ARMY’S BATTLE AGAINST BULGE
Overweight officers and jawans will not be eligible for promotion, assignments abroad, or even reemployment
The Indian army adopting a zero-tolerance policy towards obesity for those who want to make the cut for the next career advancement course. There will be no place for the fat and flabby in such courses, says a special army order effective from May 2017.
CHANDIGARH: This colonel is home on leave for a very peculiar reason: to shed flab. At 100 kg, he weighs 25 kg more than his ideal body weight (IBW). With the Indian Army adopting a zero-tolerance policy towards obesity, he has no option but to shape up, especially if he wants to make the cut for his next career advancement course.
There will be no place for the fat and flabby in such courses vide a special army order effective from May 2017. When contacted, army spokesman Col Aman Anand confirmed the order. Overweight officers and jawans will also not be eligible for promotion, assignments abroad, or even re-employment.
It was in August 2016 that the instructions for “enforcement measures to help check the menace of obesity” were sent for comments to all the commands. Now they are all set to be institutionalised.
The initiative was reportedly the brainchild of then army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag, a fitness buff who ran 10 km a day, and was appalled at the increasing girth of his men.
Last year, a sample survey of 767 soldiers conducted by the defence ministry and the Indian Council of Medical Research found a third of them overweight, which put a question mark on their combat readiness. Interestingly, obesity has become a worldwide epidemic, afflicting the armies of the US, Germany and Pakistan as well.
FROM FAT TO FIT
As per the new orders, the world’s third largest army with 1.3 million personnel, will now undergo an annual ‘obesity evaluation examination’.
The annual confidential reports (ACRs) of the officers will henceforth carry a full size picture showing their girth instead of the passport size photo, which was earlier the norm.
According to the detailed regulations, obesity will also come in the way of promotion to the next rank. A certificate from the initiating officer (the officer who writes the annual confidential report) of the individual to be promoted will be sent to the military services (MS) branch in case of officers, and to the records in case of junior commissioned officers (JCOs) and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) within 20 days of declassification of Selection Board results for promotion. This will also apply to time-scale rank or honorary rank.
A person found 10% above the ideal body weight (IBW) will not be issued promotion orders till he slims down. Should a promotion order be received prior to the certification, the person will not be allowed to wear the next rank till the new commanding officer or initiating officer (IO) certifies that he has reached the ideal weight. Officers downgraded on account of their oversized waistlines by medical authorities will not be allowed to attend career courses such as Technical Training Command (TTC), Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Higher Command (HC), Senior Command (SC), and National Defence College course (NDC) even if they clear the entrance exams.
NO RE-EMPLOYMENT
Plump officers will not be granted re-employment either. Application for re-employment will have to be accompanied by a certificate saying that the individual is not more than 10% above the IBW. The application will be rejected in the absence of this certification.
No overweight personnel can go abroad unless he is specially exempted or is a battle casualty or a war wounded. The commanding officer and the sponsoring entities will ensure that obese officers and jawans don’t form part of the unit contingent.
Fat and unfit personnel will also be barred from receiving unit citations or escorting the recipients of unit citation. They will not be allowed to participate in the investiture ceremony either. This restriction will, however, not apply to personnel receiving the gallantry award. With all these daunting measures in place, it’s not long before we see a fit and lean army. Meanwhile, our colonel is focusing on running and fasting for fitness.
LAST YEAR, A SAMPLE SURVEY OF 767 SOLDIERS CONDUCTED BY THE DEFENCE MINISTRY AND THE INDIAN COUNCIL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH FOUND A THIRD OF THEM OVERWEIGHT