FOR HONOUR, A RIBBON AND A BIRTH CERTIFICATE

On May 16, 1996 Admiral Jeremy Michael Boorda shot himself dead. He was then serving as the Chief of Naval Operations of the US Navy. He joined the US Navy as an enlisted sailor and was the first to rise to this high rank. Admiral Boorda killed himself to spare his service further ignominy when a investigation carried out by the Newsweek magazine found that he was wearing certain decorations on his uniform which he was not entitled to wear. The investigation by a journalist, David Hackworth, revealed that Admiral Boorda was wearing two Combat Distinguishing Devices on the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal service ribbons on his uniform and that he was not entitled to wear them. The Admiral killed himself fearing more adverse publicity for his Navy. He could have waited for official inquiries to exonerate him but he did not do so. He knew what he had done. Accused of an illegal act, he took what seemed to him as a honourable way out.

On February 26, 2014, Admiral DK Joshi, Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy resigned after a spate of accidents hit the navy causing damage to a large number of surface and submarine vessels. There has been plenty of adverse publicity in the media following these accidents and the fear that more lives had been lost in the immediate accident turned out to be the last straw for him. Admiral Joshi could well have taken the other route for this controversy. He could have sacked some fairly senior Naval officers for their failure to exercise adequate control over their fleet. But Admiral Joshi chose to take blame like a Captain of a ship. Like Admiral Boorda, he too felt that his honour was at stake. And while there are debates raging on the culpability of the bureaucrats and politicians, he has left his service proud as indeed left his reputation unsullied.

One cannot but help compared the acts of these two honourable men with what re-course a former Indian Army Chief of Army Staff took when faced by an alleged act of illegality committed against him. Gen VK Singh had been aggrieved fairly early in his career by what he found to be an incorrect appreciation of his date of birth. He correctly represented against the anomaly as he understood it to be and asked for redressal. He did not get any. Ultimately, having achieved a fairly senior rank and finding himself to be well on his way to the highest rank and appointment, he acquiesced. Till be because the Chief of Army Staff.

And then he represented again to the government. A highly debatable act at that high level of seniority, yet he did so. And once again his representation was turned down. Now here was his chance to take the honourable way. If he believed himself to be correct, he should have immediately resigned and shown his commitment for what he believed to be right. But no, he went on to challenge the government in the Supreme Court which led many to conclude that he was running after ten extra months in service.

I cannot interpret this in any different manner but that Gen VK Singh missed the chance to be known as a trailblazer for posterity in the Indian Army. Just as General Thimayya, for all his brilliant qualities, is still remembered more for having withdrawn his resignation under pressure from Nehru, Gen VK Singh, for all his sterling qualities, will also be remembered for having taken his government to court as the Chief of Army Staff.

Men in uniform are synonymous with men of honour. Till they prove it otherwise. Admiral Joshi has proven that he is a man of honour. He has foregone 17 more months in service. He may have been criticized for his handling of the spate of accidents but his final act as the Navy Chief deserves our salute.

Fare Winds and a Following Sea,  Admiral.

AVAILABILITY OF CONDOMS

The first reaction may be to read and laugh. But the issue is much more complex than it appears on surface.
On one plane it is just an example of military bureaucracy which is often not very different from the civilian bureaucracy.

However, in the present instance, the authority issuing condoms to units wants to make sure that it knows the number of "eligible couples" who have been issued and also the number of condoms "utilised" during the month along with the number left in balance.

Now this should be very tricky information for the recipients to divulge, to say the least. And also it is quite unfathomable why this largesse of distributing condoms should only be limited to "couples". Why not to every person who asks for them? Are there questions of morality which are afflicted the medical authorities who are responsible for distributing condoms? Should they not be more worried about the practice of safe sex and avoiding sexually transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDS even if it means distributing them to the average single Officer/JCO/Jawan serving in the unit? Or is the job only to prevent unwanted pregnancies?

No doubts ethics and morality are issues which are evolving in the society at large and the military is just a reflection of that society. But even in the open society issues of protection against sexually transmitted diseases has transcended the blinkered views reflected in this communication given above.

Change can take place within the military if there are open discussions within the military and the will to move forward. This is 2014 not 1944. It is high time the powers-that-be take immediate steps to bring in the change.

THE GENERAL'S DIET PREFERENCES

In some respects our services are still living in a colonial era with much of their ethos dating back to that period. While there is nothing wrong with retaining some good factors of that period, there is certainly no need to behave like our erstwhile lords and masters used to do in the pre-Independence days.

Unfortunately, today's blog brings out yet another aberration in the system wherein the 'system' has become such that each senior officer blindly emulates what other senior officers have been doing, particularly those who preceded, with the cumulative effect that many of their doings not only look incongruous to the present day rank and file, but they also look positively ridiculous.

In the present instance we have a letter which has been circulated to the subsidiary units of a formation in order to inform them of the diet preferences of the General Officer Commanding lest he visits their unit and they have to host him.

Take a look at the minute manner in which each of his preferences have been spelled out. Right from what he would like for breakfast to the type of 'Dal' he prefers (Arhar, Chana, Dhuli Masoor, Dhuli Moong, Sabut Masoor) and the manner in which his tomatoes must be cooked (without the skin).

To an outsider it looks nothing short of a joke, but rest assured, all this is quite normal in the olive green world. However, questions have now begun to be raised over such inane stuff being put forth to cater to the whims and fancies of senior officers. Let us further examine what the General Officer likes to consume.

The AAG who has sent off the letter further amplifies that under no conditions is coriander to be used in cooking and that the General is quite partial to chicken tikka and chicken seekh kabab as snacks. These snacks he presumably enjoys when he is having a taste of Napolean brandy, Vat 69 or Teachers. However, during official briefings he restricts his like to "assorted biscuits" and tea.

Not a frugal eater, he also likes to have a dish of chicken or fish during lunch and dinner along with the routine dal, vegetables, salad, chapati, rice etc.

The letter also specifies that these are just basic guidelines which have to be adhered and for anything specific the Staff Officer to the GOC can be contacted.

What day and age are we living in? Can we not move forward and focus on our job at hand? Even if such ambiguities had crept into the system is it not possible to do away with them and keep up with the times?
The other day I wrote on the hilarious Santa orders. I received a tirade in return. Some of it, which was publishable, has been published in response to that blog. Getting brickbats for telling the truth is not a problem. Closing our eyes to stupidity is.
Wake up and smell the Green Label tea, er, I mean coffee. Before it is too late.

OLIVE GREEN CHRISTMAS

The above three excerpts of letters detailing officers, men and units for the Christmas functions at two different Army formations have been doing the rounds in the social media the entire day today. No one knows for sure how they came to be floating on the internet but some attribute it to a cross-section which does not like Christmas/Santa Claus duties or has some different views on how Christmas should be celebrated in the Army.

One of the letter pertains to an Armoured Division while the other is ostensibly of a Mountain Division. There is no need to reproduce what they say as they are sufficiently legible and can be read in their present form.

My first reaction to these letters detailing Christmas duties among various units was that of amusement as this is how things are done in any military station when a major festival comes along and has to be celebrated in common. Every unit gets a piece of the responsibility and the task is fairly divided among all. This is how it has been done over the years.  However, some of the remarks which have accompanied these letters in the social media, ostensibly by young serving officers, make it very clear that my views are not shared by the multitude.

It appears that some have taken offence to the fact that in one of the instructions, a Young Officer of a particular regiment has been asked to be detailed to dress up as Santa Claus to distribute gifts among children. While it appears to be a delightful task, especially since it involves children, it has not appealed to several who may have played an instrumental role that such orders end up on social media.

Be that as it may, the fact which must be discerned from this episode is that the speed with which information not appreciated by certain quarters is getting disseminated in outside world. Also, the rank and file also seem to be having reservations about performing such tasks, whether in individual capacity, or, as a unit.

There are pros and cons which have to be discussed internally by the Army and these leaks are only a sign of times. The times are certainly changing and the pulse of the organisation must be felt at regular intervals to ascertain their views on such programmes. If need be, there is no harm in outsourcing several functions in order to keep uniformed men out of them. Given the fact that such functions have a positive effect on the general morale of the environment and it is with this aim that these are held and conducted in the first place, there may also be a need to sensitise the participating units so that misunderstandings about the task at hand do not crop up.

This is a changing Army. With more aspirations, more finesse and much better calibre. It should not get reduced to a farcical exchange of comments on social media which damage its ethos and honour. And the onus of ensuring this rests with the senior officers.

WHY IS THE ARMY HIDING ITS 'POLO BUSINESS' BEHIND A FIG LEAF?

Today's blog is about a shocking lack of transparency, seemingly deliberate, involving one of the premier Regiments of the Indian Army, 61 Cavalry and its association with Army Polo and Riding Club and Indian Polo Association. This continuing opaqueness about the functioning of these organisations raises questions of morality and ethics and has been continuing unchecked right under the nose of the top brass of the Army. It primarily concerns the activities of the Army Polo and Riding Club (APRC) which is utilizing all facilities of the Army without having any legal sanction and without its accounts ever coming under the scrutiny of the the Defence accounts Department.

To begin with, the APRC is neither registered as a society nor as a company but it is functioning since 1995 as an unregistered body under the control of the Indian Army. The Chief of Army Staff was the President of this Club till May 2013. After that Quarter Master General of the Indian Army is the President of this Club. This change in the leadership occurred on the basis of the application filed under RTI Act 2005 to CPIO of Indian Army to know the status of the Army Polo and Riding Club. In response to the RTI Application, CPIO informed that Army Polo and Riding Club is not a Public Authority, so no information can be given regarding the functioning of the Army Polo and Riding Club. 

This reply, thus, makes it clear that despite enjoying all the facilities of the Army and having senior Army officers as its office bearers, the APRC has been deliberately kept outside the purview of a public authority. This raises serious questions about the motive to keep it out of the ambit of public scrutiny.

However, the Army’s reply regarding APRC not being a public body may not stand legal scrutiny. Consider this-To begin with APRC is located in the premises of the ‘B’ Squadron of 61 Cavalry of Indian Army and a serving Colonel of the 61 Cavalry, its Commandant, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Army Polo and Riding Club. The sources and resources of the Indian Army are fully used for the functioning of the APRC.

The APRC organizes polo season every year from October 15 to December 8. Interestingly, the Club allows team whose players are playing members of the Indian Polo Association (IPA) through a Club or Associations affiliated to IPA. IPA itself is presently not a recognized sports body by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The matches are played at the Army Equestrian Centre in Delhi Cantonment, which is located in an area allotted to Army by Defence Estates. The matches are held at Jaipur Polo Ground in Delhi Cantonment which is given on lease By the Ministry of Poverty and Urban Development to Indan Polo Association on long lease. Despite this clear use of Army resources, the Army claims in its RTI reply that the APRC is not a public authority which flies in the face of the definition of public authority under the RTI Act 2005.

Not only Indian but even foreign teams are permitted to participate in the polo matches organised by the APRC. The club is not exclusively for personnel of Indian Army but also have civilians and foreigners as its member. For a civilian to be the member of the Army Polo and Riding Club he has to purchase an Admission form (price printed on the form is Rupees 50/-) but it is given for Rupees 150/. The membership fees per person is Rs 50,000. How and under which rule civilians are made the members and how their admission and monthly subscription is decided, no one is aware about it. The basic issue concerning the membership of APRC is whether the Army, being a government body, can allow membership to civilians and foreigners.

The APRC also takes sponsorship from corporate houses for organizing polo matches. The sponsorship amount is in lakhs for different matches. The prominent sponsors of this year are Yes Bank, Royal Salute of Chivas Brother, Jack Daniels and they have given the contract to Equisports Management Private Limited for getting the sponsorships for polo matches. Equisports management is also managed by some members of APRC. There is no independent audit of the funds collected for the sponsorships and all audit is through an internal auditor of the APRC.

Needless to say, the counting procedures are in gross contravention to orders, thus undermining the image of the Services.

The intertwined relationship of the APRC and the IPA can be gauged from the fact that the Commandant of the 61 Cavalry, Colonel Navjot Singh Sandhu, is also the Honorary Secretary of the Indian Polo Association (IPA). The IPA is a society registered as a ‘welfare body’ and not as a sports association under Section 20 of Societies and Registration Act 1860. Legal experts say there is no provision for a sports body to be registered under the Section 20 of Societies and Registration Act 1860.

IPA itself is not recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Affairs which is the main body looking after sports in India. The fund collected by IPA are used for the overseas visits of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and other senior members of the Indian Polo Association and Army Polo And Riding Club. During the year 2010-2011 as per the balance sheet of the IPA, Rs 18 Lacs were spent on the visit of then COAS to Argentina. It is also surprising that though IPA and APRC is responsible for the promotion of Equestrian sports and they have not been to able to train any individual or team for Asian or Olympics meet.

Interestingly, there is another organization in the name of Army Equestrian Centre, fully controlled by the Indian Army and an Army Establishment operating from the Defence lands and public funds to the tune of Rs 11,85,3000 have been  allocated to it by the Army headquarters. It conducts training and tournaments for Army Polo players and provides venue for the IPA events.  This organization provides venue/infrastructure facilities/polo grounds for the IPA and APRC events and it is directly under the control of Quarter Master General’s Branch of the Indian Army. The access to civilians is permitted for the events of IPA. Foreigners can use these facilities under special permission of the Army authorities.

IPA collects funds as subscription fees from members, clubs and spends money as per the liking of Honorary Secretary and Army Polo and Riding Club get sponsorships for IPA for polo matches and other events. All this leaves enough funds at the discretion of Honorary Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, who in the present case is the Commanding Officer of the 61 Cavalry.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports generally gives grants to the different Sports Federation of India and in its order dated 21 April, 2010, it directed all sports bodies to bring transparency in the functioning of Sports Federation by appointing Public Information Officer for RTI Act, failing which no grants will be given. Amazingly, IPA refused to follow the transparency and did not appoint a PIO without caring for the grants and had refused to take any grants since 2010. It might be argued that the IPA chose not to receive grants in order to avoid appointing a PIO under the RTI Act.

All the above facts make it clear and an independent and fair probe is needed into the activities of the APRC and the IPA in order to ascertain how Army facilities are being blatantly used without any transparency at all. It also needs to be inquired whether there is any complicity of the higher brass of the Army in order to ensure that the dealings of APRC and IPA remain opaque and they are kept out of the purview of the RTI Act for this purpose.

Given the fact that senior Army officers are involved in the dealings with both these organizations, it will augur well for the Service to order a probe immediately on the role of its own officers in these organizations.

IAF VICTIMISES AIR COMMODORE WHO EXPOSED CORRUPTION IN SUKHOI-30 BASE. GAUHATI HIGH COURT COMES TO RESCUE

In a scathing indictment of military system of justice in general and senior serving and retired Indian Air Force officers in particular, the Gauhati High Court has quashed all disciplinary proceedings against a decorated Air Commodore who was framed on false charges of having an affair with junior officer's wife for having pointed out corruption in the construction of an airbase for Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft in Assam.

The Gauhati High Court has severely criticised the role of a former Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Air Command, Air Marshal S Varthman, as well as the present Commandant of National Defence Academy, Air Marshal KS Gill, for the “abuse and misuse” of the “power and machinery” of the air force in the framing of the officer who tried to stem the corruption in the airbase which was to house the frontline fighter aircraft of the IAF.

While Air Marshal Varthman has now retired from service, Air Marshal Gill was earlier posted as Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) of Eastern Air Command in the rank of Air Vice Marshal and was accused by Air Commodore Mrigendra Singh of not acting on his complaints of poor quality of work in the air base.

Air Commodore Mrigendra Singh had been posted as Air Officer Commanding Air Force Station Chabua in Assam which was to station Sukhoi-30 MKI fighters and major works of construction for this project were on. He found that the quality of work was sub-standard and complained to his superiors numerous times to no avail.

In the meantime engines of four Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft were damaged because of the substandard quality of work and this caused a loss of crores of rupees to the exchequer.

Air Commodore Singh alleged in his petition that even though there was a nexus between the contractor and the then Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command, he was finally able to get the contractor blacklisted. All his efforts were allegedly not appreciated by the top brass and he was falsely accused of sexually exploiting his junior officers’ wives.

A Court of Inquiry was later instituted against the officer for and phone call records of one lady who was falsely accused of having an improper relationship were also illegally procured by air force officers.

The Gauhati high court found that various irregularities were committed by the air force before and during the course of the inquiry and that the officer was deliberately targeted.

The high court has said in its judgement that, ”The mala fide origin of the whole Court of Inquiry and the disciplinary proceedings is apparent from a cursory look at the time-line inasmuch as it was after the petitioner’s complaints that the so-called anonymous letters started materializing out of nowhere and in March-April, 2012, discreet inquiries were initiated and after the petitioner’s final complaint, in May, 2012, seeking enquiry into sub-standard construction work at the Airbase, at Chabua, the petitioner was posted to Jaipur in July and, within a week thereafter, the Court of Inquiry was convened”.

The role of the Armed Forces Tribunal’s Gauhati Bench has also come in for criticism by the Gauhati High court which observed that the AFT bench had passed orders which were “illegal” and “not sustainable in law” while granting no relief to Air Commodore Singh in a petition filed by him. 

The entire sordid affair shows how military authorities do not bat an eyelid in falsely implicating anyone who do not toe their line. It also goes to show that there is complete and utter disregard of rank or decoration or professional competence when anyone is framed with full backing of the "system". 

More sadly, the Air Force authorities did not even care for the reputation of an officer's wife and her husband, a Wing Commander, before falsely implicating her with the Air Commodore. No senior officer through the chain of command cared to interfere in this blatant misuse of power, not even the AFT, and it was only the civilian justice system which ultimately came to the aid of the beleaguered officer. In fact, the less said about the conduct of the AFT bench of Gauhati the better. Serious questions should be raised about the impartiality of certain AFT members and the manner in which they go about dispensing justice, or rather, denying justice.

Air Commodore Mrigendra Singh's case is a stark reminder to all and sundry that there has to be close check kept on the actions of senior officers who try to muzzle the voice of honest and upright officers. This officer played by the book, did not leak his story to the media and expected justice from his brother officers in uniform, but he got nothing. It is a sad day for any service when honest men are castigated while the dishonest reap the benefits of greed.

STEALING THE AFFECTIONS OF BROTHER OFFICER'S WIFE AND ALMOST GETTING AWAY WITH IT

I have written extensively in the past on the lopsided manner of dispensing justice in the military, particularly in the Army. Time and again examples come forth on how, either, deterrent punishments were not awarded to those convicted of crimes of severe gravity, or, punishment meted out for certain offences was too harsh and not commensurate with the offence committed. Yet there does not seem to be any haste being shown by the Army authorities to correct these imbalances which have crept into the system and have now institutionalized themselves. The Judge Advocate General's Branch seems to be too lethargic to initiate any reforms while the Army Headquarters seems supremely indifferent to the adverse effect this can have on the morale of the rank and file.

The present case is extremely distressing. And the manner in which the aggrieved officer has had to run around pillar to post is also a matter of shame. And he is yet to get full justice.

It is imperative that the identities of the two officers involved in this case be kept confidential, at least at this stage, even though I believe that such protection is more needed by the aggrieved officer than by the one who is accused of the offence.

The fact of the matter is that this case pertains to two officers of the rank of Colonel who enjoyed friendship throughout their career right from their days in the College of Military Engineering. This friendship, secured in their youth, continued as they rose in their career and there was nothing amiss in their relationship. And then the aggrieved officer was posted to a field area and he had to leave his family back in Noida.
It was alleged by this officer that taking advantage of his absence from the station, the accused officer took undue advantage and not only established deep friendly relations with his wife but also developed physical relations with her.

The aggrieved officer contended that he found out these facts while packing for moving to another station and found the diary of his wife which contained the incriminating evidence. His immediate action was to have complained to the Colonel of the Regiment who was also then the Vice Chief of Army Staff. he was initially advised to ignore this indiscretion because of adverse effect it might have on his child. However, the officer could not accept the facts and made a formal complaint following which a Court of Inquiry was ordered by the competent authority.

The aggrieved officer contended that the Court of Inquiry found the accused officer guilty of the offence and the convening authority, i.e. GOC 1 Corps, recommended termination of services of the accused officer. However, much to the consternation of the aggrieved officer no action was taken against the accused officer and in the meantime he was approved for the rank of Brigadier by the selection board.

Since he was not promoted to the next rank despite being approved the accused officer moved the concerned bench of the AFT which gave him relief saying that since the Army had taken no action against him and his juniors had been promoted the Army should promoted him too. Inexplicable, the JAG branch did not recommend filing an appeal in the Supreme Court in this case even though they go to the SC on the slightest pretext, even when it concerns the welfare of ex-servicemen!

The aggrieved officer immediately moved the AFT in Delhi praying for justice and pointing out how grave injustice was being done to him. In the meantime, after AFT took notice of the matter the authorities awarded "Severe Displeasure" to the officer who was found blameworthy by the Court of Inquiry. Now this is ridiculous to say the least. Here is an offence where officers, JCOs and ORs have been dismissed from service for culpability yet this officer was awarded a milder punishment! What benchmark do authorities have for awarding punishments? Or do they have any benchmarks at all? Are punishments awarded on whims and fancies by persons exercising their power?

Another more serious question which is raised by this episode is whether there was a concerted attempt to ensure that the accused officer gets away and picks up the rank of Brigadier and which is why no punishment was awarded to him despite the Court of Inquiry having been completed? Also, there are reports that efforts are still being made by certain quarters to see if this officer can still pick up the next rank.

It is time for the people sitting in higher echelons to wake up and smell the coffee. Times are changing. This is the age of information dissemination at real time. News travels fast and bad news travels faster. Get a grip on affairs before things go out of control.