Leadership Lessons from 22000 feet

It was time to know what the ultimate essence of leadership was. And considering the kind of jobs we were going to get into in the next few months, it was important that we heard it from someone who had been there and done that because we'd probably never do such things in this lifetime.

It was time to meet Capt. Raghu Ram who was working with Mahindra. He was in the army for 11 years and he was on campus to talk to us about "leadership lessons from siachen". A thought provoking speech for one hour. At the end of it, I felt that I was fortunate to do what I was doing. Nothing could get better.

So, what do soldiers give their lives for? Answers from the student body said - will, love for country, awards, fighting spirit, sense of duty etc. But we were all wrong. The only reason was the superior officer. Soldiers never want to be there and do that. They are there only because someone has inspired them to be there. Thats the dedication a leader brings at that level.

Most of us didn't even know where Siachen exactly was. After looking at some of the pictures that he had shown us, I was horrified. A place where you can't return until you have completed the allotted duration of stay, which could range from 3 months to a year. The glacier is famous for more than 50% not returning back home. The temperatures are close to -35 degrees Celsius and your bofy metabolism drops to 20%. There is a good chance of loss of life. Avalanches are very common. You eat very less and answer the nature's call once in 2 days. Sometimes people have to wear warm clothing that just weighs 17 kilos. But you have to live and bear it. Sometimes even letters from home with unhappy messages are not given. Letters following that unhappy letter never get through too. All letters are screened so that people don't lose their spirit and concentration.

At the glacier its all about guarding your post and keeping it. It the Pakistani military captures a post, then the next time Indians have to get it. There is enough exchange of ammunition everyday. But thats the life there.

If you remember the movie Vertical Limit, where in the climax, the guy cuts off the rope to save the woman from falling into the crevasse. I cant imagine such things. But all this is bound to happen in Siachen and that incredible amount of leadership is required to make such decisions. It is a matter of life and death. But as a captain, you are responsible for the lives of your team. So, you also decide whether they are going to be with you or not. There have been situations when a comrade has been dead and you have to keep the dead-body till the next copter arrives to pick it up and that might be even 3 months. Its total trauma and everyday is a nightmare.

Imagine being there and making such decisions. Imagine a team of yours is not responding to you at night and you need to make a call whether you have to send another team to search. In fact, the lost team would just be less than 100 mtrs from your camp, but you still cant locate them due to harsh weather conditions. The enemy is watching you always. They can open fire anytime. Even your team cannot distinguish anyone at night. So, there is sufficient probability of your team killing you too.

Towards the end, I could never imagine myself making such decisions in my life. I can't do it at all. Being responsible for a person's life is not a joke. The cries of the family members after that message reaches them. Its you who's got to tell them too. At every point, you need that extra courage and balance of mind to do that. And they say - Trauma Transforms.