Salute to professionalism of Israeli, Indian armies

Mr Ban-Ki-moon had just taken over as the new secretarygeneral of the United Nations in the early part of 2007. At a late night, the force commander of the United Nations Peace Keeping Force at Lebanon, Major General Claudio Graziano (an Italian), got an unexpected call from his staff officer informing him about the impromptu visit of the secretary-general to the war-torn country.

The highest point of his visit was to be the first-hand interaction with troops of any one battalion, to be selected by none other than the force commander himself. That choice could have been a Herculean task as there were 17 country contingents to choose from. However, without batting an eyelid, he told his deputy force commander, “Just order the Indbatt (Indian Battalion) commanding officer to be ready with his operational brief and the latest situation on the Blue Line (the border between Lebanon and Israel).” That’s how I got into action after the early morning call from the deputy force commander.

The visit went hunky-dory. No wonder, our battalion, 15 Punjab, walked off with the force commanders’ citation and the prestigious championship trophies in all 17 professional competitions. This is just one of the several incidents to highlight the professional image that the Indian Army has assiduously built in the United Nations environment.

I also had the unique opportunity to visit Israel. A word about women empowerment.

As I crossed the border near Naqoura, a Lebanese town, along with my quick action team (crack commandos of the battalion), I was confidently stopped by a tall, Israeli woman soldier standing guard at the border. She single-handedly scrutinised our documents. She didn’t spare me either. By sheer chance, I had safely kept my identity card in my briefcase fetching up in my backup Prado (CO’s vehicle) that had lagged a little behind due to a puncture. The lady guard didn’t allow me to proceed till such time my vehicle fetched up and I showed my identity card. I appreciated her professionalism.

As we arrived at the Israeli brigade headquarters, we were given a rousing welcome, being from India. The deputy brigade commander rattled all the names of old Hindi movies and songs. A little later in the day, we found ourselves walking through the streets of Jerusalem to see the Wailing Wall, just next to the place where Jesus Christ was laid to rest after the crucifixion.

I found all civilians singing songs from the latest Bollywood blockbusters and thought to myself about how powerful our film industry is and how it can be tapped as a powerful diplomatic tool in national interest.

Their deputy brigade commander also took us to the site where their troops had got ambushed, leading to the war. I noticed that Israelis were ever willing to learn from their mistakes. They admired the perfect ambush site chosen by their enemy (Hezbollah) and the lessons they derived.

During lunch, I observed that Israeli soldiers never left their weapons unattended. We also went to attend their ‘TEWT’ (Tactical Exercise Without Troops) where I was surprised to find no administrative arrangements or any kind of paraphernalia, whatsoever. All officers, including lady officers, sat on the ground discussing wargame scenarios. I was impressed by their working culture.

Maybe, it is the manifestation of hard battles they have fought in the past for their country’s survival. Perhaps, we have to learn something from the Israeli army and at the same time give a pat on our backs for the kind of image we have earned in the UN environment.

THEIR DEPUTY BRIGADE COMMANDER TOOK US TO THE SITE WHERE THEIR TROOPS HAD BEEN AMBUSHED, LEADING TO THE WAR. I NOTICED THAT ISRAELIS WERE EVER WILLING TO LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES