Ladakh Scouts prove their mettle
By Pritam Bhullar

THE Ladakh Scouts did the Army proud by accomplishing their task in the Kargil war with dexterity. They were among the first ones to evict the intruders from a position in Yaldor. Not only that, they also displayed extraordinary courage in driving out the enemy from Yaldor, Chorbat La and Turtok sub-sectors.

The Ladakh Scouts Regiment is the first one in the Indian Army to be presented with the Chief of the Army Staff’s banner. Impressed by their fighting skills in the high altitude area, the government has sanctioned the raising of four more companies of Ladakh Scouts from Dras, Kargil, Zanskar and Leh regions.

Admittedly, the Ladakh Scouts also known as the "Snow Warriors", having been born and brought up in the high altitude region, have a great advantage over the troops from the plains while operating in the mountainous terrain. They do not get afflicted by the high altitude sickness.

The troops from the plains, on the other hand, have to be acclimatised before they can be inducted into the high-altitude areas. Even after this, some of them fall victim to the high-altitude diseases such as pulmonary odema, frost bite and chilblains.

The decision to raise more companies of Ladakh Scouts is a step in the right direction. These troops being friendly with the hills, should be utilised for special missions in the mountain warfare.

Infantry bears the brunt

The Kargil war, like the Gulf war, has once again proved that, irrespective of a strong air force and artillery, it is the ground battle that carries the day. And it is the infantry that bears the brunt of this battle. No wonder then that of the casualties suffered in any war, over 90 per cent are that of the infantry.

In "Operation Vijay", 485 of

our soldiers were killed and about 1150 wounded. Of these, nearly 95 per cent casualties were from the infantry. Despite this disproportionate sacrifice in any war, the infantry soldier is not considered important in the Indian Army, for even the Fifth Pay Commission has rated him as low as an "unskilled labourer".

It is for this reason that the infantry which was once the most glamorous arm, has lost its charm. So much so that it hardly finds any takers from among the cadets at the Indian Military Academy. A sizeable number of them opt for the ASC and Ordnance.

Admittedly, what infantry offers is a hazardous life in peace time and maximum risk to life in war. Apart from this, an infantry soldier has to live away from his family for the better part of his service. Unless, therefore, we compensate him for these major disadvantages, the infantry will not be able to attract many good soldiers to its fold.

Most important of all is restoring the infantry to its pristine glory. This fact should not only be highlighted on the "Infantry Day" which falls on October 27 but concrete steps should also be taken by the top brass, political pundits and bureaucrats towards this end.

Discriminatory sackings

In the 1965 war when our advance into the Lahore Sector did not go according to the plan, many commanders i.e. battalion commanders (Lt Cols) and brigade commanders (Brigadiers) were sacked. Since an operation at brigade, division or corps level is the joint responsibility of all the commanders, the buck did not stop at the brigade commanders’ level. And the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the division — 15 Infantry Division — which was given the task of advancing into Lahore Sector, was also sacked.

Though these sackings appeared to be harsh, there was no crib about the axe not falling on all those who were to blame.

Now compare these sackings with what happened in Kargil. Undoubtedly, the blame had to be shared by many more officers than only two of them, that is, the Kargil brigade commander and one of his battalion commanders (CO 16 Grenadiers). But most others have been spared. Many eyebrows have been raised on these discriminatory sackings.

The Pakistani intrusion took place in the entire divisional sector starting from Mushkoh valley to Turtok sub-sectors. So much so that the enemy is still occupying certain heights on our side of the LoC in the Turtok Sub-sector. Two questions are, therefore, being asked by many senior officers: One, how come the other commanders, who are equally blameworthy have been spared? Two, how has the GOC 3 Mountain Division, who was responsible for the defence of this sector, been spared? Some of the commanders who

should have been sacked, it is said, have been rewarded. This has caused lot of heartburning.

Contribution of AMC

Among the services, the best contribution in the Kargil war was that of the Army Medical Corps (AMC). This is the opinion of most of the unit and formation commanders. "They came to the rescue of infantry casualties. I wish we had many officers like Capt Rajesh Adeu Regimental Medical Officer (RMO) of 13 JAK RIF, who would risk his life even for a slightly wounded jawan", says one Brigade Commander.

Being a combination of a soldier and a doctor, a military medical officer is where the troops are, be it a snow-bound area or a desert. There are examples where doctors have commanded even infantry Sub-units in battle. The first Indian officer who carried out a para jump was also a medical officer i.e. Lt A.G. Rangaraj.

The medical corps in all armies of the world was the first one to have inducted women into its service. The lady doctors and nursing officers have rendered a notable service to the sick and wounded soldiers both in time of peace and war.

Military hospitals are well known for the cleanliness of their wards. The credit for this, to a large extent, goes to the nursing officers who give them the much-needed female touch. Incidentally, the Military Nursing Service (MNS) celebrated its 74th raising day on October 3 at Chandimandir.

The Kargil conflict has shown that several wounded soldiers could have been saved if the diagnostic expertise was available to the Field Medical Units (FMUs) in remote areas. A three-stage "tele medicine" project is being launched to overcome this difficulty. This will enable FMUs to have expert advice by using modern telecommunication equipment and satellite uplinks.

This feature was published on October 17, 1999