AFVOA Newletters of Year 2008

Page 20 of 56 person next door. It will al so be conducive to developing long t erm rel ationship for your job does not end wi th the delivery of one capsul e once in a whil e. You have to remain in touch and repeat the capsul e again and again with reasonable f requency and at the same time give guidance to those who have been motivat ed by your present ation. For , you see, once you have motivat ed a youngst er to follow you, you should be prepared to walk at least some dis tance with him or her. Such is this missionary work. The st art is always warped in wary hesi tancy. The beginnings wi ll be slow; the fi rst st eps rough with rebuf fs; the progress derided by dissuaders; the init ial meetings f rust rat ed by nervousness and above all a sel f doubt always wrankling you some where deep in your cerebellum making you wonder whether it is worth i t at all. But Vet erans have seen all these and have been through it. So once again, go forth and t ell them of our Glory. What is a vision? It is a compelling image of an achievable future. Laura Berman Fortgang A Special Request to Members: In case you arc changing your address, phone / cell number or your e- mail ID please do let us know so that we can update your information. Sandwich every bit of criticism between two layers of praise. Mary Kay Ash From the President’s Desk Hel lo Fellow Veterans, The Ides of March brought in its wake the por tends of the unaccept abili ty of the 6 t h Pay Commi ssion in it s present form by the frat ernity of Veterans in AFVOA - not necessarily in the cont ext of our pensions alone but more in anguish at the non recognition of the powers that be of the unique rol e of the Services as volunteers who have dedicat ed thei r lives to the Safety, Honour and Wel fare of the country at all times in rel egation of thei r own ease, comfort and safety. As vet erans recall that whi lst in Servi ce at no t ime have they felt agit at ed since 1947 by matt ers of pay, pension et c., and the generations have est abli shed the best of tradi tions and through thei r sacri fices have carved out a niche as a proud and unique segment of democrati c Indi a. Over the years the rol e of the Servi ces as the principal cus todi an of National Security have made signi fi cant demands on the Armed Forces warranting recognition of this primordial rol e and the hazards that the Armed Forces personnel have to sust ain over thei r careers . Our AFVOA had t aken the initi ative as early as 31 Dec 2006 to forward a memorandum to the pay commiss ion and had also met wi th the Pay Commission in Chennai on 6 March 2007 and placed before them pl eas for a separate Pay Commission for the Defence Services in consideration of the uniqueness of the nature and conditions of Servi ce vi s a v is other Servi ces, the parli ament ary committee support ed concept of ‘One Rank One Pension’, and also the need in today's cont ext of making the Services an att ractive career in terms of pay and perks commensurate with their conditions of Service. The Pay Commission recommendations have a notional response under the tit le of ‘Speci al Milit ary Pay’ but the al locat ion and the cancellat ion of other existing