God Save the Queen

Latest military board results were again a mixed bag, with lots of disappointments and less good news. It is amazing to note how they manage to contradict all the pre result predictions. The officers you think are most deserving don’t get promoted and there are as always lots of surprise packages or the dark horses as you may want to call them..

A surprise package for me this time was a rather unusual one. A lot of people known to me didn’t make it while few of the lucky ones were there on the coveted list. As the news trickled in there were heated discussions and great bonding to be seen. It was an evening which was a mixed bag of the happy and not so happy moments. What became a very obvious fact for us was that no matter how the results were each one felt that the esteemed CO’s wives had a major hand in making or breaking an officer’s professional life. A friend noted, “In Meerut, my daughter was very young which prevented my wife from going to the welfare centers and ladies meet that regularly. This had irked the CO’s wife very badly. I had official orders to send her to all the function compulsorily which I did but there was a day when my daughter was sick and my wife couldn’t go. That was the day my fate was sealed and my ACR ruined.”

A wife noted that she had always been working while the CO’s wife didn’t. This created a cold war between the two. The CO’s wife would insist her to take leaves or half days very often to attend the welfare meets. She took leave whenever she could but there were times when she couldn’t oblige the CO’s wife. This resulted in a bitter war of words between the two and next day her husband was called up by the CO and nicely thrashed.

With great reports throughout their entire service this was the only time they were bad which withheld this decorated officer with a Staff College and Foreign posting under his belt. One wife noted, “I was very close to my 2IC’s wife. But the day her husband became our CO, her attitude changed. They suddenly become very dictatorial.”

With growing discontentment amongst the armed forces personnel due to various reasons this CO’s wife factor is also fast gaining popularity. Their dictatorial ways have made a mockery of themselves and are major subject of jokes. In the end I would only say to the officers, you are the men of steel, grit and zeal. Just don’t let some petty issues ruin a life of somebody who is deserving and commendable. There may be some exceptions but don’t let the wives call the shots. They are like mother to a unit, pure and unconditional love should be their forte not the politics!!