Army jawans ready to tackle any eventuality

May 4: The chief of the Indian Army, General J.J.Singh, affirmed today that Indian forces are ready to tackle any eventuality.

Gen Singh was in Rajasthan, Pallu, to inspect one of the largest military exercises the country has ever had. Gen Singh said Army is ready to tackle outside security threats as well as internal challenges like terrorism.

Reiterating the degree of preparation and training the army personnel go through, Gen Singh said that army is trained enough to handle any situation. "If we do not modify our strategy to asymmetrical challenges, we will end up like other countries who recently suffered setbacks," he said while referring to countries like United States.

Army chief clarified that the philosophy of "iron fist for terrorists and velvet gloves for people� has given us rich dividends. He claimed that armed forces succeeded in fighting the terror in disturbed areas of the country.

While talking of troubled regions like Jammu and Kashmir and the North East, Singh said that people now want "peace and talks" because the army has "moral ascendancy." Singh also highlighted that even with the advent of technology and high-tech gadgetry, the need for adequate number of troops on the ground in troubled or war zones still remains the same.

"You still need people to fill the captured areas or to evict terrorists from areas where they are holed up."

Singh, who was In Rajasthan to make a first hand assessment of the ongoing war exercise Ashwamedha said due to the many new inductions of force multipliers and technology in the last six years, the army's effectiveness has increased manifold. "My message is that the force is very effective as compared to six years ago�, he said.

Meanwhile, in response to question here in Parliament today defence minister made clear that there is drastic shortage of officers in the armed forces. Army has a shortage of whooping 11238 officers while as Navy and Air force is struggling with the shortage of 1399 and 1528 officers respectively.