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Some professionals in the world of fashion opine that the fine coordination required when models walk the ramp, is easier today. The modelling schools have been a great asset in providing a bevy of standardised beauties. They are about the same weight, height and shape; scorch the hearts with similar strides and swirls; and perhaps, pout and pivot not too differently even after the show is over. It’s as if they are at a drill, different in detail but quite akin in essence to the uniformity encountered amongst military men on parades.

At intake, quite like the fashion models, young men and women joining the forces are also moulded to shed a lot of puppy fat, and transform into a mould, the parameters of which have been standardised by the organisation. In that defined mould of a soldier the one element that is rarely encountered is an inclination to use the pen liberally. After retirement, a large number of officers maintain a ringing clatter on many a keyboards, as they write, prolifically.

The moot question is, how is this transformation authored? For men in armour who wielded the sword for all their working lives, the switch to a pen does appear intriguing. Is it the restrictive atmosphere in the armed forces that keeps all such talent canned and corked, only to flow out in a deluge, post retirement? Or, is there more to it then such a simplistic assumption?

Notwithstanding the comparison between show stoppers who have hearts racing and armed soldiers who shoot to kill, let me first set to rest a nebulous misgiving that is not uncommon either i.e., there is a lack of intellect in the killers found both on and off the ramp. Nothing could be a lesser truth than that. The best assets of any successful diva are surely her brains. Similarly, military men galore have been Presidents, Governors, Secretary of State and run nations a tad better than our scam crammed Parliament’s pundits.

The foremost reason that keeps writing off limits for most men in uniform is the fact that they have a rather sensitive job to do and are privy, often enough, to information that is classified. Unlike their civilian counterparts, they also have certain restrictions on their fundamental rights, including their not being allowed to express their views in the media’s open domain. The approval of the authorities concerned remains a prerequisite. It’s important at this point to also state that the rules in vogue for grant of approval remain quite simple. They restrict the areas that service personnel can address. Politics, religious issues, operational plans and the like, are a taboo. Otherwise, they are definitely anything but draconian.

Personally, I started writing after about 15 years in the army when I came to know of the rules, and, I am afraid, even today, for the average officer, these rules remain largely unknown.

There are reasons to believe why the officers’ corps of the forces should be able to produce fine authors. A large percentage of officers are capable of providing meaningful content on national defence and international security issues, with their lifelong focus on these areas. With the employment of militaries really being an extension of foreign policies of nations, service officers are equally well groomed to be providing the content for rational debate on geopolitical issues. Their varied exposures and interaction with opinion makers of varied nationalities at discourses in think tanks and seminars, also provides them a bigger canvas beyond arms, armaments and assault techniques.

Further, unlike the corporate sector that produces managers, services produce leaders. For leaders, communication skills are extremely important. The art of motivation rests squarely on the communication skills of the leader, albeit in addition to very many more qualities of leadership. As such, given the basic necessity of command over a language, a military leader should be not just erudite but also strong and convincing in expressing himself.

It would be meaningful to debate the possibility of military men taking to creative writing also. During the years in service, men in uniform come in contact with a large variety of people from a plethora of backgrounds. The organisational culture also leads to firm bonding amongst its personnel. The service environment and camaraderie induces sensitivity, a prerequisite to creative writing. However, the military’s sternly defined ways and mores, concept of implicit obedience and emphasis on standardised drills and procedures, erodes creativity. Our armed forces have produced good painters and plenty of authors, but I doubt if we have a poet to also boast off.

The spurt in evolving of officers into authors, post retirement, has enough reasons. After the hectic schedule all along their careers, postings in remote areas like Siachen where battling for life leaves little room for other pursuits, the solace required to write a meaningful piece, is there at last.

Also a major driving force that has senior officers pick up the pen, is the syndrome epitomised by the proverb: Good Generals … fade away.

Having held sway, commanded thousands of men and women, and if you were good, hero worshipped; a restless feeling is generated as the days are spent in shadows. Writing provides the opportunity to be again creating a space in the visible spectrum, being talked about should an article/book have the verve. It’s like the exhilarating ramp experience once again, being under the lights once more, perhaps in a different role; not the diva of yesteryears, but lit up all the same...