File photo for representation

NEW DELHI: Faced with a continuing shortage of officers, alarmingly in the "fighting ranks" of Lieutenants, Captains, Majors and Lt-Colonels, the Army will now give special training to bright and passionate soldiers or jawans in leadership qualities, personality development and communication skills to ensure they can take on the mantle of junior leaders in the 12.5 lakh strong force.

Towards this end, the Army is setting up a "young leaders training wing" at the Officers' Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai to annually train 400 selected soldiers in OLQs (officer-like qualities), in two batches of five months each, from September this year onwards.

The focus of this young leaders' course (YLC), apart from physical fitness and mental robustness, will on developing leadership traits and character-building, improving communication skills in English and public speaking, learning conflict management and resolution, decision-making and problem-solving, and soft skills in basic mannerism and military etiquettes.

Soldiers do have three existing routes to become commissioned officers through the ACC (Army Cadet College) wing, SCO (special commission officers) and PC-SL (permanent commission, special list). "But their success rate is merely 8.46% in the SSB (services selection board) interviews and tests," said a source.

"The YLC course will ensure a far greater number pass the SSB and go on to become regular officers. Even if some do not, they will constitute a much more empowered second-rung junior leadership in the Army," he added.

The Army, incidentally, has an "authorized strength" of 50,028 officers but is 7,300 short of that figure at present, with another big number seeking "premature retirement" every year. The armed forces are now also finalising the long-pending package to make short-service commission more attractive for youngsters, with measures ranging from grant of paid study leave to golden handshakes at the end of their 10/14 year tenures, as was reported by TOI earlier this month.

The YLC is yet another endeavor to plug the shortage. Glitzy "image projection campaigns'' about the good and gallant life in the armed forces have largely flopped to attract youngsters with the requisite OLQs in adequate numbers to their fold in face of the changing socio-economic dynamics in the country propelled by liberalisation and globalisation .

Military service is also considered risky, with poor promotional avenues, frequent transfers that disrupt family life and children education, even if officers enjoy a certain lifestyle with much better salaries now as well as perks like accommodation, sporting, canteen, medical and other facilities.

