AFVOA Newletters of Year 2007

Page 39 of 68 of those officers who do not get their first selection grade promotion, which is to the rank of Colonel and equivalent today. Such officers are in a great demand outside. This will also enable the Armed Forces to commission more number of young officers in their place and make up the deficiency in the lower ranks, which is one of the problems of Armed Forces today. The Armed Forces need more officers in the ranks up to Lieutenant Colonel and not time scale full Colonels who are fifty years old and above or superceded Lieutenant Colonels between 40 and 50 years old. Some may argue that it will not be economical to the nation. The answer to this is: A motivated young officer is better for the Armed Forces rather than old/sick/superseded Lieutenant colonels and Colonels and equivalents. Modern warfare is costly. We cannot fight future wars at II World War cost. Preparation The avenues being provided by the Services for resettlement courses and training are laudable. It will be more effective if such training and industrial exposure is combined with related industrial exposure. Internship up to six month will go a long way in finding a suitable job and suitable person. Special emphasis is also required on the technique of projecting one's potential in the form of resume writing which should be job specific. The enterprise of resettlement should be made viable to the job market by visibility and easy access to Directorate General of Resettlement, Placement Nodes / Cells and training centres. On the part of the job seekers, they must plan to establish a foothold in their first available job rather than waiting for a plum job abinitio. Such footholds can be used as springboards to better jobs in due course. With the advantage of organising skill and man management technique that the Armed Forces leaders at all levels possess, partnering an on-going enterprise or starting afresh would be a lucrative proposal on today's industrial scenario. Small-scale manufacturing of good quality ancillaries, provision of services or being a link in a supply chain has greater future. Institutionalised financial support is available for the seekers. There are many retired All Ranks who have proved this beyond doubt. The risks that are involved are worth taking. This can be done anywhere at a scale with which one is comfortable. One becomes an employer rather than an employee. Conclusion The age-old talk about Armed Forces lateral induction to and from the other uniformed services should be put into practice on experimental basis. The Armed forces itself should set an example by giving all the jobs available (i.e. ECHS, CSD etc) within the three Services and tenable by the retiring fraternity only to ex-armed force personnel. One of the greatest man management gurus, Marsalov said, Food, clothing and shelter are the first three basic essentials in the hierarchy of needs for a human being. The present retirement benefits take care of the minimum needs of food and clothing. However, more attention is required to be focused on the aspects of shelter particularly for the retiring NCOs. More housing projects financed by the Armed Forces personnel themselves during their service, on the same lines as provident fund, will go a long way towards a holistic approach to a reasonable degree of resettlement. Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashionable. G. K. Chesterton Chief Guest.