The most difficult stage in a teenager's life comes when it is time to contemplate professional goals or chalk out a career path. Many teenagers, out of high school and college,
are confused and aimless about what they want to do in life. Children
come in social contact with doctors or teachers often, so that they may
subconsciously think of these professions as obvious career options. But, away from such mainstream professions, there are as many off-beat professions today as there are ideas floating around. At such times, as parents of a teenager, you have to be aware of the various career options yourselves so that you can guide your son or daughter well.
Here, we will dwell over one such career option - the Armed Forces. It is a matter of honour and pride to join the Armed Forces as these personnel are looked upon as saviours or defenders of nations and its people. It is one of the few noble professions left today.
The Armed Forces comprise three arms or services, that of the Army, Navy and Air Force. Apart from defending the borders from external threats, the Armed Forces are often involved in humanitarian missions like the UN Peacekeeping forces and in disaster management. In the event of earthquakes, floods or avalanches, the Army, Navy and Air Force are the first to reach the disaster-prone areas for search and rescue
missions. In the recent tsunami disaster, the Indian Navy did yeomen
service in sending its ships and its men with food and medicines to Sri
Lanka for relief operations.
The Indian Military Academy's Chetwood Hall
bears an inscription, which reads: "The safety, honour and welfare of
your country comes first, always and every time. The honour, welfare
and comfort of the men you command, come next. Your own ease, comfort
and safety comes last, always and every time." That truly epitomizes
what a solider stands for and what he should be. Selfless service for
the nation and its people is a soldier's brief, which he is trained to
follow unfailingly.
But, apart from that, the military also offers a great opportunity for growth and a good life. Today, even women are welcome in the Armed Forces in education, logistics, air traffic control and legal branches. Let us see what you stand to gain by joining the Armed Forces.
1) Head start
In the Armed Forces,
you get to begin your career early in life. Candidates begin their
career and training when they are anywhere between 15 - 20 years of
age, of course, eligibility varies from country to country. Some
countries have conscription or compulsory enrolment, but most modern
democracies do not have such a provision.
The training period can be anywhere from one to
three years, again depending on your nationality. Aspirants can join as
officers or in non-officer cadres as ratings, but both follow different
career patterns. The officers, of course, are entitled to greater
privileges and perks. An advantage of this early head start in career
is that after 10 -15 years of service, you are still young enough to
choose a career outside the Armed Forces, if you so desire. Moreover, the military training and service, by its very nature highly equips you for other jobs, say in managerial positions. Naval personnel can make a smooth transition to Merchant Navy and Air Force pilots can shift to commercial airlines without much ado.
2) Training
Training and education in most defence academies is free or, at least,
highly subsidized. Considering the prohibitive costs of education in
other streams, this is quite a scream. Academies around the world have
tie-ups with university programs and along with military training you
stand to get a graduate degree or a diploma.
Military training lays great emphasis on physical fitness and
discipline. In India's National Defence Academy, every cadet's study
table has Rudyard Kipling's inspirational poem, 'If' framed. That
singularly epitomizes what the academy training seeks to achieve.
As part of the training, you will get to indulge in a
wide variety of sports - from sailing and mountaineering to
horse-riding and rifle shooting. Later, into the service you can
continue with the adventure sports either as a hobby or take it up
seriously as a profession. The silver medalist in shooting in Olympics
2003, Major Raghvendra Singh Rathore is a professional
archer apart from being an Army officer. Indeed, it was his Army
training and coaching which has been instrumental in his success.
3) Leadership skills
Soldiering is all about facing situations whether it is waging
wars, encountering militants or going on humanitarian missions.
Soldiers have to rise up to difficult challenges, offer succour and
battle with life and death - all this amidst great expectations from
people. If you relish challenges and like to live on the edge of life,
then this is the job for you.
Life in the Armed Forces
also gears you to rise above individual aspirations, forget differences
and work as a team towards a common aim. It calls for great leadership
skills and fosters the spirit of camaraderie which shall stand in good
stead in any walk of life.
4) Broadening of horizons (Lateral education)
Armed Force personnel
get posted in a variety of places - islands, forests, mountains and
even deserts. They come in contact with varied flora and fauna,
heritage, cuisines, people and culture - which is like lateral
education for their children and families. They get to dine with the
kings and sup with the commoners, so to say. Such kind of living makes
them truly cosmopolitan. After a while, the distinction of race, caste
and creed disappears and they assume truly homogenous identities.
In a country like India, with its diversities, inter-caste marriages in the Armed Forces are rampant and you get to see national integration at its best, here.
5) Travel
While they get posted in interesting and remote places, the personnel
also get great opportunities to travel. The Indian Navy's motto has
been: "Join the navy and see the world". But that holds true of all the
three services of the Armed Forces. Today, as the world is shrinking, there is a lot of interaction and as such the militarypersonnel
are constantly touring foreign countries for expositions or exercises,
whether it is air shows, fleet reviews or peacekeeping missions. Many
go on diplomatic postings or are sent for undergoing certain formal
courses.
6) Pay and perks
The pay scales in the Armed Forces
are fairly competitive and in most cases, the perks include
accommodation. The living quarters - the cantonment areas or the
designated townships - invariably have good surroundings and are
ordered. The officers are the cream of society, and they have an
unmistakably enhanced quality of life.
Contrary to some notions, the Armed Force personnel
are not war-mongers; they are simply conscientious soldiers carrying
out the duty of defending their nation against external threats. But
there are facets to their work which many of us do not know. A career
in the Armed Forces makes for a wholesome personality, and indeed, a wholesome life.
Name:
Ajay Sharma
Country: india
indian army short service commission give us lot of good opportunity to do something to our country. one of my cousion brother has join the indian army. he is really enjoying it, when it will get retired from the army. he will get preference in applying for job in government institutions.
Name:
to indian army
Country: India
to indian army. from afghanistan some forces thaliband and terrorists and that r going to attacks on indian army.
Name:
ANIK CHOWDHURY.
Country: India
can any of you give the real picture of comparison between corporate and the armed forces?i would be highly obliged.
Name:
KARTIK
Country: India
more for army officers?
i feel army is creating unnecessary hype on pay commission report. because the young boys who join army with a second class degree(the ss and direct entries) in their hand are well aware of the fact that they are going to become only a second class officer (in compare to other class one officers in govt of india)in indian army. the only exception may be the nda boys .but then the government must advertise all the facts about army through media like 90 percentof you will be thrown out of army at the age of 54 years.before that at the age of 42 years 80 percent of you will be proved that you are useless.so that only those chaps join army who are looking forward for spiritual satisfaction and require minimum amount of money.
Name:
kartik
Country: India
army an option for youth?
noβ¦β¦.. never β¦β¦β¦β¦β¦
why?
to get the answer read the lines below very carefully and seriously.
in an organisation where 80 percent of officers get superceded at the service of just 16-17 years it means that 80 percect get no promotion after the age of around 38/39 years and start waiting for retirement till their age is 54 years. not only this, once they get superceded at the rank of lt col (at the age of 38/39 years) they are forced to stay in the pay scale of 15100β18700.now in this pay scale they reach at the maximum of this pay scale at the service of just 22 years (it means at the age of 43/44 years).
now just imagine when this lot of officers interact with young boys in civil do you expect them to give a good image of army? this superceded lot which is increasing every years at the rate of approximately 500/600 will impact much more than any other advertisement campaign by army.
this country is not giving army officers even equal to what any other class one job officer is getting (just forget ias /ips for a moment)the calculations in support of this fact is given at the end of this article.
in ima the first thing is taught is that βwhen rape is enevitable enjoy itβ that is what all army men who are forced to stay in army due various reasons are doing it. no amount of disscussion can bring the realities of army life. mind you it is worse than your imagination.
if you want to do something for army at least put them equal to other class one job. do not try to make brigadier of general just give them the minimum basic pay scale which is being given to any other class one job.
for example in any other class one job all officers who are directly selected and start with the pay scale of 8000 β13500.
100 percent of them achieve the pay scale of 16400β22400 at the service of 15/16 years . at least give this much to army also. at present only 20 percent ( colonel rank)go into that pay scale that too upper limit is just 19350 for them
it is suggested that put all lt col in pay scale of 16400β22400 at the service of 15/16 years and forget about there promotions. also let them serve till the age of 58 years.
shortage of officers in army
atleast put them equal to other class one jobs
the table given below shows the pay scale of few class one jobs in indian government
ias ips university
lecturers army
the pay scale includes the
rank pay
8000-13500 0 years 0 years 0 years 0 years (8250-10050)
1000-15200 4 years (10650-15850) 4 years 4 years 4years (10000β11800)
12000-16500 9 years(12750-16500 9 years 9 years 9years (13125-16050)
14300-18300 13 years (15100-18300) 13 years does not exist 13 years (15100-18700)
16400-20000
does no exist 14-16 years
rankβdig
(100 percent of direct ips officers reach upto this level) 17 years
100 percent of lecturers reach at this level 17-18 years (17100-19350)
(only 20 percent of direct commisioned army officers reach at this level)
18400-22400 16 years
(100 percent of direct ias officers reach upto this level) ββ ββ ββ-
the conclusion
1. the indian army officers are not even equal to any other class one job of indian government.
2. every xyz who joins any class one job in india is sure shot to reach the pay scale of
16400β22400.
3. on joining indian army a young boy can not even hope to get the what other class one job officers get.
4. only 2o percent can hope to go beyond the rank of lt col in army . it means only 20 percent of young boys who join as an army officer can hope to get the pay scale of 16400β22400 or more ( note the point here that in every other class one job all xyz officers who join initially gets this pay scale).
5. the above point indicates that 80 percent of army officers (who has more than 17 /18 years of service are rejected and dejected
6. now a request to pay commission
army officers never hope to get what ias gets. but kindly give them what other class one job officers are getting. that means the pay scale of 16400β22400.
the solution
1. there is a simple solution for this problem.
just put the lt col in the pay scale of 15100β22400 instead of 15100β18700
and this will ensure that army officers get atleast what other class one job officers are getting
Name:
ajay
Country: India
please dont make the mistake of joining indian army. i will give three solid reasons for it:-
1 promotions r slower than other govt organization and life is harder.
2 after 6th pay commission
indian army officer has even become junior to police/crpf/cisf etc officers in status if u compare them with veing same yrs of service.
3. when u r reqd by ur parents and family be rest assured u will not be there on the name ntional securit.
4. if u die, after death ur family will be made to struggle for every thing.
5. u will loose ur social circle at ur home town and will feel the pinch after retirement.
6. indian army offrs unlike other organisation r not given uniform pension based on ur rank.
7. if not promoted u wil retire equal to a director that too if u put in 26 yrs of service , so even state govt officers r better in status then army officer.
even after all this u want to join then please go ahead.
Name:
jrrvan
Country: India
can 16 years boys can join iaf r they ill be matured minded tom serve the nation
Name:
Tushar
Country: India
first of all it is necessary to understand that the youths with 'second class' degree as mentioned by one of our friends is a wrong way of measuring someone's calibre.
we see many so called many talented people with iit-iim degrees adding no value to the business in corporate world. marks scored in a degree are not at all a guarantee of a person being capable.
we have seen many brave people like maj. parameswaran and many others who were direct entries in ss and other routes to join army. these people won param veer chakra and ashok chakra on the battlefield.
it is acceptable that army is not a lucrative career option because of discriminatory treatment in terms of pay scales. also the promotion to the rank of colonel is not fairly done. under the title of 'confidential' many non deserving officers climb the ladder while the deserving ones get superceded. the superceded officers are treated as liabilities no matter how they perform. they are out of race for the rank of brigadier even if they prove their calibre.
huge difference between good and successful officers makes the life boring for the superceded lt. colonels.
Name:
Chick
Country: other
my chick is joining the marines? is it right of woman to fight like in war??????????? waht's like people say and god like say about that?
Name:
Zebra
Country: france
cool! people in the military are defending our country. they sometiems give their lifes for the usa! have you ever throught about the children and widows of the military men who died. they need love. pray for them!
Name:
Cha
Country: usa
i'm from the u.s. i was reading an article that aol published this morning (from the christian science monitor) about the u.s. army, etc. fyi, here is the article:::
back from iraq -- and out on the streets
by alexandra marks, the christian science monitor
new york - veterans of the iraq and afghanistan conflicts are now showing up in the nation's homeless shelters.
while the numbers are still small, they're steadily rising, and raising alarms in both the homeless and veterans' communities. the concern is that these returning veterans - some of whom can't find jobs after leaving the military, others of whom are still struggling psychologically with the war - may be just the beginning of an influx of new veterans in need. currently, there are 150,000 troops in iraq and 16,000 in afghanistan. more than 130,000 have already served and returned home.
so far, dozens of them, like herold noel, a married father of three, have found themselves sleeping on the streets, on friends' couches, or in their cars within weeks of returning home. two years ago, black veterans for social justice (bvsj) in the borough of brooklyn, saw only a handful of recent returnees. now the group is aiding more than 100 iraq veterans, 30 of whom are homeless.
"it's horrible to put your life on the line and then come back home to nothing, that's what i came home to: nothing. i didn't know where to go or where to turn," says mr. noel. "i thought i was alone, but i found out there are a whole lot of other soldiers in the same situation. now i want people to know what's really going on."
after the vietnam war, tens of thousands of veterans came home to a hostile culture that offered little gratitude and inadequate services, particularly to deal with the stresses of war. as a result, tens of thousands of vietnam veterans still struggle with homelessness and drug addiction.
veterans from the iraq and afghanistan wars are coming home to a very different america. while the iraq war remains controversial, there is almost unanimous support for the soldiers overseas. and in the years since vietnam, more than 250 nonprofit veterans' service organizations have sprouted up, many of them created by people like peter cameron, a vietnam veteran who is determined that what happened to his fellow soldiers will not happen again.
but he and dozens of other veterans' service providers are concerned by the increasing numbers of new veterans ending up on streets and in shelters.
part of the reason for these new veterans' struggles is that housing costs have skyrocketed at the same time real wages have remained relatively stable, often putting rental prices out of reach. and for many, there is a gap of months, sometimes years, between when military benefits end and veterans benefits begin.
"we are very much committed to helping veterans coming back from this war," says mr. cameron, executive director of vietnam veterans of california. "but the [department of veterans affairs] already has needs it can't meet and there's a lot of fear out there that programs are going to be cut even further."
beyond the yellow ribbons
both the veterans administration and private veterans service organizations are already stretched, providing services for veterans of previous conflicts. for instance, while an estimated 500,000 veterans were homeless at some time during 2004, the va had the resources to tend to only 100,000 of them.
"you can have all of the yellow ribbons on cars that say 'support our troops' that you want, but it's when they take off the uniform and transition back to civilian life that they need support the most," says linda boone, executive director of the national coalition for homeless veterans.
after the vietnam conflict, it was nine to 12 years before veterans began showing up at homeless shelters in large numbers. in part, that's because the trauma they experienced during combat took time to surface, according to one vietnam veteran who's now a service provider. doctors refer to the phenomenon as post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd).
a recent study published by the new england journal of medicine found that 15 to 17 percent of iraq vets meet "the screening criteria for major depression, generalized anxiety, or ptsd." of those, only 23 to 40 percent are seeking help - in part because so many others fear the stigma of having a mental disorder.
many veterans' service providers say they're surprised to see so many iraq veterans needing help so soon.
"this kind of inner city, urban guerrilla warfare that these veterans are facing probably accelerates mental-health problems," says yogin ricardo singh, director of the homeless veterans reintegration program at bvsj. "and then there's the soldier's mentality: asking for help is like saying, 'i've failed a mission.' it's very hard for them to do."
beyond ptsd and high housing costs, many veterans also face an income void, as they search for new jobs or wait for their veterans benefits to kick in.
when mr. noel was discharged in december of 2003, he and his family had been living in base housing in georgia. since they were no longer eligible to live there, they began the search for a new home. but noel had trouble landing a job and the family moved to new york, hoping for help from a family member. eventually, they split up: noel's wife and infant child moved in with his sister-in-law, and his twins were sent to relatives in florida. noel slept in his car, on the streets, and on friend's couches.
last spring he was diagnosed with ptsd, and though he's currently in treatment, his disability claim is still being processed. unable to keep a job so far, he's had no steady income, although an anonymous donor provided money for him to take an apartment last week. he expects his family to join him soon.
'nobody understood ... the way i was'
nicole goodwin is another vet diagnosed with ptsd who has yet to receive disability benefits. unable to stay with her mother, she soon found herself walking the streets of new york, with a backpack full of her belongings and her 1-year-old daughter held close.
"when i first got back i just wanted to jump into a job and forget about iraq, but the culture shock from the military to the civilian world hit me," she says. "i was depressed for months. i couldn't sleep. i couldn't eat. the worst thing wasn't the war, it was coming back, because nobody understood why i was the way i was."
ms. goodwin was determined not to sleep on the streets, and so eventually went into the new york city shelter system where, after being shuffled from shelter to shelter, she was told she was ineligible for help. but media attention changed that, and she was able to obtain a rent voucher. with others' generosity, she also found a job. she's now attending college and working with other veterans who are determined to go to washington with their stories.
"when soldiers get back, they should still be considered military until they can get on their feet," she says. "it's a month-to-month process, trying to actually function again. it's not
Name:
jamie
Country: U.S.A.
how old do u have to be to be trainer for the summer i am 16 going to be 17 and i want someone to train me for miltiary cause i want to go to military boot camp
Name:
sachin
Country: india
spending for? how much does china, our only potential 'rival' spend?
the vast majority of our country would rather have a comprehensive and cheap nationalized health care system and a military half as large as it is. if the fake opposition were ever to make this an issue.
members of the military inevitably will be in favor of our ridiculously bloated military budget and its associated military-industrial complex, which is basically our society's main problem on many levels. so military families are one potential consituency the democrats should definitely _not_ compete for. first of all, the dems always fail at this because the (powerless but vocal) majority in the dem party wants to cut military spending. military people know this and therefore don't trust the dem leadership. secondly, there are vastly more people not in the military than in it, and they could easily be made conscious of the life-and-death wasted opportunities represented by the obscene excess of our military budget, and perhaps of the wasteful imperiailism generated by the military-industrial complex.
so, yeah, 'support the troops'... bring 'em home and give 'em real jobs, and use the savings to rebuild our nation's infrastructure, provide health care for every
Name:
Bhakti
Country: India
is the armed forces really a career option? considering the nepotism and corruption plaguing the forces, i do not think so. please project the harsh realities of this life as well.
Name:
Gulf Vet
Country: U.S.A.
i to have ptsd and it took me 3 years to get benifits from the va. that transition time from military to civilian life gets real difficult. i am now 100% disabled. the best thing to do is that when you get your rating which is wromg most of the time. just appeal.appeal.appeal...i almost gave up. many vet give up. it is easy to do because it is so frustration. i appealed 7 times. and the last appeal i contacted my congressman and after that stuff speed up.so get your congressman to do a look into your claim. i hope this helps
