Gunners Shot

Col Manoj Asthana is from my regiment. He was the Second in Command  of my unit when I was a battery commander. He is a great one at coming out with some lovely stories which amplify life in the services and its uniqueness. That uniqueness is commonly known as adventure/ romance/ daredevilry. This story has a bit of all. It gives a feel of  life in the forces and why all of us who have worn an uniform would like live a life again in uniform given another chance , despite everything! The young Pilot was standing next to his Alloutte Helicopter, morose at having been put down in the morning medical before flying. As he returned from the dispersal murmuring some expletives, he had a quick cup of coffee in the tea room, kickstarted his Jawa with the look,that a mongoose reserves for a snake and roared off, a la Tom Cruise in Top Gun. Next day he was again in the first detail, a quick ATC & Met briefing followed by the sortie profile by the Flight Commander. As the Airfor...

Dear Mr Nitin Pai, I read with interest your opinion piece in The Print titled Dont Politicise Indian Armed Forces. Just Look at What it Did to Our Police .  I agree with your fundamental idea that the Armed Forces should not be politicized. However, the premise that “ Deployment of Armed Forces in Jammu & Kashmir over the past three decades is the single biggest factor in politicization of Armed Forces” is incorrect. Also, the conclusion that politicization of Armed Forces will lead them to a state akin to that of the Police forces is also misplaced. This is due to a few basic reasons. While the Armed Forces have been deployed in Counter Insurgency situations in the NE and J&K for long, the personnel are constantly rotated. As a result, none of them have dropped roots in these areas to become politicized. In fact, an outlook, slightly aloof, insulated and remote from local political nuances due to lack of identity with them has enabled Armed Forces to maintain the...

Dear Mr Nitin Pai, I read your opinion piece in live mint about how new military bases could seed new cities and create jobs with great interest. (  https://www.livemint.com/opinion/columns/opinion-how-new-military-bases-could-seed-new-cities-and-create-jobs-1558885126976.html ) Your fundamental idea of creating a win-win situation is good. The idea that Armed Forces can move out of existing areas in cities and resettle 30—40 km away is not new. It can not only seed new cities or create jobs, but also fund entire defence budgets for a year or more. Some time back I wrote an article about an issue related to access to defence areas. I covered this aspect also since such an issue was proposed to me in the holy atmosphere of the RBI. There are more facets to your noble thought than you have imagined. These are contained in the article. What I wrote in this article is only what I chose to put out in the public sphere. If I put out the names of individuals and their intentions ...

In the heat of our election results a news item slipped by. “ Pakistan test-fires ballistic missile Shaheen-II ”. The thought again came to mind.   Naya Pakistan- Na tel (no oil). Na Pani (no water). Na Paisa (no money). Na Izzat (no honour) …    but…it carries out a missile test which it proclaims will cover India! It reflects Pakistan’s psychology, entrapped in an anti-India mental cage, perpetually conjuring nonexistent enemies and flailing at windmills. The country is going through a summer of extreme discontent which might end in a free fall. It will still carry out a missile test it can ill afford. There are many events and developments which clearly point out that Pakistan is in a state of delusion reality and turmoil which one has not seen before. Here are the ingredients. Economy .    Their economy is crashing. A column in Dawn mentions that while the present Pakistani government inherited the current situation, it was never seriously taken...

The Basics . Digitalization is disruptive. It is transformative. In defense matters it is here to stay but has some way to go. Why? Its creators are young who do not know about defense. Its users are old who do not understand digitalization. When this twain starts to meet some reality will set in.Let me amplify. Did you know that a modern day passenger aircraft by cost has 50% digital content! Think about it. How many aspects of flight travel and flying are digitalized? That is happening in defense matters also. Digitalization is impacting operations, logistics, training, and administration in a significant manner. Designing and manufacturing of defense equipment is undergoing a major shift. Outcome of Digitalization . At the core, digitalization is about vastly enhanced computing and communicating powers and adapting it to different applications in different forms.  We need to understand the entire canvas which is loosely called Digitalisation. Otherwise we will fac...

REQUEST If you have political or influential connections please consider sending this article to them. I am open to different thoughts. This is just a mirror for people to see before getting into power; shortly after the election results.     Kindly do not download  this article and circulate it on other social media. It comes across as scurrilous writing which it is not. I would request you to forward the link.   The Contrast In 1971 India was a poor country with strong and modern Armed Forces. Pakistan’s peremptory airstrike was shot out of the air. In the next two weeks, we bisected the nation surgically, created Bangladesh and took 93000 POWs despite US 7 th Fleet threatening intervention.  In 2019, Pakistan masterminds a suicide bombing. We carry out a terrific surgical strike but are unable to shoot out the retaliatory air strike. Hey!! We are the trillion dollar fastest growing economy on earth. We want to be...