Jimmy

Mercury the Roman God of  communication and messages, whose Greek equivalent  Hermes was adopted by the Royal Corps of Signals as its Cap Badge. "Jimmy" as it is popularly known has a caduceus (a staff), in his left hand, with its feet on the earth and the right hand pointing towards the star, thus depicting the channel of communication between heaven and earth.  Incidentally Mercury was awarded a magic wand by Apollo which turns into the caduceus. The motto Certa Cito was replaced by Teevra Chaukas (Swift and Secure) post independence,

 

 is ascribed on either side. The Signals emblem is unique, where Jimmy stands tall steadfast in his duty, the ethos which have been imbibed by the Corps in true sense of the word. The invisible nerves of the Army which enable Commanders at all levels to exercise their command over the troops, connects the units, formations in a web of wired and wireless in a ubiquitous manner round the clock, always "through", that in nutshell is what Signallers do. No wonder we are known for being OG, which is essentially Olive Green, the colour of our uniform but signifying our penchant for adherence to rules and procedures scrupulously.

My tryst with the Corps began on 13 Jun 87, when I was commissioned as a proud Second Lieutenant and donned the accoutrements very proudly. Signals was not a very popular choice of arm those days, despite the fact that the Information Revolution had started to set in, with the advent of computers, satellites and semiconductors. I was considered a maverick, as I decided to opt for an arm, which few from my school ever considered. Rimcollians were traditionally either Cavaliers or hard core Infantry Gorkhas, Garhwal Rifles types. the ones with a technical bent of mind opted for the Corps of Engineers. Why did I make this choice, I am not too sure, I wanted to opt for a technical arm and not a service, so the choice was between being a Sapper and a Signaller. I have never regretted my decision, though when as Gentlemen Cadets in the Indian Military Academy, my instructors were not very pleased with my choice of Arm. I chose the latter, may be at the back of my mind I also felt that since I belonged to Indore, I would probably get to do some courses in Military College of Telecommunications and if I was lucky and did well enough, may even get posted as an instructor. 

What is the significance of Jimmy? My first Adjutant in Patiala, Major KK Gujral, posed this question, in my first interview in the unit. Apart from the fact that it was the Corps Emblem, I knew nothing else about its Roman or Greek origin. That was the first task and without Google or internet, the research had to be through books or through seeking answers from old timers. I did manage to get the details in due course and in the bargain learnt about the Corps history as well. 

Incidentally Mercury or Hermes  is the emissary and messenger of Gods. He is able to move quickly and freely between the worlds of the mortal and the divine, aided by his winged sandals. In the Indic civilisation we have Goddess Saraswati as the Goddess of knowledge of words thus signifying communications. But as messengers  or DR (despatch riders), as generally known in the Army, we have two illustrious deities, Lord Krishna and Hanuman, the former as the emissary of Pandavas during Mahabharata and latter for Lord Rama to Lanka.

No wonder we have our task cut out, we are the first to go in for exercises and operations laying lines and setting up the communications and the last ones to fall back after mopping up our resources. Jimmy today is no longer just a messenger, he stays ahead of the curve and is at the forefront of technology. With Cyber and Electronic warfare driving the revolution in military affairs, the future beckons and we Signallers have our task cut out.  Here is to the Jimmies on the 114th Corps of Signals day today.