THE DAILY OBSERVER-(65-M)

 😎THE DAILY OBSERVER-(65-M)😎

Thurs 18 March 2021

SHOOTING THE MESSENGER 

              SYNDROME

 " Security Time - 12346 " was the message scribbled by Radio Operator Harbans Singh on a crumpled piece of paper.

     The newly posted 2IC of the unit was enjoying his picnic lunch, sprawled  on the sand along with the Company Commanders when this runner came down panting from atop the sand-dune. Washing

the malai-kofta gravy off his fingers, Lt.Col. Works put on his reading glasses and peered at the note from all possible angles, trying to make sense of this obviously important message from the C.O.

The others looked on with mixed feelings, not too sure what to expect.

         Why is it that the immediate reaction on spotting disagreeable information is an inclination to shoot the messenger ? Last evening's deliberations on Sanjay Mishra's post bears testimony to this tendency amongst us. Not that any was required, because i am sure all of us would have seen this syndrome in operation time and again in our service life.This particular incident came flashing to the memory :

          The unit was in the desert yet again on exercise with hotshot

CO, Col Sam Superman going strong in his third year in command. Lt. Col. Works had just recently joined the unit from the M.E.S. He had not seen unit life after his Lt. days and was not too keen on it either. As per the latest directives, guys like him now had to earn their command report in a Combat unit before picking up Col's rank. Technically speaking, he was senior to the C.O.

   So there you are, Col Superman had not earned his nickname for nothing. During a lull in the Higher Formation level exercise, Lt. Col.Works was looking eagerly forward to rounds of Bridge with what was known as his " Bridging Company". Col. Superman had other ideas. What better time than this for the 2IC to sharpen his skills in the Regimental task- Op Phattechak ?

       While the most of the troops were given time off to relax, 2IC and other officers were shunted out early in the morning with minimum strength of troops on this trailblazing exercise in the hot desert sun. Struggling hard to find the correct alignment touching all the vital points and skirting all inhabited areas, we had reached the finish point triumphantly late in the afternoon and were just digging into our lunch when this message reached us out of the blue.

Earlier, despite strict instructions that there should be no breakdown in communication at any time, the inevitable had happened within an hour of leaving the unit. Come to think of it, there was nothing new about it. The officers concerned and their radio-operators were happiest once the HQ was no longer to be heard asking for "progress report". It happened every time and the C.O. kept admonishing and suggesting ways of avoiding it. But the communications breakdown always occured. Weak batteries, terrain problems, faulty antenna and useless Radio Operator were the oft-repeated excuses.What a relief it used to hear the operator saying, " HQ say mel-milap nahi ho raha hai." The message from HQ reading - " Report your location" used to be the most irritating one, specially when that was a question you were yourself trying desperately to find an answer to for the previous hour or so. " Yeh kahan aa gaye ham, yuhin saath saath chalte……" was like a theme song, running constantly during any exercise in the desert.

Coming back to the main story, giving up any pretence of understanding the C.O.'s message, the 2IC confessed ignorance and asked us ( more experienced souls) if we could make out what - 

" Security Time 12346 " meant. Because the C.O. was not known to send unnecessary messages, so there had to be some significance.

No one could decipher this code and the immediate reaction was to blame the runner for having created confusion. Radio Operator Harbans was called down from the dune and grilled if he had heard the message correctly.He swore that he had noted it down only after confirming twice as per drill and once more to remove any doubts. He was asked to re-check with Gurnam Singh, the radio-op at H.Q. The reply was the same and he also did not know the meaning. Finally, he was asked to confirm from the C.O. himself. But he replied that the " Tiger had gone to sleep with strict instructions not to be disturbed " .It was now the turn of Gurnam Singh to be cursed roundly by all.

After lunch, we all made our way back to the unit and reached late in the evening. Debriefing took place over drinks before dinner in the Mess. There was more than usual tension in the air.Though we waited apprehensively for a big bombshell from the C.O. regarding his radio message, nothing came.

The exercise had gone off quite well, he said. There was a collective sigh of relief.Maybe he had forgotten. But after a few more drinks had been consumed, the 2IC ( himself a teetotaller) could not resist asking the C.O. about the mysterious coded message." What message ?"  said the C.O. When he was told - " Security Time 12346" , he laughed and laughed. Turned out that he had been listening to the running commentary of the India-Australia cricket match, and since he kew by then that the exercise was over,he had told Gurnam Singh over field telephone to convey the message " Score at tea-time, 123 for 6." !

Everyone had taken for granted that Gurnam Singh and Harbans Singh were idiots.

Focus on the message, not the messenger.😁