War? Just think about this....

A lot is being covered in the media about a possible war in the near future. The question being repeatedly asked in all the channels and news papers is whether we are ready for war. But to me the real question is- are the soldiers, their families ready for the war? I have a friend who is a new army wife and if we go to war her husband being the infantry man would be the first one to leave along with thousands of others. This would leave an equal number of spouses back home. So what is being done for them? There is a saying that God handpicks special girls to be army wives so where does a war leave a girl who very proudly wedded the olive green.

They experience loneliness, lack of communication, routine emotional upheavals on a regular basis. For an army wife the presence of the military is so strong it is almost like a third partner in the marriage. But in many cases this third partner is the quickest one to leave her in case of some mishap. Once, the then Minister of Defence Mr O Rajagopalan said that the military wives are a national responsibility. I really appreciate his comments. But comments take us nowhere. Standing firmly behind our nation’s heroes these wives do also need a firmer back support.

With so much of media hype I know a lot of military families feel a bit lost right now. They quite honestly don't know what the future holds for them. There are hundreds of issues that are important to the all the army personnel and all of their dependents which need immediate attention. These having been gathering dust in the files and may never even see the daylight.

And lastly whether or not there is a war what is actually needed is a rock solid plan A and plan B for the families to fall back on. Is anybody listening? Rahul Gandhi? We need you here….