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Contents
From the Editor ....................................................................................................................... 11

Stars of Forces Network: Cdr Arun Jyoti................................................................. 12 - 15

Advertorial - Scripbox.......................................................................................................... 16 - 17

ForceNetPreneurs: Lt Col Sandesh Sharma........................................................... 18 - 23

Expatriate Interview: Lt Col Ajay Serohi.................................................................. 24 - 32

Women Power: Meenakshi Sharma............................................................................ 34 - 39

Gratitude: A Milestone @ 57............................................................................................ 40 - 42

Book Review of 'New Rules of War' by Col Suresh Chandra...................... 43 - 48

Stories ........................................................................................................................................... 49 - 52

Matrimonials ............................................................................................................................. 53 - 54

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From the Editor

Dear Reader,

At the very outset, let me wish you and your family a very Happy New Year 2021. May
you find abundance of happiness, enjoy a very good health, and all your dreams come
true.

We have finally said a goodbye to a preferably forgetful year, and the World is
expectantly looking forward to a new cheer. While new challenges are still being
thrown at us, but surely these will also be overcome soon with a collective resolve and
effort.

The advent of a new year gives us a reason to plan our future goals. It is also the time
when we also reflect to realize where we fell short in the year gone by. It is definitely
an essential aspect, as it helps us to re-evaluate our strengths and weaknesses, without
which the progress would be difficult.

It is customary to term it as 'making resolutions'. By definition it means 'a firm decision

to do, or not to do a thing'. Typically, most of us pay more focus to the first part, and
ignore the second half. It was the year which has gone by, which taught us to be
careful of the second part too. Much emphasis was laid on what not to do, and in
lighter vein it was about not being 'positive'. If we look back, we literally had 365 days
completely to ourselves, which could have been used to bring tremendous change in
our personal self. We could work upon many aspects of our being, be it in social,
physical, professional or spiritual field. However, the moot point is, how many of us,
actually did? Though this was forced upon us by undesirable circumstances, but we
will never get an opportunity like this. And, if we have actually achieved nothing, then
it calls for a serious introspection. I recently heard Shiv Khera say, "I will not let this
crisis define me. I will rather use it to refine me", an apt summary of what was
expected of us in the 365 days gone by. Nevertheless, it is also the best mantra for the
time that is ahead of us now. Remember, providence plays an equal part in life, when
you resolve.

Wanting to make a resolution is a good thing and is highly encouraged. It gives you
something to look forward to and keep working towards. Even if they aren't followed
through completely, making a resolution shows that you have the belief and hope in
your ability to change habits and become a better you. One key thing to remember
when making and keeping a resolution is that it takes 21 days to form a habit. They
take time, remember that it’s not a sprint but a marathon. These simple steps when
followed, will ensure to get you on the right track to keeping to your resolutions - start
small, write it down, make changes to your behaviour, define SMART goals, track your
progress, reward small achievements, make it public, and above all remember that you
are human. So, just go for it. May you have a wonderful time ahead.

Until next time, take care. And, cheers to Forces Network - the Network that Works!!!

Regards,
Lt Col Ranvir Singh

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Stars of Forces Network

A Forces Network Star is a member of the Forces Network who has gone on to
achieve glory in the his/her corporate/civilian avatar.  The aim of this series in not just
to celebrate our successes from the veteran community, which unfortunately we do
not do enough, but also to inspire others. The ultimate goal is to set up a virtuous self-
sustaining cycle of inspiration leading to more successes in turn inspiring many more.

BY BIDISHA PANDEY

Commander Arun Jyoti is an alumnus of the prestigious

National Defence Academy (Khadakwasla), Naval College of
Engineering (INS Shivaji) and Defence Services Staff
College (Wellington). Post his pre-mature retirement from
the Navy, he took over briefly as General Manager (Special
Projects) at the Hi-Tech Robotic Systemz, followed by a two
year plus stint at Shyam Indus Power Solutions Pvt. Ltd. as
their first Chief Operating Officer. Later, Cdr Arun also
worked with Honeywell (India) as Director Government
Relations and led from the front to grow the function
exponentially. He has now joined the Smiths Group,
headquartered in London, as Vice President (India),
Corporate Affairs in Oct 2020.

Joining the Indian Navy

Cdr Arun Jyoti admits that joining the Indian Navy was not his first career choice. He
was a happy biology ‘only’ student who aspired to become a doctor and, in 1988, had
been accepted into medical school when he also got the opportunity to join the
National Defence Academy. His father was instrumental in his final decision to join the
NDA and later, he underwent the Electrical Engineering course at Naval College of
Engineering, INS Shivaji. He recollects his most memorable tenures in the Navy to be
those onboard his first submarine, the INS Sindhughosh, and at Naval Shipyards at
Visakhapatnam, Mumbai. Here he planned, retrofitted and repaired (Planning,
Electrical & Weapon Systems) both operational and refit-due ships and submarines
using conventional and innovative techniques including generation of in-house quality
procedures to meet mission specifications. Eventually, Cdr Arun decided to change
tracks for new career opportunities.

Second Innings

Cdr Arun Jyoti retired in Dec 2014 but started preparing for exit in 2010! He
conceptualised the transition process diligently, analysed all that needed to be done
and planned accordingly. He networked extensively with officers who had successfully

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transitioned to the corporate sector to arrive at his conclusions. As far as academia

was concerned, Cdr Arun already had four degrees including two Graduate and two
Postgraduate qualifications, and therefore, he was clear about not going for any
further formal higher education. He picked three mentors who guided him
throughout his journey, and who stand with him even today, to whom he is eternally
thankful. Cdr Arun attended the pre-release course at MDI Gurgaon during his last
year of service. The course not only gave him quality time to achieve the last mile
change of track but also allowed him to contemplate and write. He matured his blog,
www.winnertakesitall.blogspot.in, where he started penning down his life experiences
and also wrote extensively on LinkedIn.

Military to Corporate Transition

When asked about the difficulties he faced after switching to corporate sector, Cdr
Arun said, that being a manager at Naval shipyards at Visakhapatnam and Mumbai, he
already had the experience of managing civilian workforce and therefore adjusting to
the corporate structure was comparatively smooth. He firmly believes that a leader
must see himself as human first and the rest falls in place. People outside do respect
military officers for their service to the Nation, and all one needs is to align himself
with the organisation and to continue the learning streak.

The Corporate Experience

Cdr Arun Jyoti joined Hi Tech Robotics Systemz, immediately after his retirement, as
General Manager Special Projects. During this short span of time, he travelled
throughout the country and led the Strategy and Business Development. It was a

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short engagement for a few months. Then, he took over as the first Chief Operating
Officer at Shyam Indus Power Solutions Pvt Ltd (an ACB India Group Company) and
was responsible for the operational and over all administration of the organisation
across India. He streamlined and automated processes to increase the efficiency of
the organisation including SAP Go Live with IBM.

After a two year plus growth vectored stint at SIPS, Cdr Arun wanted to take a
sabbatical to write a book but was offered the position of Director Government
Relations (India) by Honeywell. At Honeywell, he was responsible for the company's
engagement with Government, where he delivered all round seamless business
continuity during the lockdown due to the pandemic. He worked with businesses and
Corporate functions to develop regulatory and legislative policy positions and
initiatives to foster growth and defend against negative outcomes, developed specific
plans and strategies for communicating with government officials regarding activities,
businesses, initiatives, and direct sales to government customers. The function saw
exponential growth during this phase and Honeywell’s businesses fared well even
during pandemic. He was instrumental in many revenue wins for Honeywell including
the first ever 52 MUSD Defence Banking Offsets receipt from MoD ahead of multiple
other companies. Then, in Oct 2020, he joined the Smiths Group as their first Vice
President Corporate Affairs for India.

Life in the Corporate

Cdr Arun describes his current profile at Smiths Group to be an extremely agile one
which requires him to manage business critical situations across India, handle
geopolitical and regulatory functions - to ensure business continuity - and all-round
growth. The Corporate Affairs function is the glue that can bind various divisions of
the group. The company ensures a healthy work-life balance and encourages
ownership and passion in its employees. High on integrity and respect, the customer
focussed approach helps attain innovative business results and sectoral growth

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opportunities. There is a deep focus on a One Smiths value proposition to the

customers. The role also entails value proposition and strategy formulation.

Hobbies and Interests

Being a passionate blogger and writer, Cdr Arun wishes to publish his work, a collation
of all his articles from the blog and a few additional stories, as a book soon. Cdr Arun
is also a keen driver, golfer, podcaster and loves to travel, read out and share his
stories with the community.

Advice to Fellow Officers

Cdr Arun believes that there is no set model for one to achieve success in the
corporate domain. However, if one has the appetite to learn, adapt, the ability to
adjust rapidly to every level and the flexibility to take on any challenge, then sky is the
limit!

Bidisha Pandey is a blogger who believes every individual

has a story and a lot can be learned from every story. More
stories and interviews by her can be read on her blog site
www.sassyweekender.com

Amit Dalvi

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ADVERTORIAL - From SCRIPBOX

How to Plan for Your Child’s Education,

as Defence Services Personnel
Our families form perhaps the most important reason why we save and then invest. As
a defence services personal, your families make quite a few sacrifices to support you. It
is thus only natural that you would want to support their dreams and aspirations as
much as you can.

Your child’s education is something that a lot of your savings and investments will be
geared towards. The fact that you can look forward to a pension post-retirement
makes the decision-making process a bit simpler. You can allocate far more of your
savings towards educating your children than you would have if you also had to save
for the entire retirement corpus. No matter what your child wants to study, you would
want to support them to the best of your ability.

What then do you need to keep in mind at the very outset?

1. Education inflation is higher than general inflation.

Our research has shown that education inflation trends towards double digits and 12%
is a good assumption for the same. This will have a direct bearing on how much, and
for how long, you have to save and where to invest. Today, a typical IIT charges almost
Rs 3 Lakhs annually in fees. Studying abroad, especially in the US, for undergraduate
courses can set you back by multiple crores. While education inflation outside India
may be potentially lower, the costs even then would be quite significant.

2. You have to balance your current expenditure on your child’s education with
what you plan for college.
If you are among those that have sent or are planning to send your child to a good
boarding school, then you must have a fair idea of the costs involved. While it is
definitely a good investment towards your child’s future, this can potentially affect
how much you can save for your child’s higher education.

3. You will have to start early.

Considering point 1, the earlier you start planning, saving, and investing for your child’s
higher education, the lesser will be the savings burden and the more likely you will be
able to meet your goals.

An SIP (Systematic investment plan) of Rs 10,000 in equity funds giving about 11% per
annum for 10 years is likely to yield about Rs 22 Lakhs. If the same SIP were for a
period of 15 years you are looking at a final sum of Rs. 45 Lakhs. Even if the SIP amount
were Rs 8000 for 15 years, you would still end up with Rs 10 Lakhs more than if you
saved and invested for 10 years.

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So What’s the Action Plan?

SIPs and a portfolio of good equity mutual funds can make the seemingly tall order of
saving multiple lakhs for your child’s higher education a readily achievable reality.
Here’s how to begin:

- Consider multiple higher education options and list down the fees today. If they
are in India, consider inflation of 12% and assess the costs in the year your child is
likely to go to college. If they are outside India you can consider the dollar-
denominated inflation values. A good thumb rule is about 2% inflation for
education outside India. You can use multiple calculators, such as this one for the
same.

- Once you have a rough estimate of the amount that will be required, consider the
time you have to save up for it. An ideal starting point is 15 years before your child
will need to go to college. Even 10 years is a decent time frame.

- Depending on the amount required, start an SIP in good equity mutual funds. A
portfolio of 2-3 schemes which allow you to invest across market capitalisations is
best suited to deliver the inflation-beating growth you will need to reach your goal.
Make sure that the SIP you are planning for is going to be enough. So if you need
20-22 Lakhs, in 10 years, a Rs 10,000 monthly SIP will do the job for the most part.

Student Loans

In the event you believe the amount required may be more than you can save for, try
and save as much as possible and combine it with an education loan that your child
can then pay off once they are employed. The more you can contribute, the lesser will
be the loan burden.

For education abroad, your child will quite likely need a student loan, in addition to
what you can save and invest for as saving up the required total corpus is a
challenging task for most. Consider your own finances and do speak to a registered
investment advisor or a qualified financial planner for this.

Keep in Mind

You will need to balance your own needs post-retirement as well as your other
financial goals while saving and investing for your child’s higher education. While you
will have the benefit of your pension, do not aim for something that will leave you
absolutely dependent on the pension. You will need to have a good retirement corpus
if you do not want to sacrifice your lifestyle.

Discuss this goal just like other financial goals with your family and take professional
advice should you feel the need to do so.

Follow us on

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ForceNetPreneurs
In this series we plan to showcase a few entrepreneur members of Forces Network
who have achieved a reasonable degree of success in their business ventures.  The
aim being to celebrate their success as also to learn from them with a view to
motivating more amongst our community to take up entrepreneurship as a full time
vocation.  Finally – we do need job creators in greater numbers than job seekers.
BY UDAY K SHRIWAS
Lt Col Sandesh Sharma was commissioned into Corps of
Signals in Dec 1987. A BTech in Electronics and
Communication Engineering, he is also an alumnus of the
prestigious Defence Services Staff College. During his Army
career he took part in OP Rakshak, OP Vijay and OP
Parakram. In addition to serving as a signal officer in various
capacities in different units, he also served as GSO-1 of a
formation. He was the first Army officer on deputation to
Ministry of External Affairs. He took PMR in Jul 2009.
Thereafter, he has been a Master Trainer with Franklin Covey
and has been conducting training programs for
professionals in the corporate world for over 10 years. He is a
well-established PMP trainer and an Executive Coach.
Presently, he is the Co-founder of his entrepreneurial
venture VISAJ Training & Consulting. He can be contacted at
[email protected]

Uday: Please tell us something about your Army career and the journey so far.
Sandesh: I was commissioned into Corps of Signals in Dec 1987. My journey in the
Army was very enriching and also unique. All units I served in had different
organizational structure and equipment profile than the previous ones. I had
experience of serving in a Composite Signal Regt in Deserts to an Inf Div Sig Regt in
Plains, an EW unit in the valley followed by a Mountain Div Sig Regt and then in an
AREN Sig Regt. This experience made me more proficient as well as adaptable, a
tenet, I feel is essential for every professional. Along the way I did my BTech in
Electronics & Communication Engineering in 1995 and Defence Services Staff College
in 2000. I also had an exposure of being GSO1 of a formation.

In 2006, I was fortunate to be the first Indian Army Officer on deputation to Ministry of
External Affairs (MEA). There I was assigned the top priority project of the Foreign
Secretary of setting up an international level Crisis Mitigation Centre along with
associated processes. I designed and established the Crisis Mitigation Centre
“Situation Room” in the South Block in 2007. Thereafter, I led Crisis Mitigation
operations in the MEA for 8 crisis situations including Mumbai terror attack 26/11, Civil
unrest in Libya 2011 (in which for the first time in the history of our country we
evacuated over 15000 Indians from a foreign land in crisis) and Iraq crisis in 2014. I had
the honour of working very closely with three Foreign Secretaries. I was also fortunate

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to get international exposure of visiting and executing projects in 36 countries

including USA, UK, France, Germany, Russia, China and Switzerland. This was
professionally a very satisfying tenure as my contribution was appreciated by the
former Minister of External Affairs, Dr Pranab Mukherjee, Foreign Secretary as well as
the COAS. USA, UK, France, Germany, Russia, China and Switzerland. This was
professionally a very satisfying tenure as my contribution was appreciated by the
former Minister of External Affairs, Dr Pranab Mukherjee, Foreign Secretary as well as
the COAS.

I took PMR from the Army in Jul 2009 however, the then Foreign Secretary offered me
to continue in the MEA and hired me as a Senior Consultant. I continued till Aug 2014
before leaving the MEA after a long innings of eight and a half years.

Thereafter, in 2014 I joined one of the world’s leading Training & Consulting Company,
Franklin Covey India & South Asia as a Principal Consultant. For next 5 years I trained
professionals across all industries at all levels.

Uday: Please give us more details about what you are presently engaged in.
Sandesh: I am the co-founder of VISAJ Training & Consulting. My Partner, Col Vijay
Dhawan and I are Master Facilitators having trained professionals across all industries
for over 10 years. We have training & coaching interventions in 7 categories namely
Programs for Senior leaders, Managers, Sales professionals, Project Management,
various skills and Outbound training events for team building. I am also an Executive
Coach, so we do offer one on one coaching interventions to professionals.

Uday: What was the impetus for you to get into entrepreneurship as a PMP
Trainer?
Sandesh: To be honest I never planned to get into Learning & Development. I did
attain my PMP certification with an aim to get a suitable opportunity in the corporate
world, however with MEA hiring me as a Senior Consultant immediately after my PMR,
I never needed to pick up a job in the corporate world.

While in MEA I trained the IFS officers on crisis mitigation and associated human
aspects. Those trainings were very well received and I trained over 350 IFS officers.

In early 2010, the owner of one of the leading PMP training companies offered me to
start training PMP batches under his banner as a freelance trainer and I started
inducting PMP batches. In the last 10 years I have trained over 1100 PMP aspirants and
688 out of them have become certified PMPs.

Uday: What are the challenges you faced in this journey as a Trainer? And, how
did you overcome those challenges?
Sandesh: There were many challenges. I would not claim that I have overcome them
yet, its ‘work in progress’.

First and the biggest challenge is “ Acceptability ”. Will I be accepted by the corporate

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professionals as a facilitator/trainer especially with zero corporate experience? To be

accepted in an environment one has to bring in the “Familiarity”. Use of common
language symbolises “Familiarity”. Being from the forces we are in the habit of using
our jargons which are not understood by the corporate professionals. I needed to talk
in their language and use their terminologies to convey my message effectively. I
remember spending almost three months studying about the organisations and
terminologies prevalent in the corporate world before my first day as a trainer. The
more you talk in their language, the more acceptable you become.

Second major challenge is “ Visibility ”. How would the environment know about me
and my strengths as a facilitator? To be regarded as one of the best, you must get
associated with one of the best. For this, I joined Franklin Covey India & South Asia in
2014. For almost the next 5 years I worked very hard. Prepared well for the trainings
approximately at a ratio of 1:10, which meant for one day training I prepared for 10
days. I trained professionals across all industries at all levels on a daily basis. Each day
spent on the floor conducting a workshop improved me as a trainer and the
environment started knowing about me, making me more visible.

Another challenge is “ Effectiveness ”. How will I be able to deliver value to the

participants by giving solutions to their problems? Effectiveness of the training
depends on whether the facilitator is able to give solutions to the challenges faced by
the participants or not. Thus it is important for a facilitator to understand the
participants, their profiles, company culture and the prevailing working environment.
To achieve this, I would go through Linkedin profile of all the participants’ one or two
days prior to the training program to understand them well. In addition, I would also
go through the company website to understand company’s vision, the culture, values
and the performance so that I could suggest solutions to their real challenges during
the training.

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Uday: What was the vision behind starting your venture, and how it has grown?
Sandesh: Learning & development space is highly competitive one with many global
players vying to create a difference. VISAJ is still in its nascent years. We both
(Partners) strive to create a space for VISAJ as a trustworthy and professional
organisation which will contribute to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of its
clients. We have been quite successful in doing it so far. The testimony to this fact is
that we can proudly claim to have some of the biggest names of the corporate world
as our clients. Reliance Industries Ltd, Maruti Suzuki India ltd, Sharp, Halonix, Marsh
India are a few to name. It is just the beginning; we have a long way to go.

Uday: How has been your experience of coaching so many students for PMP
certifications?
Sandesh: It started in Jul 2010 with a batch of 18 participants and till date I have
trained over 1100 aspirants across many organisations. It has been a very interesting
journey. Initially it gave me satisfaction of doing something I love but soon it became
a passion.

I was an unknown trainer in this domain, but within few months I started conducting
workshops every month as my old participants would recommend their friends and
colleagues to attend my workshops. Soon I was rated as one of the best PMP trainers
in the country and one of the top four consulting MNCs hired me for conducting PMP
workshops regularly for their employees.

A PMP aspirant is a nervous starter as there are so many myths about the degree of
difficulty about the exam. As a PMP trainer, my first task is to clear these myths and
make him mentally strong. This is achieved by giving the aspirants a clear step wise
path to the goal. Thereafter, it is the coverage of the syllabus in detail using common
life examples as they are easy to assimilate. Understanding of the syllabus starts
building confidence. I incorporate tools to remain connected with my participants
after the workshop and provide them much needed support till their exam. This is
somewhat rarely heard of in the corporate world. I try to handhold them in their
difficult times by clearing their doubts even after the workshop. I also celebrate their
success with the same zeal. I am in touch with most of my previous participants even
from the very first batch I conducted in Jul 2010.

This year due to the new normal we needed to go online for the PMP workshops from
April 2020. I designed the schedule for the workshop with an aim to provide
maximum benefits to the participants. I trained 10 batches this year and most of the
participants in these batches were members of the defence forces, Forces Network in
particular. In these last five months, 56 participants have become certified PMPs. I am
sure many more will attain the coveted PMP certification before the end of 2020.

Uday: What has been the most satisfying aspect in this Journey as a PMP
trainer?
Sandesh: “The success of my participants” without a doubt. There have been many
who took training from some other agency and failed to qualify in their first attempt,

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but later attended my training and became PMPs. For a facilitator like me there
cannot be any other thing which is more satisfying. I do celebrate the success of each
of my participants without fail in my own unique manner.

You feel happy when you achieve your goals but it’s a completely different feeling
when you play a small role in ensuring others achieve their goals. I am glad God has
given me this opportunity.

Uday: So, what advice would you like to give to the fellow ForceNet members
who want to take up PMP certification?
Sandesh: My first advice is “ It is Doable ”. This is an exam which requires focus and
regular effort. You can crack the exam within three months with a focused approach.
There are two key principles to crack the PMP exam:
- Clear Understanding of the Subject. PMP is a professional certification of
immense value. The exam is considered to be one of the toughest, if not the
toughest. Passing such exam requires clear understanding of the syllabus. Your
focus during the PMP training should only be to understand the syllabus and
clarify all your doubts from the facilitator. Preferably attend Live workshops as you
can seek clarifications from the facilitator, a feature not available in any pre-
recorded workshops. More understanding you obtain during the training, your
journey post the workshop to your exam becomes that much smooth.
- Focus and Maintenance of Momentum. Make sure that you study at least 2 hours
every day for next 6 to 8 weeks post the workshop. Try and be regular in studying
everyday even if you have time to read only one page. The subject can become
more difficult in case you have a break in between. Purchase few practice question
papers and solve them during the last three weeks. Attempt one question paper,
analyse and identify your weak topics, read them again before you try the next
practice exam.

Forces Network members are most welcome to contact me for any support regarding
PMP certification. I can be reached at +919868870386 or [email protected].

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Uday: What are your future plans going forward?

Sandesh: Establish VISAJ Training & Consulting as a trustworthy and professional
organisation which will enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of its clients. We are
surely planning to go global for the online PMP workshops in near future.

Uday: There must have been great lessons during this tremendous
entrepreneurial journey. Can you share a few from your experience?
Sandesh: I would suggest the following to the budding entrepreneurs from Forces
Network:
- Pursue Your Passion. First step to starting any venture is to introspect and identify
your passion. Just because a particular line of business has worked for someone it
is not necessary that it will also work for you.
- Create Your USP. It’s important that you create your differentiators vis a vis your
competitors and leverage them to create your space in the market.
- Have Confidence on Your Capabilities. There will be challenges on the way. Have
trust on your capabilities and move ahead. Your passion will give you much
needed energy during these times.
Uday: Sir, thank you so much for enlightening us with your experiences.

Capt Uday K Shriwas was commissioned into the Corps of

Signals, and served in various theaters during his service for
five years, including in a newly raised RR Battalion. Thereafter
he has worked with many renowned Companies, and is now
the Relationship Leader with Yes Bank Ltd.

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Expatriate Interview
In this series we plan to showcase the achievements of the members of Forces
Network who have settled abroad and carved a niche for themselves through hard
work, grit and determination. The aim is to bring to fore the mechanics of such
transitions, and thereby quell the apprehensions of the larger community in the
Network. Learning from each other would help us exploit our true potential in any
part of the World. And, it could be beneficial for our families too.
BY UDAY K SHRIWAS

Lt Col Ajay Serohi, got commissioned into the Corps of EME

and did his attachment with 13 Raj Rif. During his 23 years in
the Army, he served with units in Infantry, AAD, Arty and
Armd, with most tenures in the Northern and Eastern
sectors, and also at Army HQ. Ajay is an electronics engineer
with specialization in RADAR systems and holds two master
degrees in National defense strategy besides being only the
second Indian Army officer ever to graduate with a Master’s
in Management from graduate school of business at
Stanford University. He is PMI certified and after a short stint
in a budding startup in the U.S.A, is currently a product
manager, leveraging his expertise in supply chain logistics to
manage some critical initiatives at TESLA.

Uday: What were the highlights of your tenure in the Indian Army ?
Ajay: I have had the most fulfilling and diverse experience in my 23 years in the Indian
Army in several domains such as counter terrorism, Military Secretary’s Branch,
Operations & Maintenance, Logistics, Inventory and Supply Chain Management. While
my formative years inculcated in me the spirit of Leadership in challenging situations
in the combat zone, (with 13 Rajputana Rifles), my subsequent years instilled the
essence of sincerity, hard work and perseverance. Commissioned into the Corps of
EME, I had the privilege of working with some of the finest in units in Infantry,
Armoured, AAD and Artillery as the OC Workshop. I tenanted the coveted
appointment of ADC to a GOC followed by the Governor of Gujarat for a short
duration. After completing my Degree engineering and Advance Course in RADAR
systems, I had the opportunity of working with Raytheon on a critical project for the
Army. On completion of DSSC 62nd course, I was posted as AQMG of an Infantry
Brigade in the North East. Thereafter, I tenanted the coveted post of the Additional
Military Secretary (AMS) of EME where I tried my best to optimally balance the
organizational requirements with personal aspirations to improve officers’ satisfaction
and happiness index. My tenure at Military Secretary’s Branch was a an important
lesson in humility, when for three years, I worked and sometimes fought to make the
system sympathetic and alive to the myriad personal problems - Kids with Cancer,
kids with special needs and many such issues- of officers, when sometimes all they
needed was a hearing and an assurance. My last tenure in the base camp wherein I

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initiated some of the most innovative logistic efforts to supply critical electronic cards
for the communication equipment won me much appreciation as well as the
GOC-in-C Commendation Card. Moreover I was also involved in the design and
deployment of a 635 km OFC network to provide real time encrypted military
communications in high altitude areas. This particular project is of critical importance
to the Indian Defense Network for battlefield surveillance and battlefield visibility. It
was in Ladakh that I found my calling in doing something for the environment and
therefore started the ‘Green Shoots initiative’, promoting farming and eco-tourism for
furthering the locals’ self-sustainability. Over these years of my life and across the
experiences in the Army, what matters to me is that I always uphold and defend the
spirit of freedom, Human Values and dignity of the human body, mind and soul.

Uday: Did you have any concrete plans as to what exactly you wished to do post
retirement? How did you prepare yourself for the second innings?
Ajay: I have always believed in the cliché ‘If you don't move and adapt you will soon
be extinct’. As a second-generation officer, we always were in a microcosm of the
Army values and ethos in our house. I remember my parents, instilling in us the
importance of balance in nature and the criticality of taking the right steps towards
sustainability - although the terminology dawned on me much later. It was after my
experience and success with the initiative of ‘Green Shoots’ in Ladakh, that I knew, if
ever I joined the corporate world, I had to be part of a mission to make the planet
more sustainable and I believe Tesla fit into that dream pretty well. Although, at the
time of hanging my uniform, the only concrete plan was to join Stanford University
and I had not planned for the industry or the company. I had my aim of joining the
University set in stone (there were days when I would actually dream myself wearing
their shirt) and gave me the motivation to prepare at 45 years of age in high altitude -
guess the low oxygen helped fire my neurons. I think the important point here is that
if one believes in a cause and has the aim set, then no dream is impossible. I also
believe that our training and experience in the Forces makes us agile enough to adapt
to any situation and excel in the most meagre resources. I first researched the
Universities in the U.S. and Canada and thereafter took my decision to apply based on
a number of factors that were critical in my case. I had applied in seven Universities
and got acceptance in six of these. However, I joined Stanford and have never
regretted the decision. My preparation for GMAT was limited to the erratic hours of
electricity and internet where I was posted in Ladakh. I complemented the
preparation by enrolling in a month-long coaching at Jamboree during my Annual
Leave. I also took some guidance and help from alumni in writing my essay and the
other important parts of the application. The biggest challenge was to keep oneself
sharp at high altitude at 45 years of age, and in this meditation as well Pranayama
helped me a lot.

Uday: What was the impetus for you to leave the uniformed service and then
immigrate to the US?
Ajay: My reasons for leaving the Army stemmed from personal as well as professional
requirements. On the personal front, I wanted to spend more time with the family and
dedicate more time towards the higher education path of my daughters in the U.S. On

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the Professional level, I have served for 23 years and didn’t see any further avenues of
my own growth in the Army. Moreover I was not adding any value to the organization
and thus decided to take the call for making the transition. I also want to take my
experience of leadership and logistics in the Army to do well in the corporate. The
trigger for the transition came about in the last tenure in Ladakh wherein I developed
some health issue which would have only worsened at High Altitude.

Uday: What were the challenges faced in your transition from the uniformed to
corporate life? How did you overcome those challenges?
Ajay: The biggest challenge was access to the internet and electricity in my location
for preparations for GMAT and the application. Most officers stationed in remote
locations would face such a dilemma. In my case I made the best of the limited hours
by preparing from the books (GMAT) and using the precious internet time to research
for colleges or their application downloads. Thereafter using the offline time to ideate
and prepare the SOPs. Another challenge faced by us is the conversion of our
experiences into a good corporate equivalent on the resume. I scanned on LinkedIn or
internet for the resumes as well as the requirements for the roles that I was interested
in applying for. Thereafter I listed all my major achievements in the Army and
converted into equivalent corporate jargon in the one liner templates of “what, How
and So What”. I guess one of the biggest dilemmas is to plan the closures and
consolidate all assets into the simplest manageable form - major exercise was to
identify all the assets such as the car, additional house etc and then convert whatever
possible into liquid assets in order to take stock of the finances. The liquid assets
along with the post retirement money formed the yardstick metric for the loan in
dollars that I could afford to borrow. Thankfully in my case the housing and the other
basic requirements like the furniture, fridge and Kitchen oven etc were taken care of
by Stanford University just like in Staff College and therefore the house is ready to

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move in as we arrive. However, I assume that the housing would be another challenge
in case of Universities not having a dedicated accommodation. In such cases it is best
to liaise with the administrative officer or the alumni or the Army officers network to
tie up the accommodation. The workplace is very different from what we are used to
in the Army and one needs to be careful in understanding that the environment is not
as protective. At Tesla as well as most other companies, one is expected to speak one's
mind and participate in ideation even if it means countering the ideas of your Boss -
Coming straight out of the Army the thought of countering the Boss might be a slight
challenge to adjust to. I had this issue for the first 3~4 months but fortunately for me, I
told my Boss one-on-one and she was supportive in giving me opportunities to speak
my mind in most meetings. Thereafter it became a muscle memory.

Uday: How was your experience at Stanford University? Would you recommend
the course to other Armed Forces officers preparing for transition?
Ajay: I have been on the literary road for quite some time dotted with milestones of
engineering, advance course in RADARs and a couple of Masters in defense strategy,
however nothing prepares you for the corridors of learning at Stanford University.
Situated in the heart of innovation and technology in the silicon valley, sprawled in
the splendor of the Californian palms and sun, the campus stretches over 13 square
miles and houses some of the best schools in the world with its Graduate school of
Business (GSB) being at the top spot over many years. At GSB I had the privilege of
being only the second ever Indian Army officer to have graduated till now. Stanford
follows an experiential teaching methodology with the case study as its basis, wherein
the classes are taught by the Titans in the Industry and some of the most famous
Nobel Laureates. Some of the most important skills that an officer needs during the
transition is the knowledge of the Business concepts, business jargon and the soft
skills. Stanford provided the right environment and the platform for me to make the
transition in three degrees - geography, Industry and the role. There were some
exceptional courses such as Touchy Feely, Paths to Power and acting with power that
prepare you for the world in the corporate and hone the soft skills required in the
corporate. I have been in touch with a lot of officers who are either preparing for

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Stanford or are in the planning stage and the biggest concern they have is of the costs
and that of taking the big plunge. Through this magazine I would like to reassure on
both accounts that the course is worth every dollar as well as the risk. I would highly
recommend officers to prepare for this wonderful one-year course and can guide
them through the process.

Another point that I would like to drive home is that the common concern or fear is
that one needs a particular background or certain inherent knowledge to get into a
particular sector or Industry. This might be true for officers who start young or those
who may be wanting to enter the industry with a particular skill set or in some
companies in India wherein we are attached to rubber stamped Degrees. However,
the biggest revelation in my personal transition as well as from the other Indian
service officers (good about 20 officers on the West coast in the US) has been that
companies in the U.S give more credence to the leadership and management
expertise and basic logical reasoning that we as veterans bring with us. In my own
case, I had no background in computers, but I am tenanting in the role of product
manager in the IT Applications engineering department and have a number of
developers as well as systems engineers working in the team. I was not interviewed for
technical skills rather I was asked some basic reasoning questions and was asked to
give solutions in certain painted situations apart from making a presentation.

Uday: Please share the major highlights of your corporate journey so far?
Ajay: My corporate journey is young, but in these three years I seem to have lived a
lifetime in the velocity of projects at Tesla and the diverse departments that I have
worked cross functionally. In my current role as the Staff product manager, I own and
lead the development of software products in IT application engineering that support
the business processes of sales, marketing, supply chain management as well as the
core IT infrastructure improvements. Some of the highlights in the corporate world
have been in successfully leading the initiative to develop the digital twin for the
supply of material from the Gigafactory in the U.S. to that in Shanghai, leading the
development of software for the world’s largest virtual plant (a community GRID
initiative in the Southern Australia to provide sustainable and cheap electricity to the
remote communities) - https://www.tesla.com/en_AU/videos/savpp?redirect=no, and
streamlining as well as digitizing the financial operations to discover efficiencies in
automation. Through this wonderful journey, at Tesla,I have made many friends,
represented the Indian Army spirit and ethos in several functions of the American
Veterans community both at Tesla as well as the Bay Area and am proud to be a part
of the mission at Tesla - “to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy”.

Uday: What does a regular day in the life of a Staff Product Manager at TESLA
look like?
Ajay: I would like to segregate my regular days into the ‘end of quarter’ and the ‘rest
of quarter’ periods since in the current company most software projects are on a
quarter cycle. On a normal day in the ‘rest of quarter’, I get up early and devote an
hour to my Pranayama and stretching exercise. I then address all the pending emails
or decisions from the previous day and devote 30 minutes to prioritizing as well as

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listing out the agenda for the day. I work with a lot of cross functional teams and
therefore most of the day is spent in meeting the teams, communications and the
change management. Once a week I also hold meetings with my team to either
ideate or just chill out. These are very informal gatherings to get to know each other or
identify any issues that can be nipped in the bud. There are a lot of other Veteran
events or professional club activities during the working hours that I am a part of, and
I actively contribute to these gatherings. However, the day changes completely if
there is a big software release at the end of quarter or any other company milestone,
wherein one loses the sense of the day and sometimes the day may well merge into
the next one. My current company’s culture is just like the Army wherein our
executives and even the CEO pitches the tent and has soup with the team at 1 AM in
the night in case of deliveries of cars or sleeps at the Factory premises whenever there
is a production ramp up. In general, I would say that the work culture in most
American companies and especially so in Tesla is very conducive to entrepreneurial
leadership and innovative zeal, that encourages integrity and quality rather than
quantity of effort. The culture is very inclusive of all Nationalities and acceptance of
failures is appreciated by the leadership.

Uday: What were the major challenges you and your family faced during
different country moves and especially after moving to the United States?
Ajay: The biggest challenge in making the transition on all three degrees of axis
(geography, Industry and the role) is firstly being 100% convinced yourself and
cementing the decision with your wife and kids. Fortunately, in the services, our wives
are the pillar of support and the kids are used to frequent moves, which I shall call the
change management. However, there were challenges of letting go the nostalgia of a
household of stuff and packing only the essentials in our eight suitcases to the U.S.,
planning the finances and getting the necessary documentation for the VISAs. We all
had to adjust to the new cultural nuances and the fast-paced life of having to do

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everything ourselves since any services and help cost a lot of money. Moreover, there is
always the anxiety of not getting any job since there are no dedicated campus
placements unlike Indian universities. However, in hindsight I can assure that I have
yet to see any Indian Army officer without a job or having to move back to India. I
have grown up daughters and my elder daughter was transitioning into the tenth
grade. In the U.S. 9th till 11th grade is very important for the college considerations.
The children had to adjust to the curricula and the methods of teaching in the schools
here. Initially she had to put in some extra hours but in the long run she graduated
with good marks and would now join a great college in the west coast. Initial couple
of years are slightly tough since one has to adjust to a new way of life but ultimately,
the quality of living and the opportunities in all spheres of life grow on oneself and we
consider ourselves lucky to be in the U.S.

Uday: How do you find your journey so far post migrating to the US? Any
regrets?
Ajay: I have loved every moment and milestone of the Journey. The education opened
my eyes to the latest ventures in the Tech world and the work experience has laid the
solid foundation to building a strong structure for the professional edifice. I have
made some great friends and my cultural bandwidth has increased to a global
diaspora. My daughters accepted their new environment with ease and I am happy
that the elder daughter has been accepted at one of the prestigious colleges. I have
no regrets thus far and am looking forward to some exciting times.

Uday: What would be your advice to officers who wish to specifically move to
the United States post retirement?
Ajay: Although I have spent only three years in the U.S. and am still in the early stages
of settling down but having seen both the good part of 2018 and the tough 2020, I
can surely give out my pearls of experience to officers willing to move to the U.S. As I
have said earlier, the most important criteria in deciding to move, is the AIM of the
transition. For officers early in their service, it might be purely professional
accomplishments or settling down in the U.S. whereas officers with grown up
children, may be seeking better education avenues along with their own career
moves. The decision to move involves not only a mental conviction in oneself but also
the attitudinal change since one would need to learn the ropes in the company to
earn respect and position. Moreover, one has to overcome the pain of leaving friends
or family and especially aged parents and this decision I believe is the toughest to
make. In both the cases the transition springboard or the platform would best be an
educational degree ( a Masters or a one year MBA) that can provide for a 3 year OPT
(Optional Practical Training is temporary employment that is directly related to an F-1
student's major area of study) required for working in the U.S.

Once the decision is cast to stone, It would be best to research the colleges that the
officer would like to apply for and the attributes could be as varied as the industry
specialization, costs, duration of study, family support and accommodation, duration
of study, internship etc. Thereafter comes the important step of preparation for the
GMAT as well as the Essay (which is different for each college). Most officers are

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concerned about the finance aspect, and let me assure you that most colleges are
supported by the International loan company Prodigy Finance
(https://prodigyfinance.com/). During the course of study, it is best to network
extensively with the alumni, Army network or any other networks since most
interviews for jobs are landed through a referral. Any officer interested in more details
can contact me for guidance.

Uday: Do you have any other hobbies or interests, which you pursue
passionately? and how?
Ajay: Whilst as a student in Stanford, I played Soccer for the GSB team. I have also
picked up the hobby of pottery and after many deformed shapes have finally got
some semblance of shapes in my own pots and cups. Reading has always been a
passion and continues to be so. Another fresh start is in trekking and exploring the
numerous trails in beautiful California. The trails are 10~15 miles and hug along the
Pacific coasts or pass through the mighty Redwood forest and are a delight for a
Naturalist.

Uday: There must have been great lessons during this tremendous journey after
hanging the uniform. Can you share a few from your experience?
Ajay: In my journey of three years since hanging the uniform, some of the lessons that
stand out and would speak to most of us are:
- It's good to take a chance in life for one's passion. When we move ahead in life
and have liabilities then one is generally scared to make big moves. However, I
have come to realise that a well planned and thought out move or a change is
mostly a success.
- Hard work will never go unnoticed. In my transition from the Army to the
corporate in the US, I had to start at the base level since I had no US experience.
However, it made me learn the tricks of the trade and with initial hard work I made
it to a respectable level.
- Prioritize and then Re-Prioritize. Time is always at a premium and especially so in
the U.S. since there is no help and one has to take care of all the administrative,
household aspects in addition to the work. It therefore is a good habit to have a
routine and a prioritization matrix of the tasks for the day. routine and a
prioritization matrix of the tasks for the day.

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- Constantly Upskill. Technology is in a constant flux and the mantra is to

constantly upskill. At higher levels a functional knowledge suffices, whereas at
more specific subject matter roles, one would need to deep dive. Moreover, it is
best to be in touch with where the world is moving to and this is best gained by
being in touch with the research academia.
- Have Fun and Make Friends. I would say this is the most critical lesson and I
listed this last so that this is the last thought that stays with the reader. In the U.S.
most jobs are through a referral and the Hiring managers are interested in the
holistic applicant rather than just their resumes. It is best therefore to improve
one's network by connecting with or through the friend circle bringing out the
cultural and Fun best in oneself. I got my referral for an interview through one of
the VPs whom I met in my Wine Class.

Uday: What are your future plans going forward?

Ajay: In the near future (say 5 Years) I would like to transition to supply chain
management taking more responsibilities in the expertise of developing the digital
twin of the supply chain in a tech company. I am also planning on gravitating towards
the core automation sector wherein the manufacturing or the core business processes
are automated in the AR/ VR technology. In the long term, I have my dreams set on
starting something on my own in the agri supply chain sector.

Uday: Sir, thanks a ton, for sharing wonderful bites from your exciting journey of
professional career and life.

Capt Uday K Shriwas was commissioned into the Corps of

Signals, and served in various theaters during his service for
five years, including in a newly raised RR Battalion. Thereafter
he has worked with many renowned Companies, and is now
the Relationship Leader with Yes Bank Ltd.

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Women Power
Spouses of Defence Officers have immense potential as individuals. While many of
them have already established themselves as successful independent entities, a very
large number still has to recognise and exploit their inherent hidden capabilities and
worth. In this series we plan to showcase the achievements of such spouses of the
members of Forces Network who have carved a niche for themselves through hard
work, grit and determination, so as to provide adequate motivation to the others.
BY RANVIR SINGH
Meenakshi Sharma is a fauji wife from the Army and
mother of a teenage son. Professionally, she is a
management graduate with over fourteen years of
experience in International higher education marketing.
She has developed and led teams to build and promote
strong international higher education brands in India and
other South Asian countries. Over the years she has
worked with top US Universities like New York University
and Duke University and is currently working with
Claremont Graduate University. Passionate about reading,
baking and travelling, she is an ardent follower of Nicherin
Buddhism and deeply believes in the humanistic
philosophy. She firmly believes that it is only through
international education and exchange of culture and ideas
that we can build a peaceful society and make this world a
better place to live in.

Ranvir: Please tell us about yourself and what you do, and how you started ?
Meenakshi: I am a management graduate with over fourteen years of professional
experience in project management, business development, brand management,
outreach and strategy building in international organizations. With education in the
core having worked across various industries like Hindustan Times, British Council, New
York University and currently with Sannam S4, I have accumulated wealth of
knowledge and skills in the field of education. I have travelled extensively to the
countries in Asia Pacific, Middle East, Europe and the USA.

A week after my last MBA exam I got married to an Army officer. While I was prepared
to move from posting to posting with him and look for something in local station to
satisfy my intellectual curiosity, but destiny had different plans for me. Soon after my
marriage, he went for a practice camp and thereafter moved to a field area. I stayed
back with my in-laws, it was then that my husband and mother-in-law encouraged me
to kick start my career. I started applying and was soon hired as the Marketing and
Promotions Manager in one of the leading media company. Since then, there has been
no looking back. and I owe it to the constant support of my husband.

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Ranvir: Did you have this passion even before marriage, or was it something that
got ignited after marriage?
Meenakshi: My parents strongly believed in good education and gave me the
freedom to choose what I want to study. I have always been on top of my class and
was the Student President of placement cell in my college. I have been a very
enterprising student throughout my student life. Once my marriage was arranged
with a serving army officer, I had given up the hope of a full-time career however with
the strong support, encouragement and understanding of my husband and in- laws I
could establish a flourishing career.

Ranvir: Would you like to share the details of your services, and your marketing
strategy?
Meenakshi: Currently, I work with a leading multinational organization Sannam S4. It
works with the world’s leading corporates, globally ambitious small and medium-
sized companies, education institutions, non-profit, trade bodies, and government
agencies. We enable these organisations to successfully explore, enter and expand
into dynamic, high-growth markets throughout the world. I work in the education
sector and lead in developing marketing, student recruitment and partnership
strategy of Claremont Graduate University, California, United States. In the past, I have
worked with Universities like King Abdullah University of Science and Technology,
Saudi Arabia, Duke University and New York University. For the last eight years I
managed the marketing, outreach and admissions of New York University in South
Asia.

Ranvir: What is the most favourite part of your job?

Meenakshi: My work allows me to travel around the world and meet with the best of
the people from education industry. I have widely travelled the world visiting more
than ten countries in four different continents. I work with people of different
backgrounds, cultures, languages and tastes and this brings a new learning every day.
I also enjoy working with young students, parents, educationists and help them
understand the value of international education and how can they
prepare/help/support well for the application to leading US Universities.

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Ranvir: What would be your tips for the children who wish to apply to the US
Universities ?
Meenakshi: Application to any foreign University is not difficult but time consuming.
If you follow these simple steps and allow enough time you can put together a great
application:
- Chose the Country and Select More Than One Option in Universities: Even if you
are sure which university is your most favourite but it is advisable to keep your
options open and select more than one university. You can also reach out the
organisations like EdUSA (US), UKERI (UK), DAAD (Germany) for more information
on the various Universities in these countries. Their services are free of charge.
- Research Well: All the information related to admission, degree and courses is
given on the website. Read it well before you decide to shortlist the University.
- Go Through the Application Requirements Page Thoroughly: Once you short list
the program in the University of your choice, read the admission requirement page
carefully. It would have all the details that you need to send in the application for
e.g. documents/transcripts/test scores etc. All this information should be on your
finger tips.
- Contact the University Office: Majority of top ranked university would have a
country office. You can reach out to the country representative directly to get the
most authentic and university specific information. If there is no university office in
the country you can register for the webinars for international students on the
university’s website. Attend the Univesrity’s information sessions to clear your
doubts and be sure you have understood the information correctly that you have
gathered through the website.
- Enquire About the Financial Support: It is important for you to understand the
financial support/scholarship offered by various universities and how can you apply
for it.
- Go Through the Application Forms Diligently: In countries like US you can apply
to multiple universities through a common form called “The Common Application
form”. If the Universities that you have selected are listed on the Common app
please read the form very carefully to understand all that you need to fill. Prepare
all the information that needs to be added in the form.
- Keep a Close Check on the Deadlines: The deadlines in foreign Universities are
water tight please make sure you have your work planned according to the
deadline.
- Fill Up Your Application in a Professional Manner: Applying to the best
Universities in the US is like a job application. Please make sure you do not fill it
casually and do not forget to use email ids that look professional. If you do not
have one create a new.
- Write Interesting Essays: Start writing your essays months in advance to achieve
the best results. Create many drafts and make sure that the essay should reflect
your character as a person. You can choose the topics given on the application
forms.

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- Express Your Interest in the University: While researching the website read about
the things that you liked most about the University and how you make a good fit
to this place. Express your interest and also what you are going to get on the table
for them.
- Review Before Hitting Submit: Review your application carefully before hitting
the submit button to ensure you have added all the information correctly. Once
submitted you can not make any amends.

Ranvir: Do you have any success story of any student, coming from a defence
background?
Meenakshi: During the course of my career, I have come across many students with
parents serving in the defence forces. Given the nature of the defence job of moving
and settling in new places every few years, I noticed there is lack of right knowledge
among the wards and families. Majority of them, academically sound but without a
strong profile would visit my office in the month of September to understand the
whole procedure and secure admission. The admission to the US universities is a
process that needs to be started as early as a year before. If your ward is looking for an
admission to undergrad program they should start working on their profiles from class
IX onwards as the majority of the Universities would like to see your profile over the
period of four years. Below are the few elements top US universities would like to see
in the application of the prospective student:
- Academic excellence
- Passionate, sustained and meaningful extracurricular activities
- Intellectual curiosity
- Leadership Skills
- Community Service

Academic excellence alone will not help you secure a seat in the best Universities.
Please allow your self enough time to build a strong profile. I would like to share a
story about a student from a defence background who managed to secure the
admission in one of the top US University. His father was serving in the Air Force, he
reached out to me through a school counsellor. The student was an outstanding
student studying in Army School, holding the position o f a Head Boy, passionate

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about Physics, and had earned accolades for his school on different occasions. He got
in touch with me months before his application deadline and regularly attended the
information sessions, workshops and diligently worked on his application. He secured
his well written recommendations timely, worked hard for his essays and gave enough
time to his application.

With this focus and hard work, he managed to get in NYU’s campus in Abu Dhabi with
100% financial support. As a part of the program, he got an opportunity to travel to
nine different study abroad sites of NYU and study in different countries.

Ranvir: Any other challenges have you faced so far, on the way to establishing
yourself? And, how did you overcome these challenges?
Meenakshi: One needs to be determined, focused and persistent to grow in life.
Juggling different roles at the same time while giving your best in each role is not
easy.

To overcome the challenge of the demand of each role that I played, I established a
strong support system at home. It saved me from being overwhelmed by my
responsibilities and allowed me to be stay completely focused on my work, travel and
also be able to spend quality time with my family and loved ones.

Planning my work and household responsibilities helped me build emotionally strong,

progressive, close-knit family and a successful career all at the same time.

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Ranvir: What advice do you have, especially for spouses of defence officers, who
desire or aspire to be similarly independent?
Meenakshi: My message to all the wonderful ladies married to defence officers is
“Know that you are not ordinary. You have already proved it by marrying the toughest
job holders.” My only advice to the spouses is to embrace the choices you have made
whether it is being a housewife or a working professional. If at any point you think to
change your decision and would like to start a career, all you need is the strong
determination and meticulous planning and trust me you can achieve whatever you
set your eyes on.

Ranvir: Thank you, Meenakshi. It was wonderful interacting with you and
understanding the gamut of applying to the educational institutions in the US, and
surely our readers will benefit from your experience in this field.
Meenakshi: It has also been my endeavour to be of assistance to the members of our
defence fraternity, and I can be reached anytime for assistance in this regard.

Lt Col Ranvir Singh,  a product of Rashtriya Military School and

and an alumnus of National Defence Academy, was
commissioned into 2nd Battalion The Bihar Regiment in June
1988. After hanging his boots in Jan 2009, he has contributed
immensely as a Corporate Warrior for last 10 years to recognised
organisations like IL&FS Technologies Ltd, National Institute of
Bank Management of RBI, and MMTC-PAMP India Pvt Ltd. Apart
from being a Security & Safety specialist and an Administration
expert, he has a keen interest in the field of ever evolving
Information Technology, and a flair for writing. He can be
reached at [email protected]

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Gratitude
A Milestone @ 57
BY SYED SHAHID RAZA

I took premature release in 2008 after completing 22 years of active service in

Engineering branch in Indian Navy. In my last year of service, I enrolled myself for
management certification programme from Management Development Institute,
Gurgaon (AFP 9 ). While doing the MDI course , I met a few seniors from service
during guest lectures organised by our batch and came to know about “PMP
certification”. Courses prior to our batch had the luxury of getting at least two jobs
during placement period . But in our course Lord Murphy brought in recession of 2008
and very few SSC officers got placement during our MDI tenure.

After MDI and release from service, I was lucky to get a break in a Mumbai based
company and was initiated into the rigmarole of corporate life. Changing three jobs
in the period 2009 to 2018 ( Pharmaceutical process manufacturing company,
Operation and maintenance of District cooling facility- Cyber Hub Gurgaon, a project
role of construction of Asia’s largest Malt and manufacturing facility at Kotputli), a
need was always felt to enhance my skill level but the demands of my job prevented
me from putting in efforts towards it. I was looking for better job options in June
2018 and visited Directorate of Ex-servicemen, DESA, in New Delhi. The officer-in-
charge introduced me to this wonderful platform “Forces Network “.

One of the mails in network pertained to PMP and the administrator mentioned “Col
Sandesh Sharma“. I contacted Col Sandesh and he mentioned his next batch will
commence in about 25 days’ time and advised me to remain in touch.

Same day one of the other mails mentioned about a job opportunity in an Oil and Gas
project in Oman. The originator mentioned the living condition to be akin to
concentration camp of Nazis Germany. I took my chances and applied for the job. I
landed up in Muscat exactly ten days after applying for the job.

What was described as a Nazi camp was actually a five star facility for 7000 plus
Omani/Expats in mid-desert, 400 Kms from Muscat, working together to make
Oman’s largest oil and gas project (PDO Yibal Khuff Project) in which our company
was major construction contractor. It was a great learning opportunity for me to see
how the mega projects are planned, executed and monitored. My part of the ship was
administration, camp management, catering, security, transport, HR, and all essential
services of arranging potable water, STP plant, RO Plant etc. I was also involved as
team leader for improving time on task campaign for expat employees through
which I learnt a lot about the work flow, daily reporting, WBS, WBS dictionary and
PMIS reporting etc . Working hours were from 5.30 AM to 12.30 PM and again 3.30 PM
to 6.30 PM on a daily basis, and extreme temperatures of +55 degree in summer to 2

40
 JANUARY 2021

degree in winter, frequent sandstorms during March to September period (akin to

scene filmed in the Tom Cruise movie - Mission Impossible The Ghost Protocol) etc
were the challenges. Being a trained mountaineer from HMI Darjeeling, I enjoyed
every moment of it. One of the major lessons learnt is emphasis on adherence to
safety standards and hygiene standards in the camp not only for Managers/staff but
for the expat workforce. The project completed 46 Million LTI Safe man hours till 30
Sep 20. The camp infrastructure, mostly made from fireproof porta cabins, ablution
blocks, Dining hall, HACCP certified Kitchens, Masjid, Multipurpose hall, football
ground, Gymnasium and recreation halls all were of world class standard and were
inspected on weekly basis by PDO HSE team. I realised that the hygiene factor as
emphasised in Herzberg theory contributing to higher productivity needs to be
replicated/implemented in our country too by major companies. My contract with
company expired on 30 Sep 20.

I was following Forces Network mail throughout my stay in Oman. From there, I got to
know about Covid virtual batches in PMP by Colonel Sandesh Sharma, and I joined a
batch in June 2020, and had planned to take the exam on my return to India in mid
Oct 2020. Unfortunately, our Camp came under Covid attack with more than 200
active cases and about 4500 personnel were quarantined in their rooms for one
month as per very strict health protocol of Oman. Being Admin in-charge, I had to
utilise all my VUCA skills and leadership ability to make a dedicated team of
volunteers who took part in temperature screening, room delivery of packed meals
thrice a day, roving patrols, transporting critically ill patients to Nizwa hospital. 80
rooms with attached toilets were converted to isolation rooms and the Multipurpose
hall was converted to COVID hospital. Full two months of July and August were
devoted to Covid management and bringing normalcy in the camp. Both PDO and
my company recognised the sterling effort put in by my team and conferred on each
member “SHUKRAN“ award signed by top management of company. I happened to
be in 55 Plus age category, so as per company policy I returned home on 10 Oct 2020,
carrying very pleasant memories of Oman. It was courtesy Forces Network that I got
the opportunity to experience such world class work culture/infrastructure which was
the focal touch point for all so called hygiene factors for 7000 plus Omani and expat
workforce from 23 countries.

Once back in Gurgaon, I utilised my 14 days quarantine period to read PMBOK and
workshop notes by Colonel Sandesh. Now the success story of Col Sandesh factory
started trickling in our WhatsApp Group. Once in every two days, one youngster
announcing his mega success in PMP exam accompanied with his lesson learnt
stories . The resources shared in group and discussion within group made me
confident to appear for the exam on 13th Nov 2020. However, after four hours,
“FAILED“ was staring at me.

Introspection revealed that I had got carried away by the success stories of youngsters
and had not given the examination its due weightage. For next seven days I did not
even look at PMP notes or resources in frustration.

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 JANUARY 2021

Then, on 22 Nov 2020, I received the daily good morning message from Col Sandesh,
which said, “ An entire sea of water can’t sink a ship unless it gets inside the ship.
Similarly the negativity of the world can’t put you down unless you allow it to get
into you “. The message motivated me to realise failures are the first attempts to
learning and END – 'effort never dies'.

I was bold enough to admit my failure openly in our Whatsapp group. I however found
that I was not alone, and then five of us joined together on this path to conquer PMP.
We shared our learning almost on a daily basis with each other and overcame our
anxieties and insecurity. My wife supported me through out by taking full control of
the home front, so that I could devote time for exam preparation. Quick revision of
relevant PMBOK chapters was of much help along with flash cards shared by one of
the colleagues.

I re-appeared for the exam on 18 Dec 2020 and finally got my coveted PMP badge. So
far three of our group members, all above 54, have qualified for PMP certification and I
am sure the other two will also qualify by 30 Dec 2020.

At 57, I am not very sure what wonders this PMP badge will do to my stalled career as
no job opportunities are available to senior veterans, but yes it has provided me a
framework for doing jobs in a more structured and a methodical manner. Had I
obtained this badge in 2009, my career would have shaped up in an entirely different
manner. I owe my success to Forces Network, Col Sandesh Sharma, my wife and
committed colleagues of PMP workshop. I think most of the veterans who leave
service after 20 years must utilise the Forces Network platform to up skill themselves
which will help them to play active part in second innings

In the last three months, through Forces network platform, I have also done ABCT
Part I and II, and intend obtaining Cloud Computing Azure 900 certification and
KPMG lean Six Sigma, Green Belt certification. We are indeed very fortunate to have a
network of committed professionals who are working selflessly towards professional
advancement of our veterans’ fraternity. Three Cheers to Forces Network...the Network
that works.
Cdr Syed Shahid Raza joined Indian Navy Engineering
Branch on 10 Feb 1986. While in Navy, he specialised in
Marine Gas Turbines and Diesel Engines He has done Post
Graduation from IIT Delhi. He took premature release from
service in Oct 2008. After MDI AFP programme, has has done
corporate tenure with M/s Bectochem Engineering &
Consultants , Mumbai, International Coil Ltd, Gurgaon , ETA
Engineering Pvt Ltd for their Logistic business, Barmalt
Malting India Pvt Ltd, Gurgaon and Galfar Engineering &
Construction SAOG, Muscat. He is a lead auditor of ISO 9000
QMS, OSHMS ISO 45000 and FSMS ISO 22000.

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 JANUARY 2021

Book Review
The New Rules of War: by Sean McFate
BY SURESH CHANDRA
About the Author : Dr Sean McFate is a foreign policy expert, an author, and a
novelist. He started his career as a paratrooper and officer in the US Army’s 82nd
Airborne Division. Graduated from elite training programs, such as Jungle Warfare
School in Panama, he was also a Jump Master. Consequent to his military service he
became a private military contractor and paramilitary. Among his many experiences,
he dealt with African warlords, raised armies for US interest, rode with armed groups
in the Sahara, conducted strategic reconnaissance for the extractive industry,
transacted various arms deals in Eastern Europe, and helped prevent an impending
genocide in the Rwanda region.

He is an international business professional, a consultant to the US military, US

intelligence community and United Nations. He writes extensively for leading
newspapers and magazines and appears on various talks of repute. He is a Senior
Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington DC think tank, and a professor of strategy
at the National Defense University and Georgetown University’s School of Foreign
Service. Additionally, he serves as an Advisor to Oxford University’s Centre for
Technology and Global Affairs.

McFate holds a BA from Brown University, MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School of
Government, and a Ph.D. in international relations from the London School of
Economics and Political Science (LSE). He was also a Fellow at Oxford. McFate lives in
Washington, DC.
(Source: https://www.seanmcfate.com/biography)

The Book Review

"War is both timeless and ever changing. While the basic nature of war is constant, the
means and methods we use evolve continuously", says the Marine Corps Warfighting
Doctrine. Weapons, tactics, technology, leadership, objectives do change, but our
desire to go into battle does not. The world is being shaped by "Durable Disorder" due
to various factors like rise of China, resurgence of Russia, global terrorism,
international crime, climate change, dwindling natural resources, and civil wars. This
turmoil forces us to ask the critical question – what will be the nature of future wars?
Sean McFate, the author, drawing from ‘knowledge pool’ of military geniuses like Carl
von Clausewitz, Sun Tzu and his own experiences in various battlefields tries to carve
out the new rules of war as it applies to the American context. The book is full of
examples from the Roman conquest, World War II, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and others.
He addresses the differences between conventional and future war, the
misconception that technology is our saviour, the leverage of psychological and
‘shadow’ warfare, and much more.

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 JANUARY 2021

Some of the rules/principles are ancient, some are new, but he feels these “new rules
of war” will shape the future wars and the armed forces leadership needs to adapt else
terrorists, rogue states, and others who do not fight conventionally call the shots and
succeed.

The book has been called “The Freakonomics of Modern Warfare” and was named a
“Book of the Year” by The Economist (2019), The Times (UK), and The Evening
Standard. It has been included on West Point’s “Commandant’s Reading List”. The
Economist called it a “fascinating and disturbing book".

The book commences with an unsettling question: " Why has the US forgotten how to
win wars ?", in-fact the question applies to "The West" in general. The last time we (the
US/the West) won decisively was 1945. Ever since then, every major war has been a
stalemate or quagmire. The simple answer to this as per the author is that "warfare
has moved on, but we have not." The author feels that the reason for this poor
US/West performance in various conflicts, is that the "war futurists", the people who
visualise wars of future and drive present strategic decisions are invariably incorrect in
their appreciation. As per Lawrence Freedman, an eminent war scholar after studying
modern conflicts found that predictions about future war were almost always
incorrect.

In an interview with DODReads, McFate says “ War is getting sneaker. Victory goes to
the cunning, not just the strong. We are Goliath in the age of David. However, the US
used to be crafty, from the Revolutionary War to the Cold War. We need our old
strategic mojo back. While we have the best military in the world (even our
adversaries know it), Washington suffers from strategic atrophy. Without a sound
strategy, awesome troops alone cannot achieve victory. The Number 1 Rule: Improve
Washington’s strategic IQ". This sets the tone of the book.

Durable Disorder . The 21st century, as per the author, is embroiled in perpetual
chaos, with no easy ways to contain it. Whatever has been tried so far has failed.
Nearly half of the 194 countries are experiencing some form of war. Studies reveal that
most peace agreements fail in five years, and that wars no longer end unless one side
is obliterated , like the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka or the Chechens in Grozny. Present day
conflicts “s moulder in perpetuity without a clear winner or loser .” This growing
entropy signifies the emergence of a new global system which the author calls
“ durable disorder ” whose defining feature is persistent armed conflict, but not as we
know it.

He goes on to say that durable disorder will ensure that traditional battles will be
indecisive, meaning of winning will change and victory will be achieved not on the
battlefield but elsewhere, conflicts will not start and stop, but will grind on in “forever
wars”, terms like “war” and “peace” will lose their meaning, laws of war will fade away
and UN will prove useless. Non-kinetic elements like information, refugees, ideology,
and time will be weaponized and will prove more effective than kinetic weapons.

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 JANUARY 2021

“In the coming decades, we will see wars without states, and countries
will become prizes to be won by more powerful global actors.
Many nation-states will exist in name only, as some practically already do.
Wars will be fought mostly in the shadows by covert means, and plausible
deniability will prove more effective than firepower in an information age.”

The first half of the 20th century was invariably dominated by large wars with long
periods of relative peace in between. But todays conflict, though on a diminished
scale, has become a permanent feature of the global landscape where the
combatants are not always nation-states. He goes on to say:

“Conflicts breed like tribbles, and the international community is proved

powerless to stop them. This growing entropy signifies the emergence
of a new global system that I call “durable disorder,” which contains
rather than solves problems. This condition will define the coming age.
The world will not collapse into anarchy; however, the rules-based order
we know will crumble and be replaced by something more organic and wild.”

Identification of problems/issues is crucial and McFate breaks it down to ten rules

which are a combination of his observations of past practices and a list of best
practices for dealing with the new face of warfare.

The rules are worth reading, because they offer a quick and challenging outline that
vividly describes these problems. He discusses these rules within the bounds of
“entropy” and “apathy” and his treatment of the rules is refreshing.

These are McFate’s ten new rules of war:

- Conventional war is dead.
- Technology will not save us.
- There is no such thing as war or peace; both coexist, always.

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 JANUARY 2021

- Hearts and Minds do not matter.

- The best weapons do not fire bullets.
- Mercenaries will return.
- New types of world powers will rule.
- There will be wars without States.
- Shadow wars will dominate.
- Victory is fungible.

“ Generals always fight the last war ”. When it comes to the future of war, nations turn
to past successes and try to replicate the same. Modelling the future on past glories
ensures failure, he says. Nothing is more unconventional today than conventional war
and the days of armed conflict between nation-states are ending. This leads on to the
phrase “conventional warfare is dead.” Strategic thinkers need to focus on the
methods that adversaries use to overcome/bypass conventional strength.

Advanced military hardware is frightfully expensive and takes long to develop. McFate
condemns this general over reliance on hi-tech, as examples of misguided priorities.
He uses the hugely overpriced F-35 and aircraft carriers as examples. The F-35 took
approximately $1.5 trillion to develop - more than Russia’s GDP and an aircraft carrier
costs $13 billion a piece. His treatment of this topic is interesting to read.

Cyber is important, but not in ways people think. It gives us new ways of
doing old things: sabotage, theft, propaganda, deceit, and espionage. None of this
is new. Cyberwar’s real power in modern warfare is influence, not sabotage. Using
the internet to change people’s minds is more powerful than blowing up a server,
and there’s nothing new about propaganda…Weaponized information will be
the WMD of the future, and victory will be won in the influence space.

Based on his extensive special forces experience, the author feels, that the age of the
mercenary is upon us. Large-scale violence has been the monopoly of nation states
since the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, but in recent decades there has been alarming
growth in the supply of for-hire military services which takes one of the two forms:
- Nation-states employ contractors to take on military operations - A response
generally to public disapproval of using citizens in unpopular conflicts. US-hired
contractors are all over the place in Iraq and Afghanistan in significant numbers.
- Use of military contractors by private entities - Corporations hire high-end private
security not as guards, but special-ops-level former military personnel to provide
security in dodgy third-world locations. There is nothing to prevent individuals
from hiring private mercenaries to engage in private military actions. McFate cites
one alarming incident in which a well-known actress attempted to hire a private
security company to engage in a rescue mission in Darfur.

The first-world idea of the globe organised into nation-states is fast disappearing as
large parts of the world are becoming stateless. We have areas of the globe where
competing warlords, gangs and outside interests compete for spoils such as access to

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 JANUARY 2021

natural resources or economically and/or militarily advantageous assets like ports.

Today there are wars within states that ignore the official military. Billionaires could
easily establish their own fiefdoms, states even, with a few well allocated companies
of well-paid soldiers. There is nothing to stop a well-armed private force but another
well-armed private force. Mexico is a prime example, in which cartels are been
engaging in a years-long private conflicts. Syria is now a free-for-all, in which the state
military is only one among many players.

“ Generals always fight the last war ”. When it comes to the future of war, nations turn
to past successes and try to replicate the same. Modelling the future on past glories
ensures failure, he says. Nothing is more unconventional today than conventional war
and the days of armed conflict between nation-states are ending. This leads on to the
phrase “conventional warfare is dead.” Strategic thinkers need to focus on the
methods that adversaries use to overcome/bypass conventional strength.

“One can begin to see a medieval universe unfolding, in which nations,

churches, and the wealthy each pursue global ambitions as world powers.
They will all use force when necessary because it can be bought once again,
as in the Middle Ages. The use of private force will expand in the decades
to come, because nothing is in place to stop its growth, and in so doing,
it will turn the super-rich into potential superpowers.”
Name of the Book: The New Rules of War -
Victory in the Age of Durable Disorder

Author: Sean McFate

Publisher: William Morrow

22 January 2019

ISBN: ISBN-10: 0062843583

ISBN-13: 978-0062843586

Goodreads Score: 3.98/ 5.00 from 461 ratings

Author's Profile:
https://www.seanmcfate.com/biography

Information war is another area where adversaries have leapfrogged the deceptive
capabilities of the West by investing and developing new cyberwar expertise.
Controlling narrative to influence strategic decision-making is the key to influence

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 JANUARY 2021

operations and adversaries have displayed better capabilities in this area. We cannot
launch actual kinetic military attacks on Russian, Chinese, Iranian, or North Korean
bot-warriors or troll farms where deniability is the key weapon they use.

In the last chapter McFate demonstrates the use of his “ten rules” in the context of the
2006 conflict in Lebanon which was again interesting to read. In the book author
offers a nice collection of terminology to add to our lexicon. He points out the
difference between shadow wars and insurgencies, and little green men vs little blue
men, for example.

Most nation states remain obsessed with technology and the drive for decisive victory
using conventional military force, in that sense, the book triggers a long pending
discussion in modern strategic thinking of these conflict-ridden nation states. The
book has its shortcomings, but these are not on account of the author’s
appreciation/assessment of the current situation, but in his tone/tenor and writing
style which at times appears polemical almost to the extent that it appears that he
has an axe to grind with the American strategic think tank. His assessment of the
shortcomings in strategic thinking more or less is spot on, but the prescriptive
solutions that he provides clearly reflect his “special forces”, “under-cover / covert ops”
thinking, and one can have plenty of differences with that. Correct or not, his take
seems quite worthy of consideration at the highest levels of any government engaged
in conflict. Overall, the book is fun to read even to a lay person with no background on
military strategic thinking.

Some Quotes from the Book

“The last time the United States won a conflict decisively, the world’s electronics
ran on vacuum tubes.”

“In the coming decades, we will see wars without states, and countries will
become prizes to be won by more powerful global actors. Many nation-states will
exist in name only, as some practically already do. Wars will be fought mostly in
the shadows by covert means, and plausible deniability will prove more effective
than firepower in an information age.”

Col Suresh Chandra was commissioned on 11 Jun 1988 in the 94

Field Regiment. He commanded 121 Light Regiment and
superannuated from service on 30 Nov 2017. An MTech (CSE -
IITD), he has been instrumental in the design and development
of the ACCCS/Project Shakti. He was an instructor in School of
Artillery and DS, JC Wing, Army War College. He has also served
with the Wargaming Centre, SWC and was Col GS (Systems)
Western Command. Post retirement he divides his time
between mentoring underprivileged kids in Mathematics,
Physics and Computer Science of Class XII level, and freelancing
as a cyber security and data analytics expert. He is available at
[email protected]

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 JANUARY 2021

Stories
Milking the Bull
BY SAJAN MOIDEEN

It was 1992-93. I do not remember the exact year. I was one of those privileged, to be
posted in a unit in the Capital. Days used to whiz past and the piddly 2nd Lieutenant
was always into some work or the other when not getting ticked off by seniors for not
having checked this, and/or not having ensured that.

That morning I was summoned to the CO’s office. The task was clear. I was to procure
plastic glasses which were hard yet disposable and get small plastic squeezy bottles
which could take in the ketchups and sauces (similar to the ones which were given in
Nirula’s when you pack Pizza’s). Sachets had not made an entry into the market for
those later generations who are wondering what is this all about.

These items, I guess were to make a top-class hamper for one of the visiting
dignitaries so that they could have a five-star breakfast (made in the Officers Mess)
while they travelled in the train. The CO also gave me, a small paper cutting about an
Apna Bazar 2000 which had an address in Nehru Place where all these items would
be available. My task was simple. Go to Apna Bazar and select these items with care.
They should not be too expensive either. And to give adequate respect to the task, I
was allocated a Jeep, a luxury for a 2nd Lieutenant in Delhi.

I took the jeep, changed my dress to civvies, and went to the Apna Bazar office. I
entered a posh office and was eager to look for the item laden shelves. There were
none. I asked the beautiful girl at the desk, “Where do you get the small squeezy sauce
bottles and hard plastic disposable glasses”. She gave me a strange look, and then
said, “You have come to the wrong place”. I was annoyed by now. I took out the paper
cutting from my pocket, threw it on her table and asked, “Are you not from Apna
Bazar?”. She said, “Yes I am”. I now spoke sharply, “Then why won't you know where
these items are placed”. She looked straight in my eyes and said, “Please read the
paper cutting. It is an advertisement for Apna Bazar to be built by year 2000. This is
the Corporate Office”. Immediately the air went out of my balloon. I muttered some
apology and vamoosed from that office.

I could sense that girl was laughing at the poor illiterate. I could not go back and
'scold' the CO that this paper cutting was useless. Rather I had to get the items and
show how resourceful I was. So, I went to Nirula’s at Vasant Kunj. I asked for a packed
Pizza. I also told them to pack extra sauces. They placed two more extra bottles. I told
them I loved sauce, so put in some more. With a strange look the boy at the counter
added a couple more. I had secured the sauce squeezy bottles. Triumphantly I went to
the jeep and ate the pizza while I saved the sauce bottles. There was a good store

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near to Nirula’s. I was able to get those good quality plastic glasses from there. Though
they were expensive, but I thought, “What the hell, we need to complete the task at
hand. What’s few rupees for the Regiment, when we have to look after the guest.”

I marched back to the unit triumphantly, and reported to the Second-in-Command,

who came to the mess and inspected the items. He was mighty pleased. He said- “Boy
you have really done a good job. Finally, CO will praise you for this good work. Do not
mention about the Apna Bazar fiasco. He may not like that his idea failed”.

He then went to inform the CO, who came to inspect the bottles and glasses. The 2IC
might have told him about the useless Apna Bazar paper cutting. He did not ask
about that at all. Instead, he asked me, “Where did you get these sauce bottles from”. I
told him about my brilliant idea about the pizza. His eyebrows raised higher, and
when he heard the cost of the plastic glasses, all hell broke loose. He scolded me for
wasting Regiment's money on a pizza and for the costly glasses which were to be
thrown away. He was also annoyed that I had kept the glasses one over the other
which could have got scratches. He abused me of being a spendthrift fool. I heard
some choicest of abuses that day which deflated my 2Lt to may be ½ of whatever I
wore on my shoulder.

It was on thatday that I realized that, to get praise from a CO is like 'Milking the Bull!'.

Col Sajan Moideen is the Principal Consultant of

Renergetics Consulting, and an experienced International
Trainer, Consultant, and a certified Career Counselor. He
was commissioned into the Corps of Army Air Defence in
1991 and is an alumnus of NDA, DSSC, and Army AD
College. After a remarkable career of 22 years he stepped
out in to the world outside. He has been regularly guiding
officers transitioning out through Psychometric Based
Career Counseling. He also writes a popular blog
www.sajanspeaks.wordpress.com. He is reachable at
www.renergetics.com/careercounselling and on LinkedIn at
https://in.linkedin.com/in/sajanmoideen

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 JANUARY 2021

Straight From The Heart

BY ANKIT SUKHIJA

THE LAST SMOKE

Long ago as heard,

Fire and a Fool at the two ends
Unheard and unrealized as it went
Chose to be a fool to this end
On and on as I smoked.

Lit up every now and then

The trickling fire fascinated first
The rising smokes captivated thence
And the burning throat quenched the thirst
On and on as I smoked.

The joy turned to pleasure

The pleasure turned to habit
The habit turned to addiction
And addiction turned to weakness
On and on as I smoked.

Overriding all priorities

Surpassing all gravities
You took the control
Of submissive me
On and on as I smoked.

A stress reliever you called to be

A depressive bout you seemed to me
Smoky trails as I see
Realizing unrealized, it dawned on me
On and on as I smoked.

Resolved as an abandoner.

To relapses I retire
Cursing the human inside
A spark urging to stronger beside
On and on as I smoked.

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 JANUARY 2021

No more smoke as I said

There I engrave the 17th date
Not the magic lies in Number
Not the secret unreeled this day
But a stronger me rose today
a stronger me rose today
On and on, no I say….

THE WRINKLE

A sudden appearance as I see

Invokes some thoughts very deep
Unrealized Unnoticed to me
Have I grown so old to be?

An Unwilling olden me
Laugh and cry like a boy to be
Still a child it feels to be
Have I grown so old to be?

Those joys of life as I see

Some More life I ought to be
A Youth still thrives in me
Have I grown so old to be?

Though sense you make beneath

My age’s secret you reveal to me
Milk and honey you will get in treat
Have I grown so old to be?

Forward focused I was trained to be

Back into past as I see
A long way it looks to be
In a rush it all flee
In a rush it all flee
Have I grown so old to be?

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 JANUARY 2021

Matrimonials
Grooms Desired
A suitable match is sought by Col Sanjay Srivastava for his daughter. The daughter was
born on 29 Jan 1994 and is 5' 4" tall. Her education qualification is Eco Hons and MBA.
She is now employed with VPersist at Noida Father is retired and the family is
presently settled at Noida. Her mother is a homemaker. She has a brother who is
doing BBA. A boy is desired who is well settled with a pleasing personality. The boy's
family should be Hindu, caste no bar.

Col Sanjay Srivastava can be reached at +91-8288094004 and

[email protected] for additional details.

-------------------------------------------------

A suitable match is sought by Col Sudhir Handa for his daughter. The daughter was
born on 29 Jul 1991, and is 5' 4" tall. Her education qualification is BSc (Biotechnology),
MBA and BEd. She had worked in the corporate sector but switched to teaching
profession. She is now employed with a school as teacher. Father is serving on second
leg of re-employment and would be settling at Zirakhpur. Her mother is a
homemaker. She has one younger brother who is pursuing MBA. A well settled boy
with a good job, preferably a defence officer is desired. It is a Punjabi Khatri family.

Col Sudhir Handa can be reached at +91-9858519335 and [email protected] for

additional details.

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A suitable match is sought by Gp Capt Sunil Kumar Bist for his daughter. The
daughter was born on 16 Sept 1995 and is 5' 6" in tall. Her education qualification is
MCom, MBA. She is now employed with ICICI Bank as Business Banker at Chandigarh.
Father is retired and the family is presently settled at Chandigarh. Her mother is
serving, as TGT teacher in a renowned Convent School at Chandigarh. She has one
sister who is pursuing her first year MBBS. A boy is desired from Army/Navy/Air Force
Or class I Gazetted Officer from Central Government. The boy's family should be
preferably Garhwali Rajput, but other religion/caste are also acceptable.

Gp Capt Sunil Kumar Bist can be reached at +91-9465195793 and

[email protected] for additional details.

-------------------------------------------------

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 JANUARY 2021

A suitable match is sought by Col (Dr) N K Chhibber for his daughter. She was born in
Sep 1993 and is 5' 6''. She is a Manglik. She is employed with an E-commerce fashion
giant. Father is retired and settled in Delhi. Her mother is a home maker with a
teaching background. She has one sister who has finished her post graduation. A boy
is desired from Fauji background who is also a Manglik.

Col (Dr) N K Chibber can be reached at 9560371007 and [email protected] for

additional details

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A suitable match is sought by Col Virender Yadav for his daughter. The daughter was
born on 7 Oct 1990 and is 5' 2" tall. Her educational qualification is Hotel Management
but works with real estate company DAMAC at Dubai since last 7-8 years. A boy is
desired who is well settled at Dubai/UAE/Merchant Navy Officer/defence forces .The
boy family should be broad minded .The groom could be from any caste/religion.

Col Virender Yadav can be reached at +91-8003599902 or +91- 9351815719, and

[email protected] for other details.

-------------------------------------------------

A suitable match is sought by Maj Gen JS Sandhu for his daughter. She was born on 11
May 1994 and is 5' 2" tall. Her educational qualification is BA (Hon) from King's
University College @ UWO, Canada. She is now finishing her Master's in Public Policy
at the University of Toronto, Canada and is a Permanent Resident of Canada. She has
interned with the Govt of Ontario as a Policy Analyst and is looking at subsequently
working in a similar position. Father is presently serving. Her mother is a postgraduate
in Psychology and Counselling and has been teaching. She has a younger brother who
has just completed BCom Hons. A boy is desired who is working or settled in Canada,
preferably from a similar service background. It is a Jat Sikh family, but open to any
suitable Punjabi/Khatri match.

Maj Gen JS SandhuI can be reached at +91-9650888477 and [email protected] for

additional details.

Brides Desired
A suitable match is sought by Brig D S Rawat for his son. The son was born on 24 Apr
1993 and is 5' 10'' tall. His education qualification is BTech/MBA. He is now employed
with Deloitte India as a Software Consultant at Gurgaon. Father is serving and the
family is presently at settled Baroda. His mother is a Homemaker. He has a younger
sister who is BTech, and working with Robert Bosch. A girl is desired who is preferably
working.

Brig DS Rawat can be reached at [email protected] for additional details.

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 JANUARY 2021

Do you desire to be a Member of this

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National boundaries?

Forces Network is a 'Closed Group'. It is

open only to the Commissioned Officers of
the Indian Army, Air Force and Navy.

One can join only after being referred or

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