Indian Defence Review

Officers and Men

Officers and men, join together to make an outfit a bedrock of discipline, worthy of warding off the enemy’s manoeuvers and moves and achieve success. They both are part of the same machine having their respective roles to play, which require clear understanding.

Officers

The lot of officers makes the unit as all orders emanate from them. They before becoming officers are subjected to a very thorough and systematic scrutiny for selection and then a rigorous training for years at the academies. Once fully trained and passed out as Commissioned Officers are supposed to be cream of the society, strength of the army and jewels and property of nation. For them the fighting against the enemy means:-

• To uphold their own reputation and self respect among the juniors, equals and seniors.
• To uphold the honour of the position and rank, one holds and its obligations and be proud of one’s behaviour and dignity.
• To uphold the honour of the society, caste or community, they belong to.
• To uphold the safety, honour and welfare of the Indian army and the country.
• To uphold the pride, “izzat” and traditions of the Indian army and the regiment, he is commissioned into.

There are different types of officers, coming from totally different backgrounds with their special community traits and reactionary attitude. It initially makes difference for their settling down in a unit, his grooming by seniors and guiding him in the profession. All officers are not lucky enough to be placed in a favourable atmosphere, but that is what, which happens in a country like ours with diverse customs, traditions, culture and ways of life. One has to learn, how to get adjusted wherever placed. One cannot blame the circumstances but should do his best. He has to circumvent all hurdles himself and come up as an able person to be obeyed to the hilt in his unit/sub-unit. Everything cannot come his way without concerted efforts. Difficulties have to be faced and surmounted to the best of one’s capabilities. I am reminded of an incident. A young officer just posted in the unit, wrote about his well-being etc. to his friends. One of his friends wrote back asking him “Dil Lag gaya Ki Nahi” as to how was he feeling and should be settled by now. He replied him “Dil to lag gaya lekin pair nahin lage” as he was feeling alright but cannot say ‘settled’ because he was pushed around hell of a lot as the “Man Friday” – the adjutant in the unit wanted to establish his authority on the youngsters. Officers make the unit and see that the men go to the battle unhesitatingly obeying their orders and that is what is required. He is a class apart and has to maintain that throughout. He leads by example and his location is always at the head of the pack. He has got the sanction for the command which has to be enforced.

“It is essential that the authority of officers in military service be preserved. That is the reason, they have set rules for the methods of communication between ordinary jawans and higher officers. If there are too much rubbing of elbows, it will soon affect the structure”

For getting on the right track, the officer should ensure that his orders are not taken lightly. The officers are the backbone. If officers are able and capable, an ordinary soldier will not at all be thinking of ignoring their orders. That will make him to go straight into the battle and perform as ordered. The officer should take stand and abide by his convictions. He cannot afford to burn the candle at both the ends, he has to be a man of the men. For the faith reposed by fellow countrymen, he has to ensure service before self, a price one ought to be proud to pay. “He cannot be hybrid product between both a careerist and a man who takes stand.” The officer has to maintain a very high standard of his conduct, competence and character to make the men realise and see that they obey him to the point of giving their last ounce.

Training of Junior Officers

Another side of the study is also worth mentioning. That is the treatment of juniors by seniors. An officer will normally not have any problems from the men but the attitude of certain seniors can be a cause of spoiling the lives of certain youngsters due to various reasons bordering narrow-mindedness, parochialism, caste, creed and what not. Here comes the role of commanding officer, who must rein in such elements. They try to win the favour of the commanding officer by using very clever manoeuvring and have rollicking time. An officer was posted back in his unit, located in a peace station after the staff tenure. Knowing the attitude of a very senior officer, who had a say and sway in the unit, the officer decided to report a day earlier so that he can get settled for a day after which he would definitely to shuttled around. As expected he was given the royal treatment, in the first hour of his landing in the unit, without being asked for a cup of tea or lunch and was made to carry his stuff on the firing range joining the troops carrying out practice. Such tendency must be observed, checked and uprooted by commanding officer. We all have seen the careers of many outstanding officers being permanently ruined by the machination of self-seekers. Such noddings will have a direct bearing on the theory of what makes a man fight.

Men

There are various types of troops, one has to serve with. They have got their specific qualities and characteristics, which play very important role. An officer has to understand the traits of the troops which help him to settle himself and command them effectively. Unless one knows the unit well, he will not be able to lead them. Same way the troops understand the officer, as per the quality of talent, boldness and courage to face the difficulties and react accordingly. An order of an accomplished leader will not be disobeyed. They will take you seriously when you prove to them that you mean business. This is what, will make them to fight and lay down their lives at the time of need. For an ordinary soldier, the meaning of fighting an enemy is the same, as to an officer, but for him, his caste, comrades, immediate seniors and to some extent unit and regiment also play a role. A demand of duty to men as compared to sense of performance of duty, to officers, makes the difference. Personal honour and discipline matter quite a lot in case of men. For them the fighting means:-

• Welfare of the country.
• The community and its respect.
• Comradeship and esprit-de-corps.
• Pride in his profession and personal honour.
• The pride in the unit and the regiment.

Age and Performance

Age plays very critical role. The psychology of soldier too, does change with the advancement of age. It is the young who actually delivers. It is almost an accepted fact that those who won gallantry awards being young, except the exceptions, have not been able to deliver that well in the senior ranks. And higher one goes more susceptible in thought and action he becomes. Most of PVCs, Ashoka Chakras, Sword of Honours, Gold Medalists awarded so, while young specially among officers, in our context have not been able to make to the reasonably higher ranks in their career. The officer or a man alone, will not be of any consequences and will not be able to do anything. Cohesiveness based on single chord of order, authority and seniority passing through the organisation becomes a key to success. It has to be understood that a soldier will fight as he should do if the criteria of order, command, discipline and obedience are adhered to, firmly and decisively beyond any uncertainty. And that makes a man to fight as he does.

Special Characteristics of Sikh Soldier

The Sikh Regiment is one of the oldest regiments of the Indian Army. Its first five units were raised in the later half of the nineteenth century and formed into two Sikh brigades. The units were raised from the remnants of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s army, after the Anglo-Sikh Wars from 1845-1849. Soldiering for a Sikh is therefore inherent in his birth and furthered to be widely tipped, the hard way. The significant point to note is that a Sikh was not made into a first class solider by foreigners. He was already a highly trained and disciplined solider, when drafted by them after the SIKH wars. He had the experience of fighting a long and sustained war and the credit of making him as good, as he is today goes to his ancestry and history.

He is the product of his village, where the atmosphere is different from cities. The cities in all walks of life are different. There is a special virtue in those country houses, in gardens and orchards, in fields, in streams and groves, in rustic recreation and plain manners that neither cities nor metropolitans enjoy. He in such an atmosphere develops certain typical values and characteristics, which make him different from urbanites. He can be best understood by his likes. The battle records of all the Sikh units in 1st World War, 2nd World War and 1947-48 War with Pakistan, 1962 Indo-Chinese conflict and all other operations speak volumes, for a Sikh soldier’s quality and contribution as a warrior. He has characteristics which make him to stand apart from others. These are:-

• Hardihood of his character.
• Dominating courage to survive under most difficult situation and menacing crisis.
• Honour for his words – fidelity to oath.
• Never say die attitude – product of strong culture and traditions.
• Spirit of adaptation.

Conclusion

Click to Buy

It is not one factor, but a combination of various factors mentioned in the forgoing paras that inspire a soldier to manage fear, withstand the stress and strain and give his best in war and peace. Once a soldier adapts himself to these requirements of the profession, it is taken that he will stand and fight like a man against all odds, making it clear as to what compels him to fight and will lay down his life, if situation so demands. In a good unit, there is no alternative but doing the things right way, as one is bound by various criteria. Where an officer can never afford to lose his equanimity and come out to be a man of high moral rectitude, the men must also be trained the hard way and disciplined to the core to fulfill their duties at all costs and to make him as to why does he fight.

“When we build, let us think that we build for ever”

Field Marshal Helmuth Graf has described as to why does a man fight. He says that war is an integral part of God’s ordering of the universe. In war, man’s noblest virtues come into play. Courage and renunciation, fidelity to duty and a readiness for sacrifice that does not stop short of offering up life itself. Without the war the world would become swamped in materialism. It is already given that “war is like love it always finds a way.” If a person happens to be in circumstances where fighting is a norm, he is automatically drawn into its ethos and that conveys as to why does a man fight.

 Courtesy: Book Excerpt: An Infantry Battalion in Combat