1. EXPLORATION OF
PROBLEMS FACED BY EX-SERVICEMEN OF THE INDIAN ARMY IN ADJUSING TO CIVILIAN LIFE POST-RETIREMENT
Alvin M Sam, Trupti Poduval (Students,Department of Psychology),
Dr.Justine K James(Assistant Professor,Department of Psychology)
Method
5 ex-service men of the Indian Army were selected from the city of Bangalore
Convenient sampling
Semi-structured telephonic interview.
Thematic data analysis was done
Introduction
The Indian Army has won worldwide appreciation for its valor, dedication and devotion to the country. Men and women from all castes, and religions hailing from all parts of India join the Army to make an integrated, secular, homogenous and dedicated force, which is unique in its nature and the tasks it performs. The Indian Army is currently the world's 2nd largest army, with 1,129,900 active troops and 960,000 reserve troops. It is the national requirement to keep the young profile of the Armed Forces(K & B, 2014). It is necessitated due to the arduous and hazardous nature of their duties in varied inhospitable terrain on the vast frontiers of our country. Only the young and fit soldiers can perform at peak efficiency in such conditions. As such annually about 60,000 to 65,000 personnel from the Armed Forces retire at a relatively young age out of which around 10,000 soldiers and officers belong to the Indian Army(Dgrindia.com,2015).These servicemen, whose retirement ages depend upon rank, vary from 35 to 45 years, require help and assistance for resettlement, rehabilitation and adjustment in the civil stream, because in the services they lead a well-regulated life away from the main stream. Thus, the challenges they face post-retirement are multi-faceted and require to be addressed at least satisfactorily.
Results
Implications
As future counsellors,we hope to devise some interventions for the ex service men in order to ease their transition back to civilian life. Below mentioned are few recommendations to do so :
Multiskills training
Revision of resettlement policies
Educational opportunities while they are in the Army for personal growth
Objective
This study aims to explore and understand the unique challenges that separating from military service and returning to civilian life can present. As future counsellors, we hope to put this information to better use and help create interventions to help ease the transition for ex-servicemen.
References
K, M., & B, D. (2014). A Critical Study on the Resettlement Problems of Air Force Ex-Servicemen in India: Evolving Management Strategies. International Journal Of Research In Management Sciences, 2(1), 1.
Dgrindia.com,. (2015). Directorate General Resettlement, Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 4 January 2016, from
Figure 1. Diagrammatic Representation of the results