GEN DALBIRSINGH SUHAG SUPERFIT COAS INDIAN ARMY

Fit General Takes His Tough Talk Gear to the Top Post By N C Bipindra Published: 03rd Aug 2014 09:46:13 AM Photos NEW DELHI: Army chief General Dalbir Singh’s message on the first day of office to the troopers along the 778-km Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir facing Pakistan was aggressive and to the point. The befitting warning came from the fit Army Chief, who became a soldier in his heart even before he could don the military uniform. About five years ago, when Singh was a Major General, he showed his juniors his mettle. Commanding a mountain division in the high altitude areas of Kargil and Drass in Jammu and Kashmir, which had seen a bloody war in 1999, then Major General Dalbir Singh—who was all of 55 then—was walking up a hillock along the Line of Control in the Kargil sector to reach the troopers posted at a remote bunker. When he completed the 20-minute walk uphill, and turned to talk to the local battalion commander, he realised that he had climbed the hill much faster than his juniors. They had been left far behind. It sums up the physical abilities of the now 59-year-old General, who maintains his lean, muscular frame at six-feet and stands tall among his peers in the 11.3-lakh-strong Army. His warning to the Pakistan army on a beheading-like incident was terse and tough. If Pakistan Army ever dares to touch an Indian soldier, as they did when the UPA government was still in place in January 2013 and again in August last year, the response will be not just adequate, but “more than adequate.” It will be “intense and immediately.” The General draws his confidence to send across this hard message across the border from a government in New Delhi that enjoys a parliamentary majority and is perceived to be one that can take the hard decisions when needed. Coming from a family of soldiers, where his father, grandfather, uncle and grand uncles were all in the armed services, General Dalbir Singh’s mindset is soldierly. That is why he has put behind the controversies that surrounded his elevation as the Army chief, caused by the decision of the previous UPA government that came just three days ahead of the Lok Sabha election results. Fortunately for him, the BJP government and in particular Defence Minister Arun Jaitley has made it clear that the party had raised the issue during the polls to highlight the legitimacy of the then UPA government, which was clearly on its way out. For that reason, General Dalbir Singh is “grateful” to the government for “reposing faith in him” to lead the world‘s second largest standing army. In the case of infiltrators and terror groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Army’s counter-insurgency grids are going to get tighter and counter-terrorism operations much more ruthless. But, these operations would be such that the local, civilian population would only see the benign Army that brings development, educational and medical facilities for them. Having been the Kolkata-based Eastern Army Commander focusing on defence of the North East before becoming the Army Vice Chief and then the Chief, General Dalbir Singh has hands-on experience handling China and its notorious People’s Liberation Army (PLA). He also has served in the North East as the Dimapur-based 3 Corps Commander before his ascension to bigger positions in the Army. Hence, one of his first visits outside Delhi as Army chief would be to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, where he would inspect the incursion-prone pockets of Depsang, Chumar and Demchok later this month. Apart from assessing the situation along the LAC personally in those areas, he is likely to put in measure under which Indian troopers would carry out aggressive patrolling of those areas, yet stick to the confidence building mechanisms under the Sino-Indian Border Defence Cooperation Agreement signed last October. Indian and Chinese troopers were engaged in a 21-day face-off at Depsang in eastern Ladakh last April-May when the PLA pitched tents 19-km inside the Indian side of the LAC, a fact admitted to for the first time by Beijing last week. He will also be in the Siachen Glacier this month to meet with the troopers posted in the inhospitable terrain at altitudes ranging from 16,000 feet to 22,000 feet, where temperatures dip to minus 50 degree Celsius during winters. India has lost 50 soldiers in the last three years since January 2011 in Siachen only due to climatic conditions and terrain related accidents. THE 10 THRUST Areas ■ Ensure the highest standard of operational preparedness to meet present and emerging challenges. ■ Ensure force modernisation incorporating relevant contemporary technologies. ■ Make up critical deficiency of weapons and equipments at the earliest. ■ Develop requisite capacities and infrastructure with special emphasis on our Northern and NE Borders. ■ Enhance inter service jointmanship at all levels in letter and spirit. ■ Ensure the highest level of security consciousness amongst our rank and file. ■ Optimally enhance Human Resource Developments to fully exploit the inherent strength of the Indian Army. ■ Improve the quality of life and living conditions of all ranks with special emphasis on the soldier. ■ Foster an organisational climate based on mutual respect and camaraderie amongst all ranks. ■ Ensure requisite welfare measures for ex-servicemen and Veer Naris