success ...Oh yeah rite!!!!

SUCCESS—oh !!! yeah why not….
Its being time I have written anything ..well as u guys know i FINALLY GOT MARRIED and as someone wise has said … happiness is not everything in life there s also engagement, marriage , buying groceries , arguing with the person u call the ‘ better half ‘ ( I really dunno who invented this phrase) I too have got engrossed in making someone else s life miserable.. Anyways before I continue with my biography which in a way I thought was getting a little too boring and the exciting part was anyways over ..u know the courtship period and we eventually were getting married , I realized there wasn’t anything unconventional to narrate about a typical Indian wedding ( which btw will be soon written about anyways ) …I have decided to change my blog spot from being my autobiography to a place where I can just write or maybe SCREAM my views about anything and everything im fortunately or unfortunately witnessing ( I guess that’s wat a blog spot is meant to be right !!!) … hmm so that brings me to the topic for the day ..Before I start let me define for you guys a simple definition according to the Oxford dictionary …
Success :noun : the achievement of an aim or purpose, the gain of wealth or status ;
So now that we know the definition of the term SUCCESS lets see wat it really means in the life of an Airforce Officer ..to be specific a pilot. A few days back I came across a really weird ( according to me) and unusual handout or maybe a post on the airforce website which went with a heading “ Tips for Career Progression” and they had various categories for each for every branch and trade in the air force. Curiously as I went through the so called ‘Tips’ for my branch i.e a helicopter pilot , which told me to ‘successfully’ complete my mandatory service courses, then ‘successfully’ get selected to become a instructor , then again ‘successfully’ get selected to become a unit supervisor, commanding officer and so on a so forth for a mind you a “SUCCESSFUL” tenure in the Air force. The first thought that struck me was who on earth had jotted these “tips” ??? Is he the most successful helicopter pilot in the air force ??? is he the richest pilot ??? is he most satisfied pilot ??? is he the pilot who has found his aim or purpose to be in the airforce??? ( which apparently I really don’t know wat is my sole ‘purpose’ to be in the organization ) anyways pondering more ..are those pilots who do not make it to become a instructor, a CO etc etc UNSUCCESSFUL ??? that gets me to what I started with …what do we define success as??? And more importantly ‘At what cost ??’
Getting to the handout again .. im sure it defines the Route for a successful career which maybe the formulators have been through and have been wise enough to advise us the same .. but is it the only route?? Is becoming a CO should be my so called Aim in my career …and if yess at wat cost and wats the price we ready to pay for it… anyways according to me in what ever short span of career I have been through I have found that piece of information the most de-motivating piece of information I have come across. In an organization where you and your comrades be it seniors or juniors are living as a family and would eventually one day be ready to make the supreme sacrifice for one another and the country , why are we demarcating or limiting the scope of a successful tenure only in terms of your professional gains or qualifications? Why aren’t we talking about an open environment where everyone is open to firstly voice his opinion and decide for himself which route he wants to follow which would satisfy his potential. Why are we restricting the so called guidelines to only a few typical qualifications making him an immortal being. Why aren’t we looking at all pilots or personnel s as individuals first and then look at their qualifications rather looking the other way around??? Coz I don’t value a CO who is famous for beating his wife or an instructor who just to prove his knowledge demeans or makes his subordinates feel inferior on the pretext that he is QUALIFIED to do it , when he s actually proving himself to be an asshole and motivating the same subordinates NOT to follow his route of so called Success in the organization.
Looking at the same handout in a different perspective ,lets have ‘tips’ which not only define professional competence but also PERSONAL grooming and upbringing in the service. Lets respect each individual for the person he is and not for his qualifications. Yes professional competence will obviously play a role in boosting one s confidence and morale but an unreliable and undefined appraisal system , where though qualities mandatory and behavioral are clearly defined …but are assessed only by the personal view of the appraiser , would cost an individual losing his motivation in not only professional standards but also his personal upbringing.