Reflections On Leadership Training at NDA

Recent articles by MVI have unfortunately missed the mark on understanding how cadets are trained to be future leaders at the National Defence Academy (NDA). As a former Officer Commanding 3 Battalion at NDA, I felt compelled to share my insights.

Upon assuming my role, I sought clarity from the Deputy Commandant on what was expected of me. His response was to follow the actions of other Battalion Commanders. Unsatisfied, I delved deeper into understanding how NDA shapes exemplary junior leaders.

The “NDA Prayer”, “If” etc. has its place at the higher cerebral level but for a cadet it is read and throw, as he has more immediate things to ponder about. So is the case with mottos. A prayer is supposed to help an individual to achieve the objectives prayed for if he works towards it. The calling has to be from within. God helps those who help themselves. “Oh God, help us to keep ourselves physically strong, (can’t be achieved without doing physical activities), mentally awake (can’t be achieved by sleeping in the class room) and morally straight (can’t be achieved if beg, borrow, steal is appreciated)” and so on. I don’t intend to go into more details here. If we analyse every phrase and act on it, it will lead to a major disruptive transformation of what needs to be done at NDA. Similarly, the meaning of Seva Paramo Dharma can barely be explained to a cadet. Seva is Service and Paramo is Ultimate. Dharma is definitely not a religion though it may be a path. From what I have understood, it is a delightful state of existence which is considered the highest ideal that a man can pursue, known to the Indian civilization. It requires deep contemplation beyond its superficial translation. How does one make a cadet understand this?

To glimpse the transformative journey of a cadet to an officer, I recommend watching this video at (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOzLBvbv-f4). This film, which I helped produce, was used at the College of Defence Management (CDM) to stimulate discussions on leadership among high-ranking officers. Despite its impact, it often left viewers unable to succinctly articulate what type of leadership is trained at NDA and how.

When I joined NDA as a cadet, before the rest of the academy turned up, I asked my Cadet Sergeant Major “How do I command the respect of a soldier? His curt reply was “Do everything better than him”. That set the standard to strive for excellence in what I do at NDA. He also said that 9000 cadets have gone through NDA before you, so when the pressure mounts, if they could get through, you should not be found wanting. So, the question of leaving NDA did not surface.

Leadership is a multifaceted subject. A leader must possess exceptional situational awareness to understand the context in which they operate. They need to ideate various strategies and tactics to achieve group success, leveraging the skills within their team.

He needs to ideate as to what his course of action should be, among the strategies/tactics that he can think of, in a particular scenario, to achieve success for the group.

He needs to use the skill sets of those available within the group to execute the strategy/tactic decided on.

NDA’s curriculum addresses these competencies comprehensively. Academics contribute to a high level of situational awareness. The degree whether it is Intermediate (plus two now) BA, BSc or B Tech, does not matter. It opens a window to further knowledge if required. In military terms a person with better situational grasp in quicker time has the advantage of time to execute his tactic/strategy and that contributes to victory. This needs analysis and application. To enhance these the tests conducted by the academics’ department, needs to be based on analytical and application oriented questions, rather than rote learning. A question like “Analyse the lessons learnt from battle of Panipat and how will you apply it in modern context?” will be better, rather than “In which year was the battle of Panipat fought?”

 Justification for degrees has been re-employment in case the officer is boarded out. Why burden a cadet with this? What job can a BA, BSc or B Tech get these days? If it is a modular MBA from IGNOU with completion post commissioning, say before JCC, it will better suit the objective of service in the form of better management and re-employment if boarded out. The Navy and Air Force wants B Tech only, without realizing that these machines have to be operated by Humans and so Humanities need to be learnt too. Ideally the core subject which needs to be learned is Military History for a military man. Rest can be added on especially if a person with an Intermediate can become an exceptional test pilot. Critical thinking trains him to think out of the box. He will find amazing solutions for seemingly insurmountable problems. It can be imbibed at any stage by the cadet/officer when he is able to question every aspect without fear in his mind that he will be snubbed and the institution provides an enabling environment to provide him answers, thereby egging him on.

To ideate effectively he needs to be a thorough professional who understands his team’s capability and the limitations. This professional capability along with ability for “out of the box” thinking generated by critical thinking, will be of great value. This can be trained in NDA and subsequent years.

To use the skill sets of those he commands he needs to have intimate knowledge of them in all aspects. Then only he can use the skill sets of each member to the best advantage of the team. A senior cadet needs to know the juniors in the squadron very well to practice leadership.

It is true that leadership as a subject is not taught, except maybe in CDM after he has commanded his unit! While academics is for the maximum time, physical training is done to build his physique and endurance, drill is carried out for discipline, bearing, gait etc. that makes him stand out among a crowd in the civil street and leadership is taught in the playing fields of NDA through troop games and sports. All the above aspects come into play in this laboratory of leadership. Let me explain with an example. The squadron hockey championship was coming up. An analysis of the situation was spelt out by the games captain who came to the conclusion that another squadron is the front runner. Objective was to win the championship. The strategy was to score maximum goals but not concede any goal. We had excellent forwards and backs, but no goalkeeper. He had an idea to give the task of goalkeeping to a footballer. All he had to do was to block the ball and kick it away. The ball is hard and small unlike a football. The tactic was – don’t let the opponent into the Dee with a ball, do whatever is needed, our goal keeper will not even let in a penalty. We never conceded a goal including from penalty pushes. Our forwards scored and so we were champions. I was the goalkeeper. If we analyse this against the template above, leadership falls in place. This is how leaders are trained on the playing fields of NDA. The Divisional Officer is present to assess all the attributes including courage.

Leadership is learned through various inter squadron competitions. It is exercised by the senior cadets of the squadron. Ideally every 6th termer has to select a sport or game in which he is the captain and win the championship. He gets to choose the team. Since competition brings out the best, there is a tendency to make every aspect of training a competition. It does not serve the purpose of leadership training if we have a competition in pure training activities like academics, physical training etc. That only changes the onus from the trainers to senior cadets and is fraught with undesirable consequences. It leads to training by unqualified senior cadets, informal physical activity etc. This must be avoided at all costs.

There is a need for potential leaders to interact with junior cadets. It can be done without informal physical activity. It was done and No.3 Bn was known as “Mohabattein” Bn by courses from 101 to may be 105. While physical punishments are necessary and need to be part of cultural orientation, leadership training or obedience, it needs to be restricted in time or activity. There needs to be good quality CCTV cameras fitted in all Corridors, Flanks, Bn areas and Parade Grounds of the Sqn areas to record what is happening. Each Divisional officer needs to view the areas of his division and the Squadron Commander the Bn Areas and Parade Ground the next day, with an intention to bring the culprits to book.

There is a trophy instituted at NDA by 45th course for the best cadet in leadership. The award does not have any logic, template or assessment. Probably the template above along with the example may help in designing the attributes to be assessed.

Many have asked as to what is the role of Bn Cdr, Sqn Cdr and Div Os as during the post breakfast and pre-lunch time when cadets are being taught by the academics’ branch and they have no work to do. It is the responsibility of this branch to groom leadership, morals and ethics. This needs 24/7 attention except the time they are with the Academics branch. Their day starts with the muster of the cadets, observation during outdoor training, writing previous days’ reports, ensuring that the amenities in the Sqns are functional, ensuring post lunch inspection for compulsory rest periods, observing cadet behavior during games and sports and noting down leadership traits and correcting them and many more including morals and ethics.

The Bn Cdrs branch, if I may call it so, is responsible for instilling the “Military Culture” in the cadets who join from diverse backgrounds in terms of ethnicity, religion, language, culture etc. From Military Culture, flows Military Values. These Values give rise to Attitudes. Attitude is what gets the job done. Attitudinal deficiency is viewed seriously. This includes Ethics, Morals and Leadership training. If there is attitudinal deficiency any other training does not matter. This is the primary task of Divisional Officers supported by the Squadron Commanders and Bn Cdrs. They build the edifice on which Academics, Outdoor and Service training rests. Senior cadets have a role in instilling the military culture in juniors and these may need correction from time to time and hence they have limited power for punishments.

If we carry out a dispassionate comparative analysis of the standards that need to be achieved pre and post 46th NDA course it will lead to major differences.  There were exceptional Chiefs from pre 46th courses. Every officer appointment who comes to NDA, tries to make things more difficult for the cadet physically. Why should the current cadet do tougher things than his predecessors? The acid test should be that the Commandant should be able to demonstrate it before implementing the change. If we reduce the standards to what was existing pre 46th course the wastage rate (withdrawal from a course) will plummet from 18% average for a decade. Relegations also account for wastage of resources. If we take 10 Lakhs for the three years training at NDA at 2003 prices for 300 cadets it amounts to a wastage of 34.5 crores annually at present prices after inflation. The Govt/IDS can have better use for this money.

There have been pleas that physical standards need to be checked at the SSB stage. It is not the mandate of the DIPR. It makes the job of the physical trainer simpler if only physically fit candidates join the NDA. It needs to be debated whether it is worth losing otherwise good candidates for this objective. This needs to be studied with the reduction in standards to be achieved.

There has been a major outcry against corruption at higher levels. It has nothing to do with training at NDA. NDA lays the foundation, finishing academies do the rest and he is commissioned into the Armed Forces and realizes that there is a wide difference from what has been taught to him and The reality should be that modification of character, culture and attitude can be attributed to the ACR system in vogue. Reams will be insufficient to write about this transformation from Lt to Lt Gen. Despite the Generalship the junior leaders have given victory after victory to the nation and we should be proud of institutions like NDA which produce them.

About Author

Gp Capt Johnson Chacko, former Bn Cdr NDA, Faculty at DSSC, CDM & AFA.