The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect

those of XOM Reviews

As pay commission report is just submitted, I thought it was the right time to tell
something about the inside story of Indian Air Force. Many brilliant students come to
join Indian Air Force as technician seeing advertisement ‘TOUCH THE SKY WITH
GLORY’ and spoil their life and career. As an airman I can say that though the British
has left India 60 yrs back, in defence their policy before independence still exists.
Nowadays officers work like British officers and airmen are like natives. India may be
boasting of purchasing some latest aircrafts of new generation to compete with super
powers of the world. But the government should know it can not happen by merely
purchasing new aircrafts . Aircrafts may be very very sophisticated, it may come without
pilot but there will always be technicians. British have changed with the time to keep the
moral of the forces high, but our forces have not changed rather our officers who are
seems to be the ultimate boss of the forces don’t want to change the system. Whatever
policy comes that goes against airmen. Whatever the officers pretend to show is just
eyewash. Officers always look at the airmen with some doubt in their mind. They always
in doubt of their integrity. Policy brought in the Air force to make airmen to fight among
themselves and take the benefit out of that. Authorities make the policies to suit their
requirements. Nowadays for any assessment ultimate decider will be his commander.
Whatever he wants he can do, so they uses the airmen for their own interest. No officers
in Air force rather in defense serve for their country, everybody works for their own
benefit. All commanders are corrupt, as an example, they uses the service vehicle for
their family requirement, they uses the spare parts of vehicle in their own cars and show
it against any vehicle used in service. To consume the annual budjet they throw away the
new items to purchase again the same item. Roads are made twice in a year, the list is
endless. Airforce police who is supposed to check each and everybody in a unit, let the
officers go inside without any checking and similarly for going out also but no airman
can go inside or come out unchecked. That means only airmen can go against the nation
but officers will never. Police man doesn’t check any officer because if the officer gets
annoyed the police man may become a scapegoat for any untoward incident. Nobody is
there to question. Nowadays no officers think for airmen what they are supposed to as
superior. Why the media don’t take any initiative to unearth the corruption in defense.
Corruption is deep rooted here. In India defense is the most corrupted organization.
The gap between the officers and airmen are very wide. Developed nation has reduced
the gap for the good of their own country. Because the war is fought with high morale. If
thwe morale is low then the war can not be fought with jeal. It is good luck for india that
no war is imminent in near future otherwise Indian defence forces would have been
exposed. Always there is a talk that officers are less in air force may be in armed forces.
But what does they do as far as air force is concerned, other than the pilots. All the work
is done by the airmen but it is not revealed as the all power is in officers hand they show
it in their way. Out side everybody knows that all the work is done by officers and airmen
are only helpers. Some officers are there who after completing 15/16 years of service
doesn’t know the capacity of the battery or the location of the voltage regulator in an
aircraft. Because they don’t involve themselves. They just pass the instruction sitting in
air condition room But actual thing is different. When foreign technician comes to IAF
for any modification or up gradation they also acknowledge that airforce officers are only
signing members. Then also when there is some sort of risk they don’t involve
themselves. To evade their responsibility they mke one corporal or sergeant in flying
squadron a supervisor what is their job. This sergeants sign the aircraft servicing form or
flight form what an AME does in civil airlines. During snag rectification the officers only
pass the instruction not even any guidance to rectify the snag. All the snag is rectified by
the technicians then what the technical officers do? They only pass the orders like ‘rectify
the snag and how you will do it is your problem’. As the life has become hell in air force
for technician, they don’t think twice while leaving the service. The manpower in
squadrons are very low. Two sergeants work in a system as a supervisor, where earlier
there used to be atleast 8-10 sergeants, and if anyone of them goes on leave or becomes
sick then other need to work from 4’o clock morning to 11’o clock night, is this life ? But
nobody in air force project this problem. Because officers don’t want the payment of
airmen should increase. New rule has come to employ the younger people in airforce
after completing only 4-6 months training what earlier used to be for full two years. In
that 4-6 months period they don’t learn anything. They join the Air force by seeing the
above said advertisement to make a bright career but coming here they come to know
about the truth. So they starts preparation to go out of the air force as soon as possible by
doing some higher studies or by preparing for competitive exams. In turn these fellows
become a burden for the sergeants who are the main workforce in IAF working in field.
Non-technicians work anybody can do, it requires only two days training but technicians
work other cannot do. Sometimes life become so difficult for air men that despite living
together they don’t able to speak to their child. Because when they go on duty at 4’O
clock morning their children sleeps and when goes back at night at 11/12’o clock at night
again he finds the child are sleeping. Technicians need to go on temporary duty to other
station after every ¾ months and their allowance is @Rs30 per day. In air force all are
officers are like one species and technicians are other species. So no officers like to listen
any complaint against any officers. Airmen are like Pakistani for officers they always
want to fix the airmen to bring their name in a good record book. There is no
cohesiveness between the officers and airmen. When same course done by both officers
and airmen, officers get the allowance for that course but airmen get nothing.
During an international exercise, there were many occasions when technicians had to
rectify a snag within a short time ,I can say one of the incident when the IAF fighters
landed at Canada enroute to Alaska, there was a snag in engine which was unnoticed by
the pilot (engineering officers don’t able to detect any snag) but the technicians detected
it and it became necessary to change the engine if it was unnoticed by the technicians too
there would have been a major mishap. The engine was changed in the adverse weather
of Canada where the weather is very different from India. It was raining and the
temperature was less than 0 deg c. Technicians were only in overall, shivering in cold,
but daring the weather changed the engine which took more than three hours . After
successful completion of exercise when IAF fighters landed back no officers even the
chief of air staff didn’t mention a word for the good work done by the technicians in
overseas to keep the aircrafts serviceable, whereas one of the Canadian newspaper
commended the job done by the IAF technicians daring the adverse weather even they
surprised to see the technician in those condition where they themselves would not have
worked and they were eager to know that how these technicians are built with. Our chief
only congratulated and gave full credit to the officers for the successful completion of the
exercise. There no recognition of the good work done by the airmen at different stages of
the exercise. Indian system itself is such that no one cares for the country. As our
politicians more interested about their own benefit and their own party than the whole
country, same way our officers also interested about their personal benefit than the
country’s benefit. That is why they are projecting the shortfall of officers very widely so
that their payment can be hiked to lure the young people, whereas the outflow of
technicians is ten times higher than the officers but it is not projected. During the pay
commission discussion whenever any officer came in the panel they always were vocal
only to show the less payment given to officers, they may be retired but they know that it
is very easy for them to employ their kith and kin as an officer of defense forces using
their influence to the higher officers. Officers are not interested that in squadrons
sergeants are heavily burdened as they are now doing the work of five to six sergeants. In
defence officers are normally being selected on the basis of their antecedents, so one
officers son likely to become an officer, provided he is interested, and joining the defense
they start thinking defense is their ancestral property and treat the airmen as slaves.
Officers want to go out of IAF for better pay package but airmen want go out for their
life. Because under these officers they become animal from human in airforce.
In the pay commission whatever has been declared also a farce for the technician and
airmen. From AC (starting rank of Airman) to sergeants is the same pay scale. So they
are going to attract the young people with a good payment and afterwards their payment
will be freezed for 20 years upto the rank of sergeant. They are not interested to separate
the sergeants pay scale, because promotion is not there and on basis of initial engagement
he has to serve minimum 20 years whatever payment is given. Whereas ACs are very
new in the airforce and sergeants work as a supervisor. So there is no different in
payment other than the increment Sighting the less higher officers they revised their
promotion criteria and within nine years they get rank of Wing commander. Why it is
required to have a wing commander rank to command a squadron or a fleet. India is a
democratic country but no one take a look at the plight suffered by airmen rather may be
all jawans of defense forces. In the name of discipline they do whatever they want.
Money is wasted to get the kick backs in such a way that no country can be boast of.
They are purchasing the age old aircrafts and increasing the strength of aircrafts to suit
their requirement . Officers come to see their child studying in Delhi and Bangalore
showing visit to any of the unit nearby. Corruptions are naked in airforce for the people
who are working inside but nobody is ready to speak up anything because of discipline .
if anybody come to know he will be posted out on indisciplinary ground or may be
referred to hospital showing psycho, everything happens in airforce because all officers
are one species.
Media may not know all these written here so it is put up in front of you . It is up to you
whether you will sit calmly or do something to unearth the deep rooted corruption and
save the country who is proud of defense forces, and should be published to let the people
know of defense forces what they think is most clean organization in india. These
problems should be sorted out as soon as possible by the government before it becomes
to late to rectify.
Thank you, my identity may be kept secret because anything can happen in
DISCIPLINARY GROUND.
An Air warrior