No takers for vacancies in Services

 I WONDER : ITS A VERY GOOD EFFORT BY EX-SERVICEMEN. BUT MY REQUEST TO THEM IS TO GIVE OUT ALL THE TRUTHS ABOUT ARMED FORCES AND NO ONE SHOULD FEEL CHEATED LATER ON....

KOCHI: It’s nearly a month since we celebrated our 63rd Independence Day with proud displays of the Army, Navy and Air Force. Patriotism today is not as passionate as it was at the time of Independence. Now youth prefer other jobs or jobs abroad to the Services. The fact is that many vacancies exist in the Services with quite handsome salaries.There’s a heavy shortage of staff if statistics are any indication. Nearly 13,000 options are free and nearly 25 percent of staff will be on leave at a time, which means only 50 percent of the Forces are at their duties every day, an issue that Defence Minister A K Antony is worried about.‘Chinese Govt denies intrusion’, ‘US fears Pak could target India with arms transferred from Iraq...’ reads the news.India is facing threats from all sides. We can only hope that Pakistan’s friendliness stays and the India Chini Bhai Bhai relation holds good despite all the disputes hanging in the balance. It’s only natural for the Defence wing to strengthen itself. To create awareness on job opportunities in the most noble and honourable profession, the Armed Forces Entrance Academy in Kakkanad, one of its kind in the state, is conducting seminars in collaboration with the NCC. The first one will be held in Kollam in September-end and Mohanlal who joined the territorial army recently will be the brand ambassador. One-day seminars will also be held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode and later in Alappuzha, Kottayam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Kannur.Captain Raju and Major Ravi have consented to participate in the seminars which will be conducted by experienced Armed Service Officers.Founded in 2000, the Academy is a registered charitable trust promoted by Kerala Ex-servicemen Welfare Association and run by ex-Defence Services officers who are experienced in the officers’ selection process.“The Academy offers coaching for written tests (postal) which is conducted by UPSC exams held biannually. Engineering students and Btech students doing their last semester can appear directly for the SSB interview without giving the written test. An eight-day coaching for interview is conducted by Services Selection Board (SSB). Five-day SSB interviews are held in Bangalore, Mysore, Coimbatore, Allahabad, Varanasi, Bhopal and Dehradun. Courses are also offered in spoken English and personality development.Former SSB group testing officer, interviewing officer, technical officer and psychologist will give comprehensive guidance,” said Col (Retd) K B R Pillai, managing trustee and president of the Association.The residential courses are conducted twice a month for boys and girls. Boys aged between 16 and 19 years can join the NDA after Plus T wo. Those who score 70 percent marks or more in physics, chemistry and maths can apply for direct SSB interview for tech trade posts in Army and Navy. Men and women aged between 19 and 24 years can apply through Indian Military Academy, Officers Training Academy, Navy and Air Forces Academies.The basic salary ranges from Rs 27,000 to Rs 81,000 up to the rank of Colonel. Besides you get dearness allowance, free mess, free or concessional travel while going on leave (which is plenty) and other facilities.For further details, visit www.armedforcesacademy.org.