Now, a number of times during the past few months, our friends from IDSE have complained that since the Lt Cols are being posted as GEs which is an appointment tenated by their EEs who are in pay band 3, thus Lt Cols should also be in PB3. Logical! But is it?
Imagine a scenario- India is involved in large scale, extended hostilities with its major adversary. There is a need to make up the deficient force level and raise and mobilise new units. What will the government do?
Recollect similar situation from the world wars. Circa 1942, Maj Charles Orde Wingate, a career soldier becomes Brig Wingate, almost overnight. And he was not an isolated case. Not by far. The combatant officers under him, were government employees from the other departments- freshly trained and equipped with a smart haircut. Maybe one of the Engineer Platoon Cdrs is a director from CPWD, and another is a Superintending Engineer of the transport department who may, after a crash course, is made the Tank Tp commander. Their peace time pay is protected while they don uniform of a lower rank.
Plausible and practical? Or would these gentlemen insist to be placed in command of a unit being equal in status to a full colonel?
Thus, the experience and continuity in a particular type of job, is also a contributing factor for placing the officer on a lower job profile while on posting to a works tenure or a deputation while his pay is protected. Hence a Lt Col, posted as GE, gets the pay of a Lt Col. How is the Govt standing to lose anything by this arrangement?
It is clear that the great Dr Kohli, gold Medal Economics, LSE, has been taken on a right royal ride.
Anyway, that time of reconciliation is now passe. I sincerely request the powers that be to rid ourselves of this millstone around our neck, but do not throw the bathtub along with this stillborn baby (IDSE). We can yet save this organization (MES).
For the uninitiated-
The issues with the IDSE lobby and the service officers of the Corps of Engineers in MES is a long standing and acrimonious one.
At various times in the past, the IDSE lot has approached the courts with their grievances, but have been returned suitably admonished. This has been amply elaborated by Navdeep over the past few months.
Therefore, this time around, they have 'reportedly' resorted to some serious gratification in the power circles with the AFHQCS acting as willing conduits.
Now, the kind of statement which has been reportedly issued by the PMO- seems to be a pitiful dictation by this IDSE/AFHQCS lobby, who were throwing words like "combat ready" during informal tea time banter, much prior to the actual release of the PMO's decision on 01 Jan .
It is now incumbent upon the fraternity of uniformed citizens to realise that this motivated act will not affect the Corps of Engineers officers in MES units, as such, since that department is directly under the E-in-C's Br. Further, officers regularly undergo battle field proficiency tests (BPET) and are appraised annually by at least one service officer (as IO/ RO/ SRO) on the same CR parameters as would an officer who is on combat duties. But on the other hand, feel for the unwitting infantarian who would have hoped for a bit of a chance to spend some quality time with his family at a DRDO/ DGQA/ Ordnance Factory campus after a grueling tenure with RR.
This makes this act of theirs unpardonable.
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Dear Indian ACE,
Welcome to the world of bloggers, let us work hard towards improvement of life of officers & soldiers both in AFs and CPOs
There is an urgent need to reorganize the Nursing Services of our Armed Forces (Army in particular) to address the real issues adversely affecting the Patient Care in the army medical establishments. Presently, the focus is on, to how to ensure Patient Care by lowering the Pay and Status of the Army Nurses. There are numerous articles written on the subject mainly to discredit the Military Nursing Service. Everyone tend to forget the contribution made by the Army Nurses to the common cause of the National defence. The Nursing arm of the Army begins with the arrival of British Nurses in 1881. Throughout its past 127 years of existence, most of the time, this was the only organization in which women are permitted to serve. The sacrifices made by the Army Nurses can be forgotten only by an ungrateful Army. Instead of modernizing the Nursing Services along with the changing times as done by the numerous other Nations including Pakistan, here the concerted efforts are only to how pull them down.
The members of Military Nursing Service (MNS) are of Commissioned rank appointed by a notification in the Gazette of India as Officers of MNS forming part of regular Army (Section 5 Military Nursing Service Ordinance 1943). As they are Officers holding a Commissioned rank, they are Commissioned Officers ranking equally with any other arm/service Officers of same titular rank [Defence Services Regulations (Army) Para 733 (b)]. As other Officers are not addressed as Members of EME or AMC, JAG etc. the increased tendency in the Army to refer the MNS Officers as Members of MNS is inappropriate and misleading.
The sense of fairness of today’s Officers has been seriously affected by the propaganda campaign unleashed by the AMC Officers or Commissioned Members of AMC (in their own language). The Members of AMC have convinced the entire Army and including the supposed to be wise Generals of other arms/services that the MNS Officers are an out cast and shall be lowered from the Commissioned Officers Status. The proof is the Army Chiefs letter asking to lower the pay scales of MNS Officers. The Army Chief through his letter dated 20 Jun 2008 asked the Cabinet Secretary to lower the pay scales of MNS Officers to ensure patient care in armed forces hospitals!
The army doctors like the army nurses, also does not under go the Services Selection Board (SSB) interview to test their Officer Like Qualities (OLQs). The doctors, dentists and nurses are given Commission not because of their OLQs, but merely for their professional qualifications. Therefore the army Doctors supposed fears of ‘nurses pay adversely affecting the patient care in the long run’ should be correctly interpreted as their ‘lack of leadership qualities adversely affecting the management of the medical establishments’. Due to their inferiority complexes, many of the doctors after wearing army officers uniform tries to become more officer like than the true Officers and end up being an ‘Army Nurse Basher’. They have misplaced notions about officer like qualities. Such army doctors tries to vent their frustrations originated out of their professional inabilities and lack of leadership qualities by pulling down the Army Nurses. The survey conducted by the WHO in 2008, ranked the Indian Army Nurses as the best Nurses in the world.
The USA became the first country in 1901, to constitute the Nursing Services as a Corps of its Army and placed all the Nursing Personnel under it. Now the Army Nurse Corps Officers (Nurses) are considered equally for even Command positions in their Army Medical Service (US Army Nurses routinely Commands Military Medical Establishments and Army Medical Commands). The logic is that, in a system when neither (doctor/nurse) is tested for OLQs, any one who has the requisite leadership abilities should be given the opportunity to Command. A Nurse can be a better Commander than a Doctor, because Command is a test of Leadership. Any army nurse is also equally qualified to perform in leadership positions like the doctors in the army, but both are not tested for OLQs. In India the Command of medical units is a sacred act performed only by the Doctors! Let it remain that way, I don’t think any army nurse will demand for such posts due to our caseist mindedness.
In 1943, the Nursing Services of all the Imperial Forces (Armies of India, Canadian, Australian, South African and including British etc.) had the same status as 'auxiliary force of army'. After the war, all these Countries including Pakistan have formed Army Nurse Corps out of their own Military Nursing Service. The nursing personnel (Nursing Assistants/ Nursing Orderlies) previously part of Army Medical Corps were then transferred to the Nurse Corps for proper management by the professional Nurses. But in the Indian Army the Nursing Assistants are still part of AMC. Many of them are being misused as 'sahayaks' at the AMC Officers houses and Messes, whereas they are meant for assisting the Nurses in the medical units. Almost every country has constituted Army Nurse Corps in their Armies after the WW-II. However, the MNS still continues as an 'auxiliary force of Indian Army'.
The Nurse to Doctor Ratio in Indian Army is 1:2 (3000 nurses and 6000 doctors). The ideal ratio is 4:1 as recommended by the Indian Nursing Council and being followed by Civil Hospitals. Such low ratio of Nurses is being justified by showing the 20000 strong Nursing Assistant tradesmen of AMC, as available for assisting the Nurses. This is theoretically true but practically exists only on paper. The Army manages by making the Nurses to work for 72 hours a week as against the 48 hours in Civil. The minimum hours of work to be performed by the Army personnel in a week are also 48 hours.
The most of the Countries including Pakistan have Army Nurse Corps as part of their Army. In USA the Army Nurse Corps Officers (Nurses) even commands Army Hospitals and Medical Commands. Is the Patient Care in those Army's have been adversely affected due to this? The answer is no. The Indian Army Nurses are the best professionals in this field. The patient care in the Indian Army is better than the Civil. However, the Army's discriminatory attitude to the MNS Officers is going to adversely affect the patient care (if not already affected). It will further erode in the coming years unless immediate corrective steps are taken. The supposedly wise Generals will realize it only post retirement, when there is nobody else to look after them, other than an Army Nurse. Every General like the Deepak Kapoor should get an opportunity to point out to an Army Nurse while lying on a Military Hospital bed, that she is an ‘inferior class of Officer as being from an auxiliary force’. He is assured of a good care from her.
The need of the hour is to strengthen the Nursing Services by allowing it to be managed by the professional Nurses. Presently the Nursing Services in Army is managed by the Doctors. We shall follow in the steps of other nations by redesignating the Military Nursing Service as a Corps of regular Army. And then transfer al the nursing personnel to the Nursing Corps for proper management of nursing resources. This is the only way the Nursing Services and there by the Patient Care can be improved in the Indian Army.
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