NEW DELHI: The country’s defence establishment seems to have learnt few lessons from the repeated suicide attacks on its camps in J&K and elsewhere. The terrorist attack on an artillery unit compound at Nagrota , the third such big strike after Pathankot and Uri this year, has once again exposed the chinks in security infrastructure around military bases and installations.But the defence ministry and the armed forces continue to waffle over the wide-ranging measures required to thwart or minimise such attacks, ranging from proper perimeter security-cum-intrusion detection systems and well-equipped sentries to a total revamp of the standard operating procedures and response systems to intelligence alerts.Defence sources said there was “very little follow-up action” to the comprehensive recommendations of the tri-Service committee, led by former Army chief Lt-General Philip Campose (retd), which was constituted after the January 2 terror strike on the Pathankot airbase left seven defence personnel dead and 25 injured. Even the terror attack on an Army administrative camp at Uri on September 18, in which 19 soldiers were killed and over 20 injured, does not seem to have galvanised the authorities into upgrading security infrastructure around bases on a war footing.TOI was the first to report on the Campose committee’s prescriptive measures to plug the numerous gaps in the security infrastructure around military installations. “Since the report was submitted to defence minister Manohar Parrikar in mid-May, few concrete steps have been taken. There were some general discussions with the three Service headquarters, which in turn have carried out some security audits of their bases,” said a source.The Army itself cannot escape blame, coming as the Nagrota attack did at a time when cross-border tensions with Pakistan are at a new high and terrorists are looking for high-impact targets to drive home their message of relevance. The court of inquiry into the Nagrota incident will pinpoint the security lapses that allowed the heavily-armed terrorists, disguised in police uniforms, to storm the compound of the 166 medium artillery regiment unit and kill two officer and five soldiers on Tuesday.“But the laxity in perimeter security is obvious. The alertness levels should have been all the more higher since the artillery unit’s compound is bang on the main road, around three km from the well-guarded 16 Corps headquarters at Nagrota,” said the source. “The terrorists managed to enter the officers’ mess complex, where two women and two children were also present. Fortunately, the troops responded effectively to ensure there was no civilian casualties or a full-blown hostage-crisis,” he added.It’s certainly difficult to thwart well-trained, heavily-armed terrorists ready to lay down their lives. But the aim should be to contain the damage. With over 3 lakh Army soldiers deployed in J&K, along the borders as well as for counter-insurgency operations in the hinterland, many military camps have only basic perimeter defences.“Moreover, prolonged stress levels among the troops often cause fatigue and the consequent lowering of guard,” said another officer.