THEY DESERVE OUR RESPECT

BY NOLAN PINTO

I have always looked up to them from a young age. Always been fascinated with their life. Wanted to be one among them but fate took me somewhere else. The armed forces till date triggers my imagination and with the few websites giving up-to-date information on whats happening, military enthusiasts like me have only that to feel a part of them.

Today, the armed forces are struggling to get the cream of the youth to join them. With easy ways of making money without having to struggle much and putting ones life at risk, why join the forces many say. The government has tried a number of ways to make the forces interesting for the youth but sadly has not been that successful. Of late though, the number of vacancies in the officer cadre which was in the thousands is slowly but surely being filled and thankfully. This is in part to the increase in the pay scale of both officers and soldiers. And also to the better ways of reaching out to the youth either through advertisements in television channels and also in papers.

So, considering that not many want to join the forces because life is tough and your always in danger of being killed, I believe we the nation must always respect them. Respect their decision to serve the country and give up their lives defending it always and anytime.

I had a conversation with a retired Wing Commander who served the IAF for decades. It was simply a normal hello and how are you conversation but it got me thinking when he narrated an incident that took place decades ago in Southern France. This IAF officer along with other officers were in France on some work and their French host was showing them the place. They had to catch a high speed train and were waiting in a queue.

Triumph at Kargil

Not many people were present but their French host, a senior defence ministry official informed the others that these are military personnel and need to get their tickets soon. The few people in the queue immediately gave them way. Wing Commander Rao who now lives in Bangalore informed the train ticket issuer that they are not from the French military but the response he got pleasantly surprised him and all the rest.

That lady told him that even if he is not from the French military, he still served his country. What she did then and there was to in a way respect this man who served the forces of his country thousands of kilometers away.
  
When he told me this, I was stunned. In so many years, I have never heard a retired or even serving armed forces personnel telling me of any such or different incident in our own country.

Picture courtesy- www.instablogs.com

Really folks, do we as a nation respect our armed forces personnel? His experience in a similar situation in India was different. While retuning from a forward area (conflict zone) on leave he sent a requisition for reserving a berth to the nearest rail head. (These were the days before online reservations). On reaching the station he was informed that there was no reservation. Repeated requests to check if any telegram had been received and that he was travelling home from a forward area on short leave fell on deaf ears. He was curtly told that he was not doing anybody a favour by being in the military and to leave the counter.

Yes, we all are equal in the civilian world and being an officer does not mean that they can barge anywhere they want to and get what they want to. But the response is what matters. We do not bother about them simple. While some news channels do try to covers stories on the forces, there are many more who look upon them as nothing but '0' TRP.

Unfortunately, had it been a politician or a film star, people would have fallen over each other to make sure they were comfortable. We forget that those are celebrities made by us, but the forces let us lead the life of celebrities!