The making of an Armed Forces Officer

BIRDS OF A FEATHER - THE MAKING OF A SERVICE OFFICER

The Officers in the Armed Forces are a special breed, idolized in movies or advertisements, gentlemen, aware of social niceties, intelligent, have a high quotient of general awareness, can slip into any conversation on any topic, are family men at heart and above all emotionally balanced! Do they actually live up to this description? I have heard these remarks, read these remarks and seen in print, electronic and audio-visual media in whole or part. Let us see the making of an officer before passing judgment.

The Armed Forces prefer youngsters coming into the service before they are exposed to the so called real world. Why, because they are more amenable to training, are quick learners and to an extent easy to indoctrinate meaning their minds are still open. Consequently, the cadet entry is the most favored entry and absorbs the maximum in all the three Forces. Youngsters can join after +2 or after graduation in which case they are addressed as Gentlemen Cadets. The age at these levels varies from 17 to 21 years and in 99.9% of the cases, this will be the first job, so to say. Personally, I have never defined it as a job but as a way of life.

Imagine the psychological make-up of this age group and the first thought that comes to mind is ‘these guys can’t be serious, they are out to have fun’ and though they may not realize it, they end up doing just that. Remember, group dynamics hold sway here as throughout the period of training they function and live in a group and also think as a group! And the reason…team building, leader identification/recognition/acceptance and joint decision making. The subjects covered are wide ranging, including those pertaining to the Service and also those pertaining to the ‘outside’ world. Reading is inculcated and not restricted to any particular topic and many end up as voracious readers. By the time they come out of training and are ‘exposed’ to this ‘way of life’ their indoctrination is complete, their thinking set and outlook on life well defined all supposedly to the advantage of the Service.

Apart from this age group, we also have many whose indoctrination starts from the age of 10 itself - those of the youngsters who come through the Sainik Schools, Military Schools or any Boarding School. Do they actually take decisions at that tender age? It is a mix of parental guidance/aspirations and dreams. And once they come into the fold of Sainik or Military Schools they come across a completely different way of life - disciplined, charted and channeled! The handful of Service Officers posted in these schools become their idols and their dreams get reinforced. That in itself is the key to strengthening their beliefs and their will to succeed. On graduating from these schools they avail the chance of joining the Armed Forces as cadets. In case of the Boarding Schools, life is just a little different. They do not see any ‘live’ Service Officers, but there may be many from their ‘Old Boys’ and these become their idols and the cycle starts.

And how difficult is it to get into the Armed Forces. The first step is to write an entrance exam which many pass relatively easily. The second and final step is the most difficult one, the Services Selection Board. The reader will understand the degree of difficulty with statistics - for ages 20 and above, the selection rate is a measly 0.8% and for ages below 20 the selection rate ranges from 5 to10%. Yes, you are already thinking up causes and reasons and you will probably hit upon that one reason that everyone comes to…yes, the mind - open in the under 20 category and less open as age progresses to 20 and above. A closed mind is not accepted in any walk of life and most of you who read this may have already analyzed why one person gets a job while another doesn’t! The difference, in many cases, is the openness of the mind to ideas and inputs.

After all these stages, are they prepared to face the real test of life in the Services - Operations? Remember, there are very few drop outs during training and the success rate is 99.99. The high levels of discipline and the ever increasing stress on rapid reaction to any situation toughens the person. Multi-tasking is the order of the day and in one’s career span, there is hardly any repeat of a particular type of posting or job or responsibility. Every officer is multi-tasked and learning on the job ends only with retirement. The Services offer many avenues for self-development and they generally are the envy of ‘outsiders’ who find it hard to get into certain ‘plum’ colleges. The personality building also never ceases and continues till retirement. And it is rare to find a Service Officer who has reached a level of incompetence. Even after leaving Services, they continue to build upon the wonderful foundation provided and strive for success in every imaginable field - business, industry, 9 to 5, government and many take up greenfield initiatives - a case in point is an officer who has made a worldwide success of his venture in hydroponics - it is that varied!

For the ‘civilian’ friends, I hope this throws some light on the make-up of a Service Officer. Thanks for taking time out to read this. Your views and personal experiences are welcome.

KALI