Showing posts with label update. Show all posts
Showing posts with label update. Show all posts
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Update: www.IndianMilitary.org
You can follow the progress of www.IndianMilitary.org design and content at the following Twitter channel - http://twitter.com/indian_military
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Update: Top military brass against permanent commission to women officers
NEW DELHI: Women may have had a long history in military, right from the days of Joan of Arc or even Jhansi ki Rani, but the Indian military brass remains dead against granting permanent commission (PC) to women officers across the board due to what they call `operational, practical and cultural problems'.
Women are being inducted into armed forces as officers since the early-1990s, and many of them have served with distinction, but they can only don their uniforms for a maximum of 14 years even now as short-service commission (SSC) officers. At the most, they can become Lt-Colonels and their equivalents in IAF and Navy in these 14 years.
Many women officers, serving and retired, do not agree with the `double standards' practised in armed forces. "On one hand, the forces keep cribbing about the shortage of officers. On the other, they are perfectly willing to let go of this (women) well-trained and available human resource,'' said a Major.
The government in 2008 did issue orders for PC for women officers but, in what many saw as mere lip-service to gender equality, it was restricted to just the legal and education wings of the three Services, as also IAF's accounts branch and Navy's `naval constructor' department.
The reason was plain and simple. These wings do not involve command of men or battalions. "Women officers have neither been trained for command nor given the responsibility so far,'' a senior officer told TOI on Friday.
"We are going in for having a large SSC base and a lean PC cadre. Granting PC to existing women SSC officers will hit the entire restructuring process. Grant of PC to women must be based on military needs and organisational requirements, not social considerations or pressure exerted by some groups. It has to be a gradual process,'' he added.
But how gradual will the process be? The 2009 batch of SSC women cadets currently undergoing training in the Officers' Training Academy at Chennai or IAF Academy at Dundigal, for instance, will be given the option to choose PC in the legal or education branches just a year or two before they complete 10 years in service. As per existing policy, no serving women officer can get PC.
Some women officers contend they often face a condescending attitude from their colleagues and seniors in the predominantly-male environment of the 13-lakh strong armed forces, where they constitute barely 2.5% to 6% of the officer cadre. Women, of course, are not inducted as PBORs (personnel below officer rank).
"In many fields, like engineering, signals or even flying, women have done better than their male counterparts. So, what is the problem if they are given PC? It's tough to get a second career at 35-40,'' says a woman officer.
Yes, there are operational problems, with the overwhelming chunk of the Army deployed along the borders or in counter-insurgency operations, but women officers can certainly be considered for PC in wings like engineering, ordnance, intelligence, signals, logistics, air traffic control and the like, which will not take them directly to the battlefront.
The military brass, however, holds it's essential to obtain feedback on the performance of women based on the now revised pre-commission training (from the earlier 24 weeks to the present 49 weeks), detailment on courses such as junior command course and assess their performance as sub-unit commanders especially in field areas for holding higher ranks and grant of PC.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Top-military-brass-against-permanent-commission-to-women-officers/articleshow/5677653.cms
Women are being inducted into armed forces as officers since the early-1990s, and many of them have served with distinction, but they can only don their uniforms for a maximum of 14 years even now as short-service commission (SSC) officers. At the most, they can become Lt-Colonels and their equivalents in IAF and Navy in these 14 years.
Many women officers, serving and retired, do not agree with the `double standards' practised in armed forces. "On one hand, the forces keep cribbing about the shortage of officers. On the other, they are perfectly willing to let go of this (women) well-trained and available human resource,'' said a Major.
The government in 2008 did issue orders for PC for women officers but, in what many saw as mere lip-service to gender equality, it was restricted to just the legal and education wings of the three Services, as also IAF's accounts branch and Navy's `naval constructor' department.
The reason was plain and simple. These wings do not involve command of men or battalions. "Women officers have neither been trained for command nor given the responsibility so far,'' a senior officer told TOI on Friday.
"We are going in for having a large SSC base and a lean PC cadre. Granting PC to existing women SSC officers will hit the entire restructuring process. Grant of PC to women must be based on military needs and organisational requirements, not social considerations or pressure exerted by some groups. It has to be a gradual process,'' he added.
But how gradual will the process be? The 2009 batch of SSC women cadets currently undergoing training in the Officers' Training Academy at Chennai or IAF Academy at Dundigal, for instance, will be given the option to choose PC in the legal or education branches just a year or two before they complete 10 years in service. As per existing policy, no serving women officer can get PC.
Some women officers contend they often face a condescending attitude from their colleagues and seniors in the predominantly-male environment of the 13-lakh strong armed forces, where they constitute barely 2.5% to 6% of the officer cadre. Women, of course, are not inducted as PBORs (personnel below officer rank).
"In many fields, like engineering, signals or even flying, women have done better than their male counterparts. So, what is the problem if they are given PC? It's tough to get a second career at 35-40,'' says a woman officer.
Yes, there are operational problems, with the overwhelming chunk of the Army deployed along the borders or in counter-insurgency operations, but women officers can certainly be considered for PC in wings like engineering, ordnance, intelligence, signals, logistics, air traffic control and the like, which will not take them directly to the battlefront.
The military brass, however, holds it's essential to obtain feedback on the performance of women based on the now revised pre-commission training (from the earlier 24 weeks to the present 49 weeks), detailment on courses such as junior command course and assess their performance as sub-unit commanders especially in field areas for holding higher ranks and grant of PC.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Top-military-brass-against-permanent-commission-to-women-officers/articleshow/5677653.cms
Thursday, February 18, 2010
GERMAN BAKERY BLAST UPDATE - NSG Explosives experts in Pune & Eyewitness account of what happened
An NSG team of four has collected samples from German Bakery in Koregaon Park, Pune. This research team belongs to the National Bomb Data Centre. Official sources suspect the use of a remote controlled detonation mechanism to trigger the blast that claimed 11 lives.
Eyewitness account of the incident (Courtesy - MidDay)
Eyewitness account of the incident (Courtesy - MidDay)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
An update for the visitors of this blog
Hello everyone! I am currently working on an independent website www.indianmilitary.org, which would be dedicated to providing information about the Defence Forces of India. This blog is the first step towards having a collection of web-links that would give it's readers the opportunity to understand the underlying principles of Defence Technology, terminologies, history on conflict in a particular region, help for joining related queries, etc.
IndianMilitary.org is currently under development, and I should have it up and running in a few weeks from now. The objective is to first get the complete framework in place, and then start adding content. I already have a lot of content, and I can assure you that there's a lot more that will be added in due course of time.
For now, I just thought that I should keep the visitors informed of what to expect in the coming months. So watch out for www.indianmilitary.org ...
Jai Hind!
IndianMilitary.org is currently under development, and I should have it up and running in a few weeks from now. The objective is to first get the complete framework in place, and then start adding content. I already have a lot of content, and I can assure you that there's a lot more that will be added in due course of time.
For now, I just thought that I should keep the visitors informed of what to expect in the coming months. So watch out for www.indianmilitary.org ...
Jai Hind!
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