SIGNALMANSHIP

 

Mhow in Monsoons is heavenly, after the drab and dreary summers, the cool breeze and showers bring the much needed relief to the parched Earth as also to all of us. Summers take their toll on us humans as well, the heat saps you physically as also mentally. Monsoons being salubrious  are the harbinger of productivity richness and creativity, the juices started to flow as was evident in Kalidasa’s Meghdootam, where the poet has called on the clouds to be his messenger of love for his beloved. Imagine clouds as your DR despatch rider or rather Despatch flyer(!). We Signallers have traditionally been wary of the rains in particular and inclement weather in general. Lightning spells trouble for our communication systems in the field areas, with  Telephone Exchanges becoming the first casualties. Cables get washed away in flash floods, water seeps in and results in lines being earthed leading to introduction of noise in the telephone lines. So we the lifelines of the Armed Forces are always proactive, preventive maintenance is the key to addressing these challenges. 

Innovative jugaad normally is resorted to in field areas, cable joints are renewed and they are protected by means of a polythene cover on the joint per se housed in a piece of pipe which is sealed at both the ends to prevent any seepage of any droplets of water. The cables are duly leashed with adequate slack to cater for any sudden occurrences resulting in snapping of the lines. The fuses, Gas discharge tubes at the Fault Control/Exchanges are checked and faulty ones are replaced to check the surges if any before they can reach the exchange, Earthing pits are freshened up, lightning conductors installed and checked on Communication Complexes. In short Signalmanship is at display, are these actions by themselves  Signalmanship or is it something more? 

Signalmanship to my mind is a sum total of the ethos, best practises in the Corps, our battle procedures, our being sticklers for rules and regulations and so on. Signals are known for their professional approach, being OG as our motto itself is Swift and Sure, we have to be on the job round the clock in peace, war and No war No peace, the period which best describes the current situation. Signallers take pride in seeking perfection in every task at hand, this pursuit of excellence is Signalmanship in my view. The feeder cable from the antenna is not left dangling, it is aligned with the mast sections, not just because it looks more appealing but more importantly it ensures that winds can not cause any outage as free flowing cable would be more susceptible to such damages.The network cable connecting a PC is similarly neatly terminated at the ends. Aesthetics is invariably associated with our drills,  SOPs and battle procedures as anything which is jarring to the eye will be more vulnerable to physical and in today’s digital era even virtual damage. Imagine there is  heavy enemy shelling on our defences, any loose cables will be the first casualty, but a cable following the alignment of the geographical feature nicely camouflaged would invariably survive. Similarly if our cyber defensive posture is strong we will be able to withstand the onslaught of the adversary and will be able to launch our counter offensive having protected our flanks.

Taking a cue from the Tactical Stand to, we Signallers observe our Technical Stand to very diligently, where all aspects of connectivity are checked and corrected if need be. A detailed Communication state is prepared where all the circuits, means of communication, equipment state, state of  batteries, generators are updated, tallied and forwarded up the chain of technical hierarchy. “Prevention is better than cure” or in other words “a stitch in time saves nine” and that is the purpose of all these elaborate measures. We can’t afford to ‘not be through’ at any moment, hence the eye for detail in all our endeavours. The commanders are aware that their Command is restricted by their reach for dissemination of orders and we Signallers are therefore embedded with the HQ at every level with the Sparrow forming part of the Commander’s “O” Group and accompanying him everywhere.

Information dissemination is important but it is important to ensure the integrity of the information is sacrosanct, in other words security of the communication can’t be compromised. Towards that end, we exploit sate of the art cryptography and also plan on contingencies both in terms of media and equipment. As no operational plan survives the first bullet fired, we Signallers plan on back ups at all levels and are responsive to all revision of operational plans. We are the “First in and Last out”, our move precedes all other combat elements and we wind up after all the others have folded up. As if that is not enough, we provide communication before the move, during the move when inducting and while de-inducting.

To sum up I would say that Signalmanship is Minor and Major SD for Signals rolled into one.  We are proud of our rich heritage of foolproof secure communications support, with our meagre resources having trumped the enemy in Electronic Warfare, providing own Commanders with timely Signal intelligence has been our hallmark. “Teevra Chaukas” and as we say in Airawat Signals, “ANKUSH SANCHAR SARVOTTAM”.