At your service: 1st batch of Agniveers excited, prepared as training course ends next week

INS CHILKA - GROUND REPORT

- Rahul Singh

The Indian Navy’s sprawling lakeside training facility, INS Chilka, is brimming with verve and cheer as the country’s first Agniveers — selected under the new Agnipath model for short-term recruitment of soldiers in the three services — are on the threshold of a challenging military career, and prepare to finish their training at the verdant 1,540-acre campus after four gruelling months, in a watershed moment for the country’s armed forces.

The landmark passing-out parade, featuring almost 2,600 Agniveers including more than 270 women, will be held on March 28, with navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar attending as the chief guest.

The Agnipath model is a stark departure from the military’s decades-old recruitment system that ended after the government announced the new scheme last year. It seeks to recruit soldiers for only four years, with a provision to retain 25% of them in regular service for another 15 years after further screening.

The scheme was presented as a fait accompli and greeted with scepticism by the Opposition parties, large sections of veterans, and hordes of defence aspirants.

The beaming faces at INS Chilka, the optimism among Agniveers about what lies ahead, and the smooth implementation of the scheme thus far appears to allay some of the early concerns about Agnipath. The Agniveers — HT interacted with more than 50 of them at INS Chilka — say they are ready to enter uncharted territory, looking forward to their role in a military that is on the cusp of a new era, and have no feelings of uncertainty about the future.

That’s what training does to you, says Sahil Saini, a 19-year-old from Haryana’s Bhiwani, while taking a break from a swimming class at Matsya, the Olympic-size pool at INS Chilka.