In a bid to motivate children and attract the desired talent for the army, lieutenant General Rajan Bakhshi, PVSM, UYSM, ADC, Army Commander, Central Command has taken an initiative since 2014 to reach out to children across the seven states.
Under the ‘Army Outreach Programme’, selected serving officers including lady officers have been trained centrally at lucknow under the personal guidance of the Army Commander, a Defence Ministry press release issued here stated.
These selected officers visit various colleges and schools and address the children to enhance awareness about the opportunities that await them on joining the Army alongwith leading an achiever’s life. They also interact informally with the children to clear their minds and answer their queries personally apart from encouraging them.
In 2014 these officers visited 72 Colleges and 87 Schools across these seven states wherein nearly 27000 children benefitted from the ‘Army Outreach Programme’. A similar outreach programme is being initiated this year.
Central Command with its area of responsibility stretching from ‘Himalayas till Bay of Bengal’ and covering the seven states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh contribute approximately 40% of the soldiers in the Army. In the IMA Commissioning course of June 15 approximately 45% officers belonged to these seven states.
All this has been feasible due to a stringent, fair and transparent selection process both for officers and soldiers. A very high calibre of training is provided both to officers and soldiers in respective training academies for officers and various regimental centres for soldiers in an inspiring environment of commitment and excellence.
Indian Army has become a pillar of strength of our nation by repeatedly proving its mettle and delivering successfully both in war and in peace. The Kargil war of 1999, Bhuj earth quake of 2001, Tsunami of 2004, leh flash flood of 2010, Uttarakhand disaster of 2013, Kashmir flood of 2013 and 2014, Yemen evacuations of 2015 and Nepal earth quake of 2015 are still fresh in minds of the nation.
The valiant and committed soldiers and officers of the Indian Army have always been in the forefront to safeguard the nation, its people and assets from external and internal threats and natural disasters. This has been feasible only due to the motivated, selfless and well trained soldiers and officers.