Case of the Missing Meat

This is a short one about administration as a function of leadership.

     Everyone in the army has lamented about the quantity and quality of rations at some point in his military career. Early during the command of my regiment, the field officer for the week reported to me for taking special instructions for his duty. He was a young captain and probably doing it as a routine, being among the few officers available at regiment HQ that week. Fresh rations (milk eggs, meat vegetable etc) are collected by units twice a week under the system of replenishment of rations in peace time. I gave him the task of weighing meat rations at the regiment gate when the Junior Quarter Master(JQM) JCO brought it in after collecting it at the local ASC supply point. The officer wanted to check the demanded weight etc, but I told him to do all that after the surprise check, as otherwise people in the chain get alerted to a possible inspection and could play the system.

     As commanding officer, I wanted to make sure that my officers and men received good rations - during service we all have heard of how the system was incorrigible and did not ensure good food to the troops, how the quality of food had deteriorated over the years etc. My aim was to check if we were in fact drawing rations that were as stated in the regulations. Improving regulations was not my aim or job at that point.

     The officer reported back at the end of the day with 43 odd kg of meat weighed at the gate vs 70 kg in the transaction documents. I asked the quarter master and second in command(2iC) to find out why. There were no reasonable answers for the shortfall. These rations were meant for all officers and troops dispersed in gun positions, regimental HQ and our company operating base on the line of control. I had to set an example, and more importantly, it was my command responsibility to ensure good rations for my team. Therefore I decided to 'march up' the JCO on charges of neglect of duty. This is a very rare occurrence - JCOs can be marched up and disciplined by a commanding officer only with the consent of the division commander. I instructed the second in command to draw up a charge sheet and initiate disciplinary proceedings. This was enough to shake up the regiment. The subedar major(sergeant major in other armies) landed up and requested me to reconsider, as the JQM was a good JCO. I myself knew him from my captain days in the regiment to be a simpleton, who would not indulge in illegal activities. It was possible that he had been shortchanged by the supply point. However, there was a shortfall in quantity of rations under his charge and there was a doubt about what had actually happened. My aim was not to get entangled in finding the truth at that point - it was to ensure good rations for my command.

     Letting the JCO go without any action would not help me achieve my aim - checking every ration issued from supply point was not feasible. So we decided to play some mind games. I ordered the head clerk to draft a letter to the GOC stating my intention to hold court martial proceeding against the JCO. The news spread quickly through the regiment, and most JCOs were soon in shock, it seemed(although we actually didn't send the letter!). Next, I and the 2iC(who was also the JCO's superior in the chain) arranged to march up the JCO. The idea was to go through the procedure, but not punish the man, only drive home the message that if rations were not accounted for, drastic steps would be taken. We agreed that during the process, I would give the 2iC a signal on which he would request me to let the JCO go, and I would do so with a warning. This would send the message that the CO is large hearted, the 2iC knows his men and cares for them, but rations cannot be played around with, since even a JCO could be marched up for it and this time one got away by the skin of his teeth!

     In the meantime, the officer commanding supply point, a young captain landed up unannounced at my office to plead on behalf of the JCO. Apparently the message about disciplinary proceedings and letter to the division commander had reached him through the grapevine. I told him to worry about his own job, seeing that his unit was supplying less than documented rations instead of worrying about my JCO.

     We went through the process -  the JCO was marched up, he got a mouthful from me, adequate tension was built up in the orderly room, the 2iC intervened and the JCO 'managed' to escape punishment.

And for the rest of my command tenure, fear of God ensured that my officers and men collected good rations for themselves!