear to them to be convictions.

We have all heard of PTSD or Post Trauma Stress Disorders. It is seen that PTSD is the main cause of unhappiness, maladjustment in society and suicides amongst serving /retired personnel. There were as many as 635 cases of suicide including attempted suicides and 67 cases of fratricidal killings in the three services of Armed Forces during the years 2003 to 2007. These statistics also indicate that Army was worst affected by this malady in terms ofnumber of cases of suicides and fratricides in each of the year during this period. The statistics are chilling. According to Ministry of Defence, every third day a soldier is killing himself, at a rate higher than the toll taken by the militants. From 2007 to May 2010, 208 soldiers lost their lives in actions against militants while 368 soldiers killed themselves during this period. Another 15 to 30 soldiers try to kill themselves every year, but fail. The worry is that they might try again. This alarming trend of suicides and fratricidal killings in the Armed Forces during the recent past is attributable to enhanced stress environment leading to psychological imbalance in the soldiers. Combat exposure can at times lead to trauma-such as seeing flashbacks of combat, killings or face of a fallen comrade who might have told you about his wife or children just before quitting this world. Memories of unintentional slayings can also haunt them for long. [Col JK Dixit in his Paper -Addressing Stress-Related Issues in Army-IDSA Feb 2011]

How can we stop this? How can we reduce grief and guilt amongst those surviving an operation where their comrades have fallen? Some of the measures are as follows:-

1. Those who sacrifice their live in battle/operations should be so highly honoured and their families should also be so highly revered and looked after that no soldier need ever look over his or her shoulder when the bullets are flying or the shrapnels are whizzing by. Their funerals must be an elaborate affair with senior civilian officers from the MOD and the Service HQ must record their visible presence.

2. Our training must include psychological and spiritual philosophy about killing, being, killed, and surviving engagements where life is lost. This must form part of not only initial training at the Academies/Training Centres but throughout the service at regular intervals. Some may decry it as indoctrination but it is nothing but the development of a healthy warrior's personality. It is motivation with special topic of the ultimate aims of soldiers or the raison d'etre for their existence.

The three Services must initiate a policy of periodic visits to units/formations by MOD officials. Funerals are a must. They must also visit the families and see the unbearable anguish and mental suffering of the slain soldier's near and dear one. This kind of honouring and adulation of soldiers who have laid down their lives will improve the morale all round. It will bring about better understanding between the MOD and the Soldiers which is at an abysmal level today. Let us also collect data on how many MOD officials visited the funerals of military personnel from the highest ranks downwards. We will know if there is a case in point or not.

Let us have your views in the matter.
 Col Ramesh Alwar ( Retd. )

 

[Tri Services Veterans]

Army Captain dies in Siachen Avalanche, 15 Rescued

Srinagar: An Army Captain died in an avalanche that struck the Siachen Glacier in Jammu and Kashmir.  According to a senior Army officer, 15 soldiers have been rescued so far.

The picture has been used for representational purpose only.

"A patrol party of army came under an avalanche in southern area of Siachen glacier yesterday," Udhampur-based defence spokesman Colonel SD Goswami said.

 

Regimental Medical Officer Captain Ashwini Kumar could not be saved and his body was retrieved from under the avalanche, he said.

 

Capt Kumar, from 3 Ladakh Scouts, was a bachelor and hailed from Patiala in Punjab.

 

General Officer Commanding of the Army's Northern Command Lt General DS Hooda has expressed grief over the loss of the officer, he said.

 

The spokesman said the Army commander has conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family.

 

Siachen is known as the world's highest battleground, situated at an altitude of 5,700 metres. The extreme low temperature - which can drop to minus 60 degrees Celsius during winter - has caused thousands of deaths since 1984 when India and Pakistan stationed their troops on the Glacier.

 

[PTI]

 

An Officer and a Gentleman - Lt Gen Raj Kadyan

          On termination of our staff college course in Wellington, I received my posting as a Brigade Major in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh.

          "You are going to relieve Maj Surrinder Singh?" my friend Ami Bal asked. They were both from the same Regiment, the famed 17 Poona Horse. "You will love to meet him", he added.

          Surrinder was my senior by five years. For some reason I was denied leave after the course - not even the mandatory joining time was granted - and rushed straight to the duty station.  On the first evening, I telephoned Surrinder to seek his permission to skip the PT period next morning as my kit had not fetched up. When I met him on the morrow, I came in for a mild reprimand. "You infantry chaps will never change", he said with a smile, "you have done enough PT in your unit. Here you have more important things to attend to". There was no hint of superiority or sarcasm in his tone, just a sincere counsel.   "The Commander being an infantryman himself, will of course be very happy, and in fact will expect you to do PT. But resist it, like I have done."

          That was Major Surrinder Singh.  As I was to know him during the next four days if our togetherness, a man of simple habits and tastes but who held strong beliefs. He spoke his thoughts and his convictions. He had been the Brigade Major during the 1971 war. The Headquarters had accumulated a plethora of highly classified war documents. Before I arrived, he had sorted out and had most of these destroyed. He did not leave any unwanted burden on me; his dedication and sincerity showed eloquently through his actions.  When he learnt of my denial of leave, he felt genuinely sorry. "I wish you had written to me, I would have delayed my departure" he said. And I knew he meant it.      

          When you occupy a chair vacated by an outstanding person, it is akin to being put in the outer lane. You have to run much harder to keep up.   Remarkably, everyone from the junior-most functionary to the Brigade Commander sang his praises. Even the three infantry battalions spoke of his high calibre, deep involvement and an extremely helpful nature.

          There were snippets from his personal life. He had an individual style of seldom wearing his belt and his cap. He walked through the small cantonment holding these in either hand. Intrinsically shy, if he saw some ladies coming in from the opposite side, he would change his route. A junior staff also told me of his caring nature. Once he had reached home on leave at midnight, when his mother had already gone to sleep. Not wanting to disturb her, he sat out in the veranda till morning.

          He got married in his next assignment. I had known his in-laws.  Colonel WS Baljit Singh of 8 CAVALRY, his father-in-law, had been posted  in the NDA Kharakvasla when I was a cadet. My contact with Surrinder continued over the years. Whenever we met, which to my regret was not often, I always came away wiser  professionally and a better human being.

          Surrinder was tipped to succeed General BC Joshi as the Army Chief. Unfortunately, the latter died while still in saddle  and the succession line got changed.

          Lt Gen Surrinder retired as Northern  Army Commander and settled down in Chandigarh to lead a quiet life. He passed away on 23 Oct 2015.  In his demise we have truly lost an officer and a gentleman, in every sense of the term. RIP.

 

Lt Gen Raj Kadyan

[Tri Services India ]