After Agnipath revision, a question: What does it do to armed forces capacity, experience?
The Indian Express · IE Online ·
Military effectiveness depends on recruits becoming skilled operators, supervisors and eventually the junior leaders on whom units rely. Each step beyond Seaman, Rifleman or Aircraftsman brings greater competence, responsibility and authority. The badges signify a professional progression, not merely seniority
Written by Sudhir Pillai
At two in the morning, in a rolling sea, a warship’s machinery has a defect. On a ridge in Ladakh, a radar goes dark. On a flight line, an aircraft is grounded by a fault that few technicians can trace. The repair depot and manufacturer’s support are far away. Someone on the spot must find the fault and put things right.
In the Indian Navy, that person was often a member of a specialised cadre, the artificers. He began with four years of apprenticeship and spent much of the next two decades acquiring the judgement of a Chief Artificer: Knowing how machinery behaved at sea, in rough weather, and not merely how the manual said it should. Agnipath has brought technical entry under the same four-year tenure as everyone else. The old apprenticeship alone lasted as long as an Agniveer’s entire engagement.
Read the full story at The Indian Express · All coverage of this story