MoD’s stand on promotions causes Army retirements

One victim of the MoD’s delay is Major General Y Behl, currently the Major General-General Staff at the Udhampur-based NorthernCommand Headquarters. A highly respected Gurkha officer, Maj Gen Behl, “is going home for no fault of his own. If this wretched interference had not taken place, he would have been a Lieutenant General,” said one of his regimental officers.

However, the delay in announcing the results of the promotion board has been caused by the MoD wanting to include in the list two names that were not initially cleared for the next rank. The continuing standoff between the two is beginning to extract victims. “Even if these people do not make it to the next rank, they at least get to serve till they are 58. But in our case, the tenure of service is determined by the ability to make it to the next rank,” said an officer.

Meanwhile, the delay has meant that some key formations and vital appointments continue to remain vacant. While there are no corps commanders in 1 and 21 Corps, vital strike formations in the Army, the post of Adjutant General also lies vacant.