WHEN COMMON SENSE APPEARS TO BE UNCOMMON

It would have been hilarious had it not been so infuriatingly stupid. The story which I am about to recount shows how certain officers in our Army, right through the spectrum of seniority, are not only ignorant of military laws but are also brazen enough to go about showing it for all to see. Not realising, therefore, that the times are changing and the average Jawan is not a class 5 pass out anymore.

As you will make out by seeing the accompanying documents, this story is about Sapper Lenin Chakraborty, serving in a engineering regiment, who was put through a summary trial and sentenced to 14 days RI for taking part in auditions of 'Indian Idol' while he was on leave.

There are some Army instructions on taking part in reality shows on television and it was quite evident that the Sapper would have to be disciplined for not having informed his superiors and taken their permission before embarking in the talent contest.

However, in an act which can be called a 'legal suicide', the unit of the jawan first punished him without specifying the exact law which he had violated, thus giving him an opportunity to go to the Armed Forces Tribunal in appeal. Then, it proceeded to tie itself in more knots by writing a letter to the Jawan warning him about his seeking legal redress without permission for superior officers and then directing him to withdraw the petition within a specified period of time.

That such an order is illegal in the eyes of the law goes without saying.

Perturbed by the punishment meted out to him, and perceiving it to be wrong, Sapper lenin, wrote to the Colonel Commandant of Bengal Sappers, Lt Gen Gautam Bannerjee, for redressal of his grievances. Now, this gave an opportunity for Lt Gen Bannerjee to give a piece of his mind to the young soldier on matters of military discipline and the cardinal mistake that he had done by writing to a senior officer.

Then he compounded the matters by pointing out that Sapper had been punished for his "arrogant behaviour" and that he "indicated signs of being AWL (absent without leave) while on leave". Now that is as good as it could get for the legal remedy available to the erring Sapper. Arrogant behaviour can hardly be a cause for a Summary Court Martial and the law would be hard pressed to find a clause in the Manual of Indian Military Law which permits court martial of a jawan for "indicating signs of being AWL while on leave".

Not surprisingly the Sapper seems to be getting some sympathy from the tribunal and the Army is on the receiving end.

What all this brings to fore is the fact that military officers are quite ignorant of law. And in the changing environment where recruits are graduates if not post-graduates, especially in technical arms and services, such ignorant officers end up harming the service rather then helping in imposition of discipline.

The case of Sapper Lenin Chakravarthy should serve as an example for all those who take such cases lightly. In fact, it should be made into a precis and disseminated to all units so that the Commanding Officers can learn what not to do in a situation like this.

WHO GIVES A DAMN ABOUT LAW?

Frankly, it was quite expected. HQs Western Command has not replied to a RTI application filed by me asking how and why has the vehicle registration plate been removed from the staff cars of the GOC-in-C and replaced by a plate saying WESTCOM 1 and WESTCOM 2 respectively.

I would certainly be taking the application to the logical conclusion and will exhaust every means available to eclicit a response, but that is besides the point. The moot point is why should the official car of the Army Commander be adorned with such a plate in utter and complete contravention of law? Is this going to percolate down the chain of command? Are we going to have Corps Commanders too going around with KHARGA 1, WHITE KNIGHTS 1 and Divisional Commanders going around with BLACK ELEPHANT 1, ACE OF SPADES 1, COCKEREL 1 and what not?

There are flags, star plates and pennants which adorn vehicles of officers of flag rank. These are meant to inform the observer about the rank and position of the officer travelling in it so that suitable compliments can be paid. What else is needed? The Army Commanders vehicle already has a very distinct flag with Ashoka emblem, three stars and formation sign on it apart from the star plate which has three stars on it. If someone still does not recognise the vehicle then clearly something is wrong with his or her eyesight and adorning the vehicle with WESTCOM 1 is not going to help.

Next, some eccentric commander would want to have stars on the sides of the vehicle also because there are no such distinctive feature there. And not to forget the top of the car AND the bottom for whoever is looking!

Surely there are more important things which should be occupying the mind of a formation commander then just adorning his vehicle with heraldry?

There have been some examples of funny displays in days of yore. But those have not been in any violation of law. There was one Brigade Commander who used to have the star plate displayed on the forehead of his horse when he went riding. Another Brigadier I know had a Jawan running after his horse bearing his pennant! Having a star plate on the golf cart is not even worth discussing here, it is so common.

But violating the Motor Vehicle Act is something else. No one has the right to so that. These staff cars bearing WESTCOM 1 and WESTCOM 2 should be challaned by the traffic police as they break the law with impunity. The Panchkula Police and the Chandigarh Police will soon have to answer some uncomfortable questions even if the Western Command chooses to remain silent. The media will be on the lookout.

PHOTOGRAPHS OF EXERCISE PINE PRAHAAR TAKING PLACE IN PUNJAB

Air Marshal NAK Browne will be the next Chief of Air Staff

Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal NAK Browne will be the next Chief of Air Staff on the retirement of Air Chief Marshal PV Naik from government service on July 31, 2011. Born in Allahabad on 15 December 1951, Air Marshal NAK Browne was commissioned into the Fighter stream of Indian Air Force on 24 June 1972. With about 3100 hours of flying to his credit, he has had a varied operational experience that included flying Hunters, all variants of MiG-21s, Jaguars and SU-30s. An alumnus of National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, Pune, he is a Fighter Combat Leader, who has also served as an instructor at the Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE) - a premiere flying establishment of the IAF and the Tri-services Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington. A graduate of the Air Command and Staff College, Albama, USA, he had trained with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the United Kingdom, on Jaguar aircraft and went on to command a Jaguar Squadron subsequently. During his long career spanning 38 years, he has held various operational and staff appointments that include - Joint Director at Air War Strategy Cell at Air Headquarters, Chief Operations Officer and Air Officer Commanding of a SU-30 base, Air-I at New Delhi based Western Air Command (WAC) and Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Intelligence) at Air Headquarters. He was also responsible for establishing the Indian Defence Wing in Tel Aviv, Israel in April 1997 where he served as the Defence Attache till July 2000. From March 2007 to 31 May 2009 he functioned as the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (DCAS) at Air Headquarters and was responsible for lAF's major Modernization Programmes. Before taking over as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) at Air Headquarters on 01 January 2011, he was the AOC-in-C of Western Air Command, lAF's most vital operational Command. Under his command and personal supervision, the first ever landing of an AN-32 (fixed wing aircraft) took place at Nyoma, advance Landing Ground (ALG), located at an altitude of 13,300 feet on 18 September 2009. Air Marshal Browne is recipient of Param Vishist Seva Medal (PVSM), Ati Vishist Seva Medal (AVSM), Vayu Sena Medal (VM) and is appointed as one of the Honorary ADCs to the President of India. Married to Kiran Browne, they have a son, Omar, a fighter pilot in the IAF and a daughter Alisha, who is working with a multinational company.

EXERCISE VIJAYEE BHAVA SNAPS

Photographs released by the Indian Air Force of the Exercise which is taking place in Rajasthan involving 2 Corps and elements of Western Air Command. Lt Gen SR Ghosh, Western Army Commander, got to take a joyride in a Jaguar in the exercise.

PAK GENERALS ON DAMAGE CONTROL SPREE

Following in the footsteps of the Pakistan Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Khalid Shameem Wyne, has also embarked on a tour involving meeting the officer cadre to take stock of the situation following the US military's covert strike on Osama Bin Laden in Abottabad.

Addressing the student officers of the Command and Staff College in Quetta, General Khalid Shameem Wynne, a four star General, said that the defense forces of Pakistan are well equipped, highly motivated and fully capable to all dimensions of conventional and unconventional threat posed to security and integrity of the country (as reported by Inter Services Public Relations or ISPR). Given the fact that what happened in Abottabad has caused much shame and consternation among Army officers, this is a typical PR statement which does not have any bearing on what the General might have actually said during his meeting with the student officers.

The important thing to note is that the senior leadership of the Pak Army is worried enough to undertake such meetings with junior officers. The last time this happened was in the aftermath of the humiliating defeat suffered by the Pakistan Army in the 1971 war. The then COAS had also undertaken such addresses and was booed in one of them. Does this signify a crises in leadership as far as the top echelon of the Pak Army is concerned? The image of the COAS may well have taken a beating. And this may result him in not getting another extension this year-end if he does not handle his Corps Commanders with care. He managed to get an extension last time because the US was supporting him. This time around with the Osama fiasco, this might not happen.

ANOTHER GENERAL GETS REHABILITATED

After doing his bit in the service of the nation by giving residential plots to Messers Deepak Kapoor and VK Singh, Haryana Chief Minister has now rewarded yet another retired General.

And this time he has given the command of an institution which faces repeated allegations of corruption and nepotism in the state and is facing several court cases concerning irregularities in selections.

Pls read the sarkari press release down below:

Haryana Governor, Mr Jagannath Pahadia administered the oath of office and secrecy to Lt. Gen (Retd.) D.P. Vats, former Director and Commandant, Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune as Chairman, Haryana Public Service Commission here today.

Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Bhupinder Singh Hooda was present on the occasion.

Dr.Vats was born on April 16,1950 at village Thurana in district Hisar. A graduate of Pt. BD Sharma PGIMS, Rohtak, he was commissioned into the Indian Army in August 1975. He had done his MS (Ophthalmology) from AFMC, Pune in 1982 and received training in Anterior Segment Surgery at AIIMS, New Delhi in 1992 and in Eye Banking at LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad in 1998.

Lt Gen D.P. Vats is decorated with Param Vishist Seva Medal in 2011, Sena Medal in 2003, Vishist Seva Medal in 1999, COAS Commendation Cards in 1996, 2005 and 2008 and GOC in C (WC) Commendation Card in 2001 for exceptionally meritorious service and contribution towards patient care.

He has held various prestigious positions including Associate Professor in Ophthalmology at AFMC, Pune from 1995-2000, senior advisor in Ophthalmology at Command Hospital (WC) from 2000-2002, senior advisor and consultant in Ophthalmology at the prestigious Army Hospital (R & R), New Delhi from 2002-2006, Commandant, AFMSD, Delhi Cantonment from 2006 to 2008, Commandant, Command Hospital (Southern Command), Pune from 2008-2009 and Major General (Medical), Headquarters, Southern Command.