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 The
Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes visited Ranchi Garrison
recently. He was received by Maj Gen Daljeet Singh, General
Officer Commanding of Cockerel Division.
On arrival, he visited
the Military Hospital. He said that this was probably for the
first time that he was visiting a hospital where the patients
were victims of psychological pressure of sustained presence
in a high-risk environment. In his address, he said that the
dedication and competence of Indian Army doctors was
unparalleled in the country or anywhere else in the world. He
stated that the physical as well as psychological fitness of
the Army personnel has always been and will always be critical
to national security.
 The
Defence Minister addressed all ranks at the Garrison and
expressed his admiration about the discipline, morale and
excellent conduct of all Armed Forces personnel. The three
Services maintained impeccable standards and it had been an
experience of a life time and a privilege to be a part of such
an environment, he added. He said that "bound by rules
and discipline, the jawans never complain, but this does not
mean that they have no problem. It is for the Defence Minister
to find out their problems by interacting with them". He
said that he had visited Siachen on a number of occasions to
understand and experience the problems faced by the jawans
deployed in such severe conditions. It is in this background
that he had introduced a system where the concerned MOD
officials visited the frontiers to understand the problems and
apply themselves to find solutions, he added.
He appreciated the
role of the Army in operation Vijay and complimented
troops for their traditional and heroic job. He said that the
role of media in enabling the whole nation watch the war in
their houses was laudable. The Armed Forces fought in an
exemplary manner in 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars. Then the media
was not there and this did not take away the glory and
professionalism displayed during these wars by each component
of the defence forces he added. Pakistan, he said, would never
dare to attack India due to its humiliating defeat by our
Armed Forces. However, he exhorted the Armed Forces to be
always alert and vigilant.
During the barakhana,
he interacted with all ranks and appreciated the high-morale
of
troops.
input : Col
P Madhavan
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