The forgotten soldier

Spare a thought for the paratrooper in the Kashmir valley, the Jat on the glacier, the Maratha on the Line of Control LC, grenadiers in t...

Spare a thought for the paratrooper in the Kashmir valley, the Jat on the glacier, the Maratha on the Line of Control LC, grenadiers in the North East, and the gunners, sowars, fitters and signalers operating with the Rashtriya Rifles battalions. They are the only Indians being fired upon by the enemy, and returning that fire. The roll of honour is testimony to their grit, and infallibility. So what would that soldier, drawn from every corner of India, and from all its types, think of the agitations plaguing the Air Force? He would be simply aghast at the incredulous behaviour of airmen, officers and wives of men of the Air Force. Risk, danger, disparity, injustice and grievances. How amazed the soldier would be, bunkered in by artillery fire on the glacier or the LC, exchanging ordnance in a Kashmiri or Assamese village, when he reads about the dangers of service life and the disparities of pay scales and allowances. He would be perplexed beyond belief because those demonstrating for pay parity and equality wear a uniform that is not fighting and, above all, are crying themselves hoarse in Bangalore, Jamnagar, Jodhpur, Bhuj, et al. As far from Pakistani and militant fire as they could be, and yet there is grief And yet the Indian foot soldier goes out on patrol, wading through knee- deep snow at 3 a.m., holding on to Bana Post at 21,000 feet, placing ambushes along the LC so militants can be caught before they do damage. He has not complained, not asked for redressal, never refused to undertake an operation. For his disciplined labours what does the Government of India give him? If he is on the glacier, he gets the same quot;allowancequot; as somebody flying an Avro between Pune and Kanpur, or a submariner, or even when both are doing staff duty! And if he is in active counter-insurgency areas, he will get an allowance of Rs 1,200 over and above his basic pay of about Rs 4,000! And then there are some who will get Rs 2,000 more than that for fair-weather flying. Now that is a fit case for disparity, for grievances against the system, and such balderdash. So what does he do? He still goes out for that ambush, that cordon and search, at all hours of the day and the night, in all weather conditions. And, if, he comes back, it is to a cold and damp tin-roof shelter, and dreams of his family far away.

He continues to do that routine when there are some breaking every service rule, from the comfort of peace stations, in good weather and with their families around them. Why he continues to fight and die, when those living much better, and safer, lives than him are agitating, is an issue worth pondering, and in that analysis lie the answers to what plagues the Air Force. The Indian foot soldier has not lost his discipline, his sense of responsibility simply because, at every bad turn of the road, he has his leadership with him. Eating from the same langar, wearing the same inefficient combat clothing, firing and facing the same bullets. And more of these soldiers have died to keep Kashmir Indian than have been lost by the Air Force ever since it began to fly. So who is at greater risk, and who is suffering from disparities bestowed by the Government of India order?

Anybody who thinks that the crisis in the Air Force was on account of some grievances perceived by ground duty officers, particularly engineers, is missing the point. The implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations is merely the catalyst. The inaction of the helicopter pilots, and the actions of the technical officers and airmen are events that were in the offing for a long time. They needed that first stone to be thrown. And unfortunately that first stone was aimed at them, in the form of the Pay Commission recommendations. It is now up to the Government of India and its Ministry of Defence to get their act together, for their negligence has brought the Air Force to the edge of the precipice.

The problems that plague the Air Force are on account of the flawed inheritance of a flawed structure. These are the symptoms of a larger ailment and, as in any armed force, that malady is called leadership. Any system that reserves command postings for only one stream of officers has an inbuilt imperfection. Command is about knowledge and leadership, at any and every level. Without these two elementary essentials being realised, command is untenable. It is hollow, violable, and a recipe for disaster. So the Air Force practice has now come back to haunt it. And that is?

Every missile squadron is manned, maintained and run by the technical stream but commanded by a flying pilot. Officers and airmen could spend a lifetime mastering the technicalities and tricks of missiles but, when it comes to command, it will be a pilot. And pilots sent to missile squadrons are officers considered to be of lower calibre. So what happens to the self- esteem of those who have kept these squadrons combat-worthy? It declines, until it reaches a point where, in order to appear a tiger, that officer or airmen is waiting for the first stone to be cast. But now even the die has been cast.

Conventionally at peace with neighbours for a quarter of a century, India gave its Air Force a string of fancy aircraft to prepare for war. An invisible jet trainer and a faulty training system resulted in fighter pilots being created out of some patently inept officers. Insufficient flying skills apart, many do not even have officer-like qualities. The Fighter Controllers, the Air Traffic Controllers and, above all, the Engineers of the Air Force, have been witness to some of the most appalling flying errors. And human error is, as highlighted by every study of air accidents, the major cause of Air Force accidents. There have also been elaborate cover-ups of these embarrassing episodes. And still the same officers have gone on to command. Those in the Air Force who operate from the ground know very well what goes on in the air. And they know only too well the levels of risk being taken. So how would they feel when they know that the average fighter pilot today flies 15 hours a month! And always in good weather. That, after all, is roughly the time taken to complete a cordon and search operation, sometimes even a road-opening patrol, and much less than what it takes to place and move out of an ambush. In every kind of weather! So who is at greater risk, and who is suffering from disparities? Give it a thought.