AFOVA New Letter 2 of Year 2021

Section 6 - Memoirs CV 2 No. 02 / 2021 Page 180 of 332 Having received these orders, the CHM calls the various persons in Charge of the different section in the Company to pass the instructions to the men to execute the same. His orders go somewhat like this: “Everyone is to be in the parade ground by 1430 hrs today. The CO will inaugurate the Solar Eclipse when he makes the sun disappear. That is likely to result in rain, hence, people will then move into the Gym. Do carry your waterproofs (raincoats) along. Once the CO finishes speaking, there will be distribution of prizes.” “The time now is 1300 hrs. So, all of you will disperse, finish your lunch, smartly polish your shoes, shine the brass of your uniform, and be at the parade ground by 1400 hrs, so that I can report completion to the CHM on time.” About the Author Brig V A Subramanyam was born in Bangalore and on completion of schooling, moved to Tambaram for his graduation. Whilst in his final year of College, he was selected to join the Army. He joined the Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun and was commissioned into the Corps of Signals. Signals provide Communications and Information Technology support to the Armed Forces. He did his engineering in electronics and telecommunication engineering from the CME and MCTE – both technical institutions of the Army. Later, he obtained two postgraduate degrees - one in Communications and IT and the second in Armaments, Electronics and Special Vehicles. Just before he retired from the Army, he also successfully completed MA (in English Literature) from the Devi Ahalya Vishwa Vidyalaya, Indore and MBA from Punjabi University, Patiala. During the tenure in the Army, he saw active service in Jammu and Kashmir – and did two tenures in the North East as well. He took part in covert operations, in building Communications and linking the border out posts to the main body in the rear, prior to the 1965 operations in the Kutch sector. He had a stint with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in their Directorate of Electronics (D of L). He served as an instructor to train men in various skills at the Signal Training Centre in Goa. Later he served as professor of electronics whilst at MCTE and taught both graduate and postgraduate students. He was one of the first few officers to be involved in the setting up of advanced facilities in the field of Electro Magnetic Interference and Electro Magnetic Compatibility (EMI/EMC) studies. Based on those studies a national facility named SAMEER was later set up at Chennai. He also authored a comprehensive history of the Corps of Signals, which was titled ‘The Signals’ and was published in 1986. He was awarded the prestigious Chief of Army Staff Commendation Card.