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The Enemy Within: MENTAL DISORDER IN ARMED FORCES, by B.K. Mathur, 7 May 2007 Print E-mail

Defence Notes

New Delhi, 7 May 2007

The Enemy Within

MENTAL DISORDER IN ARMED FORCES

By B.K. Mathur

 A shocking, to say the least, disclosure was made in Parliament the other day by Defence Minister A.K. Antony, that as many as 559 personnel had to be discharged from the armed forces during 2006 due to what he described as “mental disorder”. Those “boarded out” from the Air Force during the year were 35 and 15 from the Navy. The tragedy does not end there. About 350 militarymen die annually in road accidents, about 250 in fighting terrorists and, most concernedly, about 120 lives are lost in stress-related deaths because of suicides and “fragging” annually.  The total number of the armed forces personnel we lost last year during peace time is alarmingly eye-brow raising 1,279---a figure officially stated in Parliament.

The causes of tragic end of India’s brave militarymen have been identified by Antony as “psychosis, neurosis, personality disorders, adjustment disorders and depression” and, of course, the “alcohol dependence syndrome.” The tragic developments in India’s armed forces, once praised no end by none other than Winston Churchill for their prowess displayed in two World Wars while fighting for British Regiments, has not taken place in just one year in 2006 for which figures were quoted by Antony. The Army discharged 350 soldiers due to these reasons in 2004. The figure rose to 405 the next year. See, it is gradually rising year after year. The trend requires immediate attention.

There are several causes for this alarming state of affairs in the armed force. First among them is recruitment of the type of personnel which the military services need. This column has raised this issue several times in the two decades and more. When we raised this issue with George Fernandes, when he was the Defence Minister in the Vajpayee Government, he had reacted sharply and stated that our information was wrong. George reeled out figures to claim that the numerical strength of the trainees at various military Academies was full and a good number of youngmen were joining the Army. George’s statement at once brought to the force the fact that it is not the quantity but the quality that matters.

Quality in-take has not been there for various reasons, more so in the officer-cadre. There are three main irritants for this increasing decline. First, lack of interest among the youth in joining the armed forces because better career avenues are available to them elsewhere. In fact, most of the brilliant students in the educational institutions today prefer a career in the corporate world and not even in the IAS which at one stage was considered the steel-frame of governance. Secondly, the in-service conditions in the armed forces are deteriorating day by day. This trend has, in fact, been set by the undesired command and control situation, actually created by sub-standard recruitment.

Thirdly, and most importantly, the armed forces personnel who retire early and require a second career do not get one. On retirement they are not looked after by the state. There are several cases of outstanding cadets in the Indian Military Academy who retired as Lt-Colonels have migrated to foreign countries for small jobs only because they never got their due from the state and the Army which they served faithfully. In fact, there are hundreds of cases where the boys offered their services to the Army, and to the nation, suffered in return. It is natural, therefore, for the youngmen to opt for an easy and comfortable career. I think of my own son whom I suggested to take a chance for the armed forces after his graduation. He snubbed me and his mother called me a “mad man.”

True, the Government and the armed forces cannot possibly match the salaries which the private sector offers to young marketing men promoting sales of their produce. But better service conditions and post-retirement benefits can certainly attract the youth. It is in this context that the problems of ex-Servicemen require to be examined in their proper perspective. In fact, quality intake could be made possible not only by offering them just higher salary packets, undertaking quick cadre reviews and increasing the retirement age. These are undoubtedly significant. Additionally, an officer in the armed forces must get the respect in the civil society which he earlier used to get.

In contrast what happens today. A friend known to me from the Academy days retired from the Army a few years ago. A year after retirement, Colonel Sahib felt humiliated when he had to stand in a queue to renew his gun licence with great difficulty and days later he had to pay bribe to have the plan for the construction of his house approved by the Delhi Development Authority. These small but significant things are required to be looked into to attract high quality recruitment into the armed forces. Alas, a sense of pride needs to be restored in the minds of the armed forces personnel. All this is no digression from the main issue of this column. Better command and control of the forces and their proper deployment is sure to attract talent and decease mental disorder.

Relevantly, improper intake and poor service conditions invariably create situations in the Units where a militarymen is forced to commit suicide or face personality disorders and adjustment disorders, leading one to take recourse to excessive consumption of alcohol which is freely and cheaply available in Messes. In regard to problems of psychosis, neurosis and depression among Officers of the armed forces a thorough review of the methods adopted by the Services Selection Boards is required, because at present officer-trainees are selected by the Board on psychological basis. The selection is based on the reports of three persons: the Psychologist who makes his assessment from the answers to some questions in a written test without seeing the candidates. Second is the Group Testing Officer (GTO) whose criteria is to examine the physical aspect of the candidate and third is the President of the Board whose report is based on the findings of the first two, and especially of the Psychologist.

The entire system seems to be defective, because it is not able to spot out rightly the personality of a youngmen ready to join the forces. A boy’s psychological development of mind could, we suppose, be determined at the recruitment stage. When a candidate stays in a Selection Board for three days, there should be no difficulty in determining if the candidate is sensitive and prone to taking such steps as committing suicide or going into depression. Additionally, there is also the need to review the deployment system of the forces, so that a soldier is able to avail fully his annual leave, which is presently for two months in a year. A soldier doing duty in difficult terrain needs to go home compulsorily for two months in twelve months to look after himself and his family back home.

What is now happening is that the troops are deployed in the militancy-hit border areas in Jammu and Kashmir and the insurgency-hit north-eastern States. They are not able to get leave when they want. And when they get it, it is for short duration. The result? They are not able to meet their families and resolve their problems back home. This leads to increasing cases of militarymen suffering from depression and at times taking their own lives and of others whom they think responsible for their depression. Of course, the forces must be deployed in areas affected by militancy and foreign infiltration. But deployment system must ensure that the personnel deployed in troubled areas do not suffer depression as well as their training schedules which help them in future promotions.  The forces need to be looked after well not only during service but on retirement too.---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

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