Recruitment of Officers IN the ARMED FORCES

The Problem in Recruitment of Officers

An aspiring young man wanting to join the Armed Forces today will consider the
trial and tribulations he will face during his entire life span before he joins
the same. Armed Forces personnel retire early and more often his post retirement
years will be longer than his service career. If you improve the salary and
service condition of the serving officers alone it will not meet his aspirations
and his apprehensions of post-retirement rehabilitation will remain. Only a
holistic approach can change this. It is of concern that young India has relegated
a career in the Armed Forces to a very low priority these days affecting
recruitment of required numbers and quality manpower. This has happened because of
inadequate compensation, loss of status and treating the retired officers as
deadwood by the Govt. Rehabilitation of these ‘veterans’, along with other
corrective measures, will have a profound effect on the future intake of the Armed
Forces officers.

Structure of the Armed Forces

Structure of the Armed Forces is pyramidal in nature with a large base and is
different compared to any civil organizations. Because of its structure,
promotional avenues are very limited. To give some examples: Maj Gen’s rank is
achieved by an officer after almost 33 yrs of service where as, an equivalent rank
of a joint secretary is achieved by an IAS officer after 18 yrs. In the Army, for
the position of 8 Army Commanders 46000 officers are aspiring, whereas in IAS
cadre, for 140 Central Govt Secretaries (equivalent rank of an Army Commander)
there are 6280. Putting it simply, one out of 5750 aspiring army officer will
reach the rank of an Army Commander where as, one out of 48 IAS officer will reach
the rank of a Central Govt Secretary. The Armed forces cannot be a top-heavy
organization as the civil Govt is and it is not in the interest of the
organization to change the structure radically and help breed inefficiency. Govt
has to address this problem and with every successive Pay Commission, discontent
has accumulated among serving personnel, as is the disappointment with retired
officers.

Restoration of Status to Armed Forces

There has been gradual erosion of status and dignity in the Armed Forces. This
dilution may have been deliberate by those whose mindset did not allow them to
rise above the bogey of a military coup. However, such an attempt has been
counter-productive and status dilution is one of the reasons why young men are
shying away from the Armed Forces. Take the case of IAS cadre; it is not a high
paying job when compared to other professionals in corporate world. Yet it
attracts good generalist material and also some professionals because it enjoys
power, authority, status, public recognition and liberal and assured promotional
avenues. One may argue that IAS is highly competitive cadre and only a select few
get it. It is competitive because it is attractive. Armed Forces should be made
attractive as well so that bright young men are then inducted after stiff
competition.

Giving serving and retired officers position and authority in the civil society
can restore this. While restoration of dignity and status to the Armed forces will
be at no cost to the Govt, it will be able to utilize the large reservoir of
trained and disciplined manpower available to it. Some of these are discussed in
the inter-related paper titled ‘Self Employment and Rehabilitation of Retired
Armed Forces Officers’ and these will be of immense public convenience.

Hazardous and Harsh Life

Hazardous and harsh life is an intrinsic part of Armed Forces. Today’s job seekers
have easier options of a comfortable and wealthy life with adequate social
recognition. Will this mean that the Armed Forces will not get the best human
resources or should we accept this as a fait accompli. Life in the Armed Forces
will remain hazardous and harsh and the young aspirants will have to be
compensated by way of attractive remunerations, by bestowing them with status in
the society and finally guaranteeing them dignified and financially stable after-
retirement life.

Why Separate Pay & Service Commission

In the Sixth Pay Commission, reasonable entry-level pay has been suggested but
that is not enough. Middle level retention is equally, if not more important
because they are the workhorse of the Armed Forces. Pay commission report has
provided the impetus for an exodus in the middle level officers by recommending
inadequate compensation. A middle level officer matures after 15 to 18 yrs and
when he leaves he takes away with him a rich and valuable experience, apart from
the huge cost the Govt and his parent Regiment incurs in his training and
grooming. Unlike in other professions where job-hopping is common, there can be no
lateral induction in Armed Forces. Also lateral entry to civil profession from
Armed Forces is difficult.

Sadly, the veterans have been ignored as always. After retirement life is
generally longer in Armed Forces than any other profession in civil life and any
young aspirant who can find other alternatives than joining the Armed Forces will
do so. He knows he will lose the option of job-hopping and will face a long,
uncared for and thrifty retirement. Needless to say, most of those who are joining
now have little alternatives. It is wrong to compare the pay, allowances and
service conditions of Armed Forces with other civil services for a variety of
reasons and hence the requirement of separate commission. Some of the reasons are
as follows: -

1. Service conditions are entirely different and it is incredibly harsh.

2. This is a career with highest risk to life.
3. In order to keep the Armed Forces young, defence personnel retire early which
is in national interest and more often his post retirement years will be larger
than his service career.
4. Structure of the Armed Forces is such that the promotion avenues are extremely
restricted as compared to other professions and hence a very large number need to
be compensated or rehabilitated.
5. It is the ultimate organ of the state that will enhance national integration or
prevent its disintegration and for this onerous task it should have the best
compensation.
6. Six successive pay commissions have failed to appreciate the requirements of
the Armed Forces.

Interim Recommendations
All officers should retire at 65 yrs. Those who do not qualify for promotion to
the next rank their names should be taken off from the active service list but
they will continue to get their pay and increments without discrimination. In
order to keep the Armed Forces young which is in national interest, services of
some of the officers will be de-requisitioned for active duty and hence it will be
for the Govt to utilize the services of such officers till their superannuation.
Pension of all Armed Forces officers will start from 65 yrs and it will be ‘one
rank one pension’. Various schemes for ‘Self Employment and Rehabilitation of
Retired Armed Forces Officers’ may be put into effect thereafter.

Conclusion
The present system of governance has allowed a privileged few in Govt service to
concentrate all powers to them denying the rightful place to the real assets of
the society ie the university professors, scientists, technocrats and other
professionals and sadly the Govt has remained a silent spectator and has become a
party to it. A careful study will reveal that only a particular section of Govt
officials are the real beneficiary of Sixth Pay Commission. By sidelining the
Armed Forces and by neglecting them, it is turning a potent organ of the state
into a defunct body. While appropriate intake and retention of the trained
officers are necessary, it is equally important to rehabilitate/employ the retired
officers because this aspect is peculiar to Armed Forces alone. How does a serving
officer or a retired officer protest against the injustice meted out to them? Do
they also resort to methods adopted by their counterparts, which are indiscipline,
violent and regressive?

Col B Bhattacharya (Retd)