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Tours of Duty: The New Employer-Employee Compact

• Reid Hoffman,
• Ben Casnocha,

For most of the 20th century, the compact between employers and employees in the developed world was all about stability. Jobs at big corporations were secure: As long as the company did OK financially and the employee did his or her job, that job wouldn’t go away. And in the white-collar world, careers progressed along […]

Reprint: R1306B

For most of the 20th century, the relationship between employers and employees in the developed world was all about stability and lifetime loyalty. That has recently changed, giving way to a transactional, laissez-faire approach that serves neither party well.

A new arrangement is needed, the authors argue—one built on alliance (usually temporary) and reciprocity. The high-tech start-up community of Silicon Valley is pointing the way—and companies that wish to be similarly agile and entrepreneurial can learn valuable lessons from its example.

Under the new compact, both employer and employee seek to add value to each other. Employees invest in the company’s adaptability; the company invests in employees’ employability. Hoffman (a cofounder of LinkedIn), Casnocha (a technology entrepreneur), and Yeh (an entrepreneur and angel investor) outline three simple, straightforward ways in which companies can make the new compact tangible and workable. These are (1) hiring employees for explicit “tours of duty,” (2) encouraging, even subsidizing, employees’ efforts to build networks outside the organization, and (3) establishing active alumni networks that will enable career-long relationships with employees after they’ve moved on.

In the war for talent, such a compact can be a secret weapon that helps you fill your ranks with the creative, adaptive superstars who fuel entrepreneurial success.

For most of the 20th century, the compact between employers and employees in the developed world was all about stability. Jobs at big corporations were secure: As long as the company did OK financially and the employee did his or her job, that job wouldn’t go away. And in the white-collar world, careers progressed along an escalator of sorts, offering predictable advancement to employees who followed the rules. Corporations, for their part, enjoyed employee loyalty and low turnover.

• Reid Hoffman is a cofounder of LinkedIn and a partner at the venture capital firm Greylock Partners. He is a coauthor of Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies (Currency, 2018). (Disclosure: His podcast, Masters of Scale , is produced by WaitWhat, which is currently developing projects with HBR’s parent company, Harvard Business Publishing.)
• Ben Casnocha is a founder and partner at Village Global, a venture capital fund. He is also an award-winning entrepreneur and bestselling coauthor, with Reid Hoffman, of The Start-up of You (Currency, 2012). He is a frequent speaker on talent management, and is a coauthor of The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age .
• Chris Yeh is an entrepreneur, a writer, and a speaker. He is a coauthor of Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies (Currency, 2018) and The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age .

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Explained: The Indian Army's new three-year recruitment drive for jawans

The defence establishment is of the opinion that the proposed Agnipath entry scheme or the ‘Tour of Duty’, will help not only resolve the issue of shortages of personnel but also reduce the burden of pay rises and pensions

There’s a change coming. The country’s defence establishment is putting the final touches on a new recruitment scheme for the Armed Forces.

Known as the Agnipath entry scheme or the ‘Tour of Duty’, this new recruitment scheme has been ideated to fill in the gap of the jawans in the Armed Forces and curb the ballooning salary and pension costs, which impacts military modernisation.

The Print has reported that the Indian Army will be the first to try out the concept, which involves recruiting soldiers, which will be called Agniveers, for a fixed period of three years.

Here’s all we know about this new recruitment scheme — from the birth of the project, to its benefits, and what defence experts have to say about it.

‘Tour of Duty’

The idea of hiring jawans on a three-year contract was first floated in 2020. The idea was the brainchild of late Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, who was looking at reducing the burgeoning pension bill as well as revenue expenditure in terms of salaries and other costs.

As per latest proposals, this idea will only be restricted to jawans and not be extended to the officer-level, as there is the Short Service Commission.

For those who are unaware, the Short Service Commission is limited to the officer cadre of the Indian Army. It started during World War II when the British realised that they needed far more officers then those who could be commissioned from either Sandhurst or the JSW (Joint Services Wing).

These officers came on a contract for five-10 years and could be later converted to a permanent commission. This was done till the end of World War II.

Subsequently, in 1962 during the Indo-China War, Emergency Commission was reopened and based on the increasing requirement of the officers, Officers Training School (OTS) in Chennai was opened, which granted short-service commissions to five-10 years.

This form of commission is still prevalent and make a large chunk of the commissioned officers. As of today, those opting for the short service commission are recruited on a contract for five years, which can be extended or be converted to permanent commission, in select cases. According to an Economic Times report published in 2020, the Indian Army spends over Rs 6 crore to train an officer under the Short Service Commission. As of today, he doesn’t receive any pension after service and till very recently were not granted medical facilities.

Basely roughly on the Short Service Commission plan, the ‘Tour of Duty’ will recruit jawans for a term of three years.

Officials have cited the Kargil War of 1999 for the basis of the three-year period. An officer had told The Print then, “In the Kargil conflict, officers and jawans with less than three years of service had shown an exemplary performance.”

Citing the benefits of the Tour of Duty scheme, an official had said that the cost of a jawan, with his training and other expenses, would come down to Rs 80-85 lakh, which would help in releasing funds for military modernisation.

News18 , citing sources, said that the present draft of the scheme states that all soldiers in the Indian Army would eventually be recruited under the Tour of Duty model. Around 25 per cent of them would serve in the Army for three years and 25 per cent troops would serve for five years.

It has also been proposed that 50 per cent of soldiers who would be released at the end of three and five years be included in the National Pension Scheme and be given certain medical benefits, applicable to Armed Forces veterans, for a fixed period, as per the News18 report.

Plugging shortages

The defence establishment is hoping that the Tour of Duty scheme will help in resolving the issue of lack of manpower in the Indian Army.

This is significant in the current climate where the nation is facing a serious threat from China as well as Pakistan at the borders.

In December 2021, the Centre had said in Rajya Sabha that the Armed Forces faced a shortage of 9,362 officers and 1,13,193 personnel.

Giving a breakdown, Minister of State (Defence) Ajay Bhatt had said in a written replay that in the Indian Army, 7,476 posts of officers and 97,177 posts of junior commissioned officers and other ranks were vacant.

Similarly, in the Indian Air Force, a total 621 officers and 4,850 junior commissioned officers and other ranks were vacant. In the Indian Navy, 1,265 officers and 11,166 junior commissioned officers and other ranks’ posts had not been filled.

The shortages have become even more prominent as neither the Army, Navy, nor Air Force has held any recruitment rallies in the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reactions to the scheme

Many have hailed this recruitment scheme. An officer speaking to Swarajya Magazine had said, “A young man would ‘retire’ as a ToD jawan at the age of around 26 years or even less, and would be a very attractive and prime recruit for the government sector and corporates. Such a young man would enjoy a huge advantage over others.”

A senior officer at the NCC Directorate of West Bengal and Sikkim had echoed similar sentiment, saying, “The Army is held in very high esteem by youngsters and while many do not want a career in the force, they would be happy to serve a short stint in the army for the thrill, adventure and pride involved in serving in uniform.”

Anand Mahindra, the Chairman of the Mahindra Group, had also given a thumbs-up to the scheme. He had then said, “I definitely think military training will be an added advantage for Tour of Duty Graduates as they enter the workplace. In fact, considering the rigid standards of selection and training in the Indian Army, the Mahindra Group will be happy to consider their candidature.”

However, not everyone is happy about the ‘ToD’ scheme. Lt Gen Raj Kadyan (retired), a former deputy chief of army staff, has flagged certain issues with the new scheme. In a column published by The Wire , he wrote that as it would be a three year employment, along with training, the training imparted to those through this scheme wouldn’t be as rigid.

News18 also flagged another issue with the scheme — that the vacancies created by those retiring through ToD at the end of three and five years would also start adding up.

With inputs from agencies

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‘Game changer’: Assocham on army’s 3-year service proposal for civilians

The ‘tour of duty’ model is similar to the short-service commission that allows officers to serve the armed forces for 10 to 14 years..

After industrialist Anand Mahindra backed the army’s proposed “tour of duty” (ToD) model last week, industry body Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) on Thursday supported the proposal that seeks to allow the country’s youth to serve the military for three years, an army officer familiar with the move said.

The scheme has also elicited positive response from some other industrialists.

The industry body, in an email to the army on Thursday, described the ToD initiative of the government as a “game changer”, said the official cited above.

He said that the Assocham has communicated to the army that it will work with the government to promote the ToD scheme not just as an “employment opportunity” but as a “nation building” initiative “where the industry will send existing employees for a three-year tour of duty with job security when they return.”

Bharat Forge chairman Baba Kalyani said his company would even consider hiring candidates first and then let them do the military internship “as it will help us groom our work force in the ethos of the army.”

The ToD model is similar to the short-service commission that allows officers to serve the armed forces for 10 to 14 years.

If the proposal is accepted, the army could implement the ToD model - essentially an voluntary internship after military training - on a trial basis for both officers and other ranks in a limited number of vacancies.

Last week, Mahindra said the ToD exposure would give young people an “added advantage” in their next workplace. In an e-mail to the army, Mahindra said his group would be happy to consider the candidature of ToD optees for corporate jobs.

“I definitely think military training will be an added advantage for Tour of Duty Graduates as they enter the workplace. In fact, considering the rigid standards of selection and training in the Indian Army, the Mahindra Group will be happy to consider their candidature,” Mahindra wrote.

The ToD proposal, reviewed by Hindustan Times, stressed that the internship model would result in savings for the organisation. It said it will also brighten the prospects of the ToD optees in the corporate world.

“The cumulative cost of pre-commission training, pay/allowances, proposed severance packages, leave encashment and other costs is nearly ₹ 5.12 crore and ₹ 6.83 crore for short-service commissioned (SSC) officers released after 10 and 14 years of service. However, similar costs for those released after three years will be just ₹ 80 to ₹ 85 lakh,” the proposal stated. It said the ToD model would eventually result in significant reduction in salary and pension budgets, too.

The proposal cites a survey that has indicated that corporate houses would prefer employing individuals who have been trained by the military and join them at the age of 26-27 after a three-year ToD rather than college graduates.

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New Delhi: Months after it was first proposed by the Army, India’s defence establishment is actively considering expanding the scope of the ‘Tour of Duty’ model of recruitment to the Air Force and Navy as well, ThePrint has learnt.

“We are planning to expand the scheme to bring all three services under its fold. Bringing the Central Armed Police Forces under the same scheme or a similar one is also under consideration,” a defence official said, adding the finer details and calculations for the scheme are being worked out, so it can be implemented by the middle of next year.

Sources said India’s political leadership is keen on the scheme, given its future potential to generate large-scale employment, and is pushing to working out its modalities. They added that there are plans to expand the scheme over the next few years to ensure that close to 40 per cent of the strength of the Army is recruited through it.

Army sources, however, told ThePrint that no concrete decision has yet been taken on the implementation of the scheme, and the idea is currently at the discussion stage.

Earlier this year, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat had said the concept is at a nascent stage, and its viability needs to be studied.

Also read: Army caught in old hiring conflict — 3-yr Tour of Duty or 5-yr Short Service Commission?

What is the proposed model?

Currently, the only option apart from regular permanent commission into the armed forces is the Short Service Commission, in which officers are recruited for a period of 14 years. A large number of SSC officers eventually opt for permanent commission, subject to eligibility.

The Army had, in May, proposed the ‘Tour of Duty’ model of recruitment that would let young individuals voluntarily serve for a temporary period of three years. The idea is to attract more youth to join the Army, fill up officers’ vacancies, and later, reduce burgeoning defence pensions, which make up nearly 30 per cent of the defence budget after ballooning when the ‘One Rank One Pension’ (OROP) scheme was implemented.

Defence sources told ThePrint that one of the names being considered for the scheme is ‘ Agnipath ’ (literally, the path of fire), with the volunteers set to be called ‘ Agniveers ’ (fire-warriors).

As reported by ThePrint, an initial pilot project is set to be tried out, with the first batch of recruits likely to include up to 100 officers and 1,000 personnel at other ranks. The model will be evaluated and assessed on the results of the pilot project.

‘Close to 40 % of Army could be recruited through it’

To reduce the defence pension bill, the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) headed by CDS Rawat had proposed that those taking PMR (Pre-Mature Retirement) with 20-25 years of service will now be entitled to only 50 per cent of the current pension. As of now, rules state that officers will receive pension which is 50 per cent of their last drawn salary, for which they are eligible upon completing 20 years of service.

The original Tour of Duty proposal stated that the total amount spent on each officer recruited through the scheme would be Rs 80-85 lakh, including pre-commission training, pay, allowances, gratuity, proposed severance packages, leave encashment and other costs. Currently, an amount of Rs 5.12 crore is spent on an SSC officer who retires after 10 years, and Rs 6.83 crore on one who retires after 14 years. The savings on only 1,000 jawans could be Rs 11,000 crore, the proposal said, adding that this money could be put towards the modernisation of the Army.

A second defence official told ThePrint that to further reduce the pension bill, there are plans to expand the scheme over a few years to ensure that close to 40 per cent of Army personnel are recruited through it. The official used the Army as an example since it is the largest of the three services, with a strength of about 14 lakh .

“Around 65,000 personnel of the Army retire every year. The plan being considered is to recruit a certain number of personnel on this scheme, and keep increasing the number progressively every year, till they form a decided percentage of the armed forces,” the official said.

The official said that such large-scale recruitment can come into effect only in about 15 years.

Also read: Make short service lucrative, raise retirement age: CDS plan to reduce defence pensions

What the ‘tour’ will entail

While the final modalities of selection are yet to be worked out, sources said doing away with the written examination and fixing a cut-off percentage — in graduation for officers and class 12 for jawans — is being considered. But interviews will be part of the process.

Initial plans are to hold the training for the selected officers at the Officer Training Academy in Chennai, and for the jawans at the respective regimental centres. Selected regimental centres are to be nominated for the pilot project.

Once trained, these personnel would be sent to their respective units and field areas. The modalities for allotment of arms and services would be worked out separately, and would depend on the final figures or percentages approved.

“Eventually, it might be a move that will aim at generating large-scale employment in the country,” a source said.

However, with the enhanced number of people being trained, the overall expenditure on the training will go up.

“While the nation as a whole will have certain trained, disciplined and motivated youth available for jobs, there will be a certain lack of continuity and lack of regimentation in the forces. It has to be seen how this can be checked,” the second official quoted above said.

Another source said a similar scheme for CAPFs is also being considered. “We have sought comments from CAPFs on the move, which any further decision would be based on.”

Also read: Wide variation in disability pensions of jawans, officers creating ‘heartburn’: CDS Rawat

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26 COMMENTS

Reducing expenditures is most welcome. but where from it should come out. भारतीय नौसेना में सिविलियन कैटेगरी बजट कितना है ? कुल बजट का कितना है ? कोचीन, विशाखापट्टनम में सिविलियन ( total non-technical ) शाम को बड़ी फैक्ट्री की तरह से बाहर निकलते हैं l गए कब थे पता नहीं चलता l पूछो , क्या करके आए हैं, कहीं भी, किसी भी मायने में, जरूरत नहीं है , उनके नहीं आने से क्या प्रभावित हो जाएगाl ! पता तो चले l डिफेंस में, ये नहीं चाहिए, निश्चित समय सीमा में समाप्त करना चाहिए l सिक्योरिटी की क्वालिटी उत्तम होगी, जिसकी देश को आज बहुत ज्यादा आवश्यकता है l

Our so called leadership should realize that to create a true soldier with multifaceted skill and impeccable integrity, disciplined and loyal towards our nation, it takes a lot of effort, training and grooming which these so called leaders often lacks. How can you think that within a short span of 3 years a person can be an expert in handling our sophisticated weapon systems and other complicated platforms like Aircrafts, Radars, submarines, Tanks, missiles etc. In my opinion we should make military training and field service compulsory for all politicians and beurocrats before they take-up their civil assignments so that they get a first hand experience about a soldiers life. They should be posted to places like Siachen glacier and remotest location of our North Eastern borders and stay away from their lived ones without any cost facilities and no helpers. Then only while making policies they will understand the extreme circumstances and conditions under which our armed forces are serving.

This CDS has benefited all perks and privilege while being in service and never brought this stupid idea then. Presumably, Now to get Gov ship he is bringing all these ideas. He is an imaginary officer who has never worked on the ground or else he would know that it takes 3-4 yrs for an new entrants to get some expertise to work on complex system in the services.

You have the Territorial Army (TA) where the entry and embodied service conditions could be reworked to fit the bill of this scheme. If required the training and experience imparted and imbibed could be drawn upon subsequently at short notice. Make and improve something existing better than experimenting and littering abandoned hairbrained schemes strewn All over.

It should be introduced to men who surpass normal age of employment eligibility ie. from around 25 to 28 years for 10 years. They can choose from the many Pension (annuity) schemes and invest.

Stupid idea,jawan in airforce takes 3years to train how, any one can train officer in limited time and his service is limited to 3years.CDS must know he is not running factory.from.everywhere they need to collect money.and everywhere they stating that defece pension restricting modernization of ARMED FORCES to much bullish

Well opined. On completion of their draft period of Service, they should be suitably absorbed in civil services. This would not only compensate by providing the weightage to meet the eligibility criteria envisaged by the new employer but also enable the latter to utilize the expertize gained during such period in a particular field of placement.

It is wiser to have a professional army, Navy or Airforce. The logic that we will have more money to buy arms is definitely attractive to the political parties, who rely on kickbacks and other devious tricks. Remember: In any airforce; The pilot who flies a fighter aircraft is more valuable than the aircraft he flies. The same is true in the other forces.

This will work only if the volunteers are given reserved seats in IIMs and other premier management colleges as they will ask as to what will they gain by investing 3 years of their prime life, in the defence of the country. This 3 years must matter to their overall plan.

One can make Tour of Duty a neccessary qualification for appearing in All India and central services. It can also be made compulsory qualification for political offices. This will have two benefits, first our politicians and beaurocrates will be more secular and disciplined. Besides armed forces will attract good stuff.

A welcome move. This should be extended to all central services recruitment and not only for army. it will improve efficiency and ensure large scale employment. Give only fixed consolidated pay instead of salary. Govt service moto should be the self less service and not selfish service.

Beda gark krengee iska b ab jeh

Sahi bola bhai

Utter nonsense ,the way it’s being projected that the pensioon paid to the exservisemen is a burden on the country ,whereas much of the pension goes to the civ staff in MOD . It seems that the burden of the state lies with exservisemen only ,no politician is a burden ,no babus or other govt staff pension is a burden .God Save this country .

Crtly said bro here retired teacher getting pensions more than that of working personal who r all the real productive one.

Most stupid idea. can you really make someone a capable officer in three years? It takes lots of training and experience followed by baptism by fire. The CDS has become too subservient to the establishment and accepting each and everything suggested without caring for the forces. These officers particularly the civilians will not be able to deliver and land up as cannon fodder in the battlefield. Are there any shortcuts to training and grooming? AND lose them after three years!

Sir, General Bipin Rawat First selected as COAS resulting extension in his service term then he got the opportunity to become first CDS of country resulting in more extension in his service term now he becomes more selfish and wish to obtain a Election seat from BJP after his retirement as CDS just like General VK Singh.

“Rawat Saab Fauj me sudhar ke naam par, Sarkar ki har fijool / bakwas recommendation ko man kar apni swarth ki roti, army ki barbadi ki aag par sekna chah rahe h”

Sad But True

True, considering that the last thing we want in the armed forces are men who haven’t even developed a spine yet for armed combat and who’ll end up leaving their posts when under enemy fire. We do not want our army-men to end up becoming like soldiers from the PLA or the Pakistan Army, whom we often despise for the same. Concerns regarding “continuity” are valid too. The move calls for scepticism.

How about defence civilians be shifted to Contributory Pension scheme? This will save a lot of defence pension burden.

True:: Defence Civilians are true burden to armed forces and the country. They are treated like damad in fauj and yet they hot guts to go on strike at will. They dont want to work during working hours so that they can get overtime. If a civilian want to go home without completing a work you cant hold his hand. Despite all this they want argue with service personnel over senoirity. God save the Fauj.

SSC officer getting 6.83 crores ! Good joke

Spent on, not handed over to them. It is an all inclusive figure.

I guess they have added salaries of all personal that the ssc officer interacts with too

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Tour of Duty: Features, eligibility, benefits to soldiers and all you need to know about it

Unlike short service commission officers, who serve in the indian army for ten years, the new model of tour of duty provides a shorter service period..

Under the new model, recruits will undergo training for six months and serve for the remaining period. (Photo credit: PTI)

• Under the new ToD system, soldiers will be recruited for four years.
• A total sum of over Rs 10 lakh, will be given to the soldier at the end of four years.
• 25 per cent of recruits will be inducted back into the services after four years.

New Delhi:  The Central Government on Tuesday announced major changes in the recruitment procedure of soldiers for the Indian Defence sector. The changes will be witnessed with the implementation of the Tour of Duty (ToD), which has been named Agnipath. The first-of-its-kind model will be used for the short-term recruitment of civilians into the three services of the armed forces for four years. Unlike short service commission officers, who serve in the Indian Army for ten years, the new model of Tour of Duty provides a shorter service period.

Features of Tour of Duty

• The model has been considered with an aim to recruit about 45,000-50,000 personnel below officer rank in the three services every year through a biannual exercise with a six-month gap.
• Under the system, soldiers will be recruited for four years.
• In the beginning, the candidates will get a salary of Rs 30,000, which will rise to Rs 40,000 by the end of the fourth year.
• Around 30 per cent of the salary will be held back as savings and an equal amount will be contributed by the government per month, under the Seva Nidhi scheme.

Eligibility for the candidates

• Candidates willing to apply for the vacant post in the Defence sector must stand between the ages of 17-and-a-half years and 21 years.
• The recruitment will be conducted under existing qualification criteria.
• Under the new model, recruits will undergo training for six months and serve for the remaining period.
• At present, a soldier serves for nearly 17-20 years.

Benefits of Tour of Duty

To soldiers

• A total sum of over Rs 10 lakh, will be given to the soldier at the end of four years and will be tax-free, though they will not be entitled to a pension.
• Based on skills acquired during training and tenure, the soldiers are likely to be awarded either a diploma or credits, which will help in their further education.
• Around 25 per cent of these recruits will be inducted back into the services after four years. However, the modalities for this process have not been finalised yet.
• The ones retained will serve for another 15 years, and will be entitled to retirement benefits.
• The move is likely to address several difficulties relating to the Armed Forces.
• The model will help in filling vacant seats in the defence sector.
• There has been almost no recruitment of soldiers for the three services over the past two years due to the COIVD-19 pandemic.
• According to data shared by the Defence Ministry in Parliament on March 28, more than 1 lakh positions for Junior Commissioned Officers of other ranks are vacant in the Army.
• It will also provide relief to thousands of young aspirants who want to be a part of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
• Soldiers on Tour of Duty will ensure that a substantial portion of the workforce is dedicated and skilled, boosting government and private sector output.

To Government

• Tour of Duty will resolve the issue of shortages of personnel and reduce the burden of pay raises and pensions.
• It will also lead to lowering the age profile of soldiers in units.
• ToD will help in saving pension amounts given to retired soldiers. The government had allocated nearly Rs 1.2 lakh crore for pensions to the Defence Ministry and the Armed Forces in the current fiscal year, which is about a quarter of the total defence budget.
• According to one of several projections under the plan that was first proposed about two years ago, the comparison of costs incurred by the Government for one soldier under the existing and proposed systems would lead to a lifetime saving of Rs 11.5 crore.
• The cumulative money saved in pay and gratuity payouts can be used to fund much-needed military modernisation.

Concerns related to ToD

Experts also show concern with the implementation of ToD as most of the soldiers will now serve for only four years without pension compared to the nearly 20 years of service with pension under the current system.

There are also concerns about whether training and tenure will be sufficient for some of the operations that these soldiers may need to carry out.

According to an initial proposal, made by the Army, it was planned to open up recruiting to young people who did not want to make the military their permanent career but still wanted to experience the adventure of military professionalism, without entry criteria being relaxed.

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• The three-year short service or ‘Tour of Duty’ for youth in the armed forces is likely to be announced soon.

What is a Tour of Duty?

• Meaning: It means hiring a youth in the armed forces for a short span of 3-5 years.
• The idea was the brainchild of late Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat.
• The Indian Army will be the first of the three armed forces to recruit some soldiers for a fixed period of three years.
• The remaining 50% would continue to serve in the Army for the full term till they reach their retirement age.
• Such soldiers will be given certain medical benefits, applicable to Armed Forces veterans, for a fixed period.
• It started during World War II when the British realized that they needed far more officers than those who could be commissioned from either Sandhurst or the JSW (Joint Services Wing).
• This was done till the end of World War II.
• In 1962 during the Indo-China War, the Emergency Commission was reopened and based on the increasing requirement of the officers, Officers Training School (OTS) in Chennai was opened, which granted short-service commissions to five-10 years.

Models for recruitment

• One under which youth can voluntarily serve in the Army for a temporary period of three years, and
• The other where they are recruited by Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), trained and posted in the Army for about seven years, before being transferred back.
• The first model , of three years’ service, is called ‘ Tour of Duty’ , while the other is called ‘Inverse Induction’.
• Currently, the only option apart from regular permanent commission into the armed forces is the short service commission , in which officers are recruited for a period of 14 years.

Significance of this move

• The cost of a jawan , with his training and other expenses, would come down to Rs 80-85 lakh, which would help in releasing funds for military modernisation.
• This is significant in the current climate where the nation is facing a serious threat from China as well as Pakistan at the borders.
• Attractive and prime recruit : A young man who would retire as a ToD jawan would be a very attractive and prime recruit for the government sector and corporates.
• Technology Up gradation : Students from prestigious institutes like IITs who are highly technical will be attracted to the Army for a short period to help them expand the technology in the Army.
• It is an opportunity for India’s youth : to experience military life without having to join the armed forces on a long-term basis.

Source: TOI

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Army’s proposed ‘Tour of Duty’ recruitment model, explained

In May this year, the Indian Army announced it was planning to introduce a novel programme on a pilot basis that will allow civilians to serve within its ranks on a three-year short-service 'Tour of Duty.'

Key Highlights

• The Army has branded this as an opportunity for India's youth to experience military life without having to join the armed forces on a long-term basis
• Currently, the only option available to civilians to enlist in the Army apart from the regular permanent commission route is the Short Service Commission (SSC)
• The Army has drawn attention to the rising defence pension sums that now, reportedly, account for a staggering 30 per cent of the nation's defence budget

The tri-service establishment is currently mulling expanding the breadth of the nation's 'Tour of Duty' recruitment model to include the Indian Air Force and the Navy as well, according to a report from The Print. 

In May this year, the Indian Army announced it was planning to introduce a novel programme on a pilot basis that will allow civilians to serve within its ranks, either as officers or jawans, on a three-year short-service 'Tour of Duty.' However, it was quick to clarify that the model was not similar to military conscription as witnessed in other nations like South Korea and Israel.

Commenting on the proposed voluntary three-year stint, India's Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat had noted in mid-May that the recruitment model was still at a nascent stage. At the time, a proposal to fill 100 officers and 1,000 jawans was being considered. 

The recruitment model has also been proposed as a means to generate increased employment opportunities within the country with the ultimate ambition being to ensure that nearly 40 per cent of the Indian Army's personnel are recruited via this channel. 

Currently, the only option available to civilians to enlist in the Army apart from the regular permanent commission route is the Short Service Commission (SSC). Under this path, officers are recruited for a period of 14 years, after which, subject to eligibility, an officer has the option of switching to permanent commission. 

However, the Army has drawn attention to the rising defence pension sums that now, reportedly, account for a staggering 30 per cent of the nation's defence budget. The Department of Military Affairs had determined that an officer recruited via the 3-year Tour of Duty scheme will set the Army back by a sum of between Rs 80 to 85 lakh, including pre-commission training, gratuity, severance packages, pay, allowances, leave encashment and any other expenses. 

Currently, the Army, reportedly, spends roughly Rs 5.12 crore in total on an officer under the SSC route who retires after ten years. For officers who serve the full fourteen-year term, the costs rise to Rs 6.83 crores. The proposal also outlined that the total savings on jawans could amount to Rs 11,000 crore – a sum that could be used for defence procurement or elsewhere. 

According to reports, the Army currently has roughly 43,000 officers - 80 per cent of whom are in the permanent commission class – and an additional 11.8 lakh forming other ranks. 

In order to make the proposal attractive to prospective recruits, the Army is also considering making all individual earnings tax-free for the three-year period, with preference given to such recruits in public sector jobs as well as post-graduate courses. The nation would benefit from “trained, disciplined, confident, diligent and committed” youths who may gain an edge in the corporate sector when they finally leave the Army to take up new work, it said. 

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50% Army Soldiers May Retire Within 5 Years of Recruitment Under Proposed Recruitment Model

Curated By : Amrita Nayak Dutta

Last Updated: April 06, 2022, 18:08 IST

Eleven headquarter recruiting zones will be carrying out the rallies across the country. (Representational image/Reuters)

The recruitment model, called Tour of Duty (ToD), was first proposed in 2020 to reduce officers’ shortage in the Army and tackle growing defence pension bills, but is likely to be modified to recruit only soldiers

A recruitment model first proposed in 2020 with the initial purpose of reducing officers’ shortage in the Army while tackling the growing defence pension bills is likely to be modified to recruit only soldiers on a short-term contract basis.

The recruitment process of soldiers in the Army was halted two years ago after the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in 2020. Aspirants looking to join the defence forces staged a protest on Tuesday at Jantar Mantar against the suspension of recruitment rallies, among other things.

Highly placed sources in the government told News18 that the proposed recruitment model, called Tour of Duty (ToD), is in final stages and undergoing fine-tuning with a slew of meetings held on this over the last two weeks.

As per the sources, the present draft of the scheme states that all soldiers in the Indian Army would eventually be recruited under the Tour of Duty model. Around 25% of them would serve in the Army for three years and 25% troops would serve for five years.

As the draft stands now, the remaining 50% would continue to serve in the Army for the full term till they reach their retirement age, the sources added.

A top source in the government said that initial calculations show this could save a significant portion of the defence pensions bills, which will cumulatively grow every few years.

It has also been proposed that 50% of soldiers who would be released at the end of three and five years be included in the National Pension Scheme and be given certain medical benefits, applicable to Armed Forces veterans, for a fixed period.

The source quoted above added that this proposed recruitment model may not be applicable to officers and only soldiers could be employed under it. The Army has a shortage of 7,476 officers as per data presented in Parliament in December last year.

The exact timeframe of the launch of this proposal is not immediately clear, with the Army awaiting a nod from the Defence Ministry on the proposal.

The scheme might later be extended to the Navy and IAF.

As per latest data accessed by News18, a deficiency of 1.1 lakh soldiers has cropped up in the last two years after recruitment rallies were stopped in the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is increasing by about 5,000 troops every month.

‘Training Infra Needs to be Ramped Up to Reduce Pensions Bills’

The Indian Army can train around 40,000 recruits at a time within the existing infrastructure. This is considered adequate to meet the vacancies created by 60,000 soldiers who retire every year, while also catering to routine additional requirements for soldiers raised at times.

While the training period is 34 weeks for general duty soldiers, for tradesmen, it is 19 weeks.

As per sources, even if intake of recruits is increased immediately, it will require six to seven years to fill all these vacancies.

A second source said that if the ToD is implemented and the basic military training for the new recruits is reduced to 19 weeks, even then, around four years would be needed to fill up the shortage of soldiers which has cropped up in the last two years.

But at the same time, the vacancies created by those retiring through ToD at the end of three and five years would also start adding up.

“The Army would have three years from the date of implementation of the scheme to enhance the infrastructure to train additional recruits, who would be needed to fill up the cumulatively increasing vacancies under the ToD,” the second source said.

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Tour of Duty Ride

Tour of Duty Ride started off as a yearly ride back in 15 and has had a few bumps along the way, yet we keep plugging along.

In 23 we started a year round map of small bars, restaurants and unique locations to help small businesses recover from the Covid devastation, be part of a fun program,  to help Tour of Duty Ride be recognized year round AND last but not least provide help to Arizona’s Military families that need financial aid.

Tour of Duty Ride still has an  annual ride for all types of vehicles:   motorcycles, cars, trucks, mopeds, Model T’s and so on and so forth.

And please remember … ALL proceeds go directly to MAM to support their goal of serving Arizona’s brave men and women (E5 and below) who dedicate their lives to protect our freedoms. 

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RIDING IS OUR DESTINATION™️

Some photos from previous rides

Serving active duty Military E-5 and below

Information about the ride and raffle

The Booze Wagon Raffle

Our 7th year selling “BOOZE WAGON” tickets.

The pictures show the wagon empty and with a previous year’s booze.

Typically you will get over 40 bottles of booze and other booze related items. 

Tour of Duty Ride 2024 - Mark your calendars!

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‘Tour of Duty’ recruitment model:

GS Paper 3:

Topics Covered: Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.

The Department of Military Affairs has finalised a radical proposal for future recruitment to the armed forces. The Army will be the first to try out the concept – the ‘Tour of Duty’ model, which involves recruiting some soldiers for a fixed period of three years.

• The ‘Tour of Duty’ (ToD) concept, first unveiled in 2020.

What is the ‘Tour of Duty’ model?

This model of recruitment would let young individuals voluntarily serve for a temporary period of three years.

• It will be a voluntary engagement.
• It is for youths who “do not want to make defence services their permanent vocation, but still want to experience the thrill and adventure of military professionalism”.
• The proposal is a shift from the concept of permanent service/job in the Armed Forces, towards ‘internship’/temporary experience for three years.
• While the original proposal in 2020 would have extended the ToD to officers as well, it’s now being restricted to jawans, as officers already have the Short Service Commission (SSC) route.

Benefits for the government:

• There are immense financial benefits to the organisation due to reduction in pay and gratuity payouts.
• The cost of a three-year service per officer will be a fraction of the cost incurred on Short Service Commission (SSC) officers.
• The cost incurred on an officer, who leaves after 10 or 14 years, is Rs 5 crore-Rs 6.8 crore, which includes the cost of pre-commission training, pay, allowances, gratuity, leave encashment among others. The corresponding cost for a three-year service will be Rs 80 lakh-85 lakh.
• SSC officers have the option to join the service permanently, which further increases the cost incurred, including pension bills.
• For soldiers, who usually serve for 17 years, the Army has calculated a lifetime savings of Rs 11.5 crore per person, as compared to a three-year service.

Benefits for citizens and the country:

• It will help to “channelise the youth energy into positive utilisation of their potential”.
• Rigorous military training and habits inculcated will lead to healthy citizenry.
• The entire nation will benefit from “trained, disciplined, confident, diligent and committed” young men or women who have done the three-year service.
• An “initial survey” has indicated that the corporate sector will prefer to hire such youths rather than fresh graduates.
• The Army’s pay and pension bill has been increasing steeply over the years, accounting for 60% of its budget allocation.
• According to a report of the Standing Committee of Defence, 2019, the deficiency in officer cadre of the Indian Army stood at approximately 14 per cent.
• Advocates of this scheme also cite “resurgence of nationalism and patriotism”, and the fact that “unemployment in our country is a reality”.

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• SSC vs Permanent Commission in armed forces.
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Discuss the significance of Tour of Duty” (ToD) scheme.

Sources: the Print.

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Electric Semi Truck

World’s first hydrogen station for commercial trucks opens – is it too late.

FirstElement Fuels has opened the world’s first large-scale hydrogen fueling station for heavy-duty commercial trucks just outside the Port of Oakland.

FirstElement is calling their new filling station, which opened to the public this week for tours and demonstrations, the first of its kind. Located near the Port of Oakland, the company claims its hydrogen pumps can “fill” a truck’s hydrogen tanks in as little as ten minutes, which works out (in their math) to as many as 200 trucks per day.

As for customers, the company says there are 30 Hyundai Xcient semi trucks using the fueling station currently, as well as a number of Nikola hydrogen fuel-cell-powered trucks .

A ceremony to mark the station’s opening was held Tuesday, and was attended by state officials including Liane Randolph, chair of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and Tyson Eckerle, clean transportation advisor for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s business development office. Primary funding for the Oakland station was provided by CARB and the California Energy Commission.

Eckerle notes that the US federal government is handing out $8 billion to jump-start what it calls the “hydrogen economy,” and expects sufficient funding to build up to 60 more hydrogen truck stations like this one in California – which would, theoretically, be enough to serve 5,000 trucks and 1,000 buses .

All well and good, but …

What if it’s already too late for hydrogen?

MAN Trucks CEO, Alexander Vlaskamp, said it best when he said that it was “ impossible ” for hydrogen to effectively compete with BEVs.

He’s right – on a level playing field, there is absolutely no reason to believe hydrogen has any kind of future . But we don’t operate on a level playing field, and comments like Eckerle’s, along with an $8 billion federal budget and a number of supposedly genuine industry experts touting its usefulness as a fuel , mean we have to take hydrogen seriously (at least, for now).

Even so, it seems like the tide of public opinion is already starting to turn against hydrogen. Outlets that may never have questioned a manufacturer’s claims about a hydrogen-fueled vehicle a few years ago now seem more than willing to call those claims out. Here’s just one example:

Producing hydrogen itself can be very dirty. Most hydrogen produced today requires methane, which is a fossil fuel and a strong greenhouse gas contributor. The industry is working on production alternatives, including carbon capture and storage from the burning of methane, or quitting methane altogether to make green hydrogen, using an electrolyzer to split water’s hydrogen and oxygen. Both alternatives are prohibitively expensive without government subsidies. RUSS MITCHELL, AOL/Los Angeles TIMES .

So far, it’s not clear that FirstElement’s claims about either the sustainability of its hydrogen or the practicality of its filling station will convince many battery electric absolutists.

Take the company’s hydrogen production process as an example. FirstElement says that its supplier, Air Liquide in Las Vegas, uses natural gas as “feedstock” for its hydrogen. It buys biogas to blend with natural gas in order to create hydrogen – and that, because the gas used is more than 60% renewable, the hydrogen qualifies as “green.”

FirstElement hydrogen production

Additionally, the claim of 10 minute fast fills should come with an asterisk or two . That’s because FirstGreen is using new “cryopump” technology from Bosch Rexroth to allow for filling at 900 bar (15,000 psi). While that seems like more enough to push 100 kg into a tank in about ten minutes, cryogenically cooling hydrogen is an energy intensive technology that requires a lot of electricity to function properly. Electricity that it says will come from the stored hydrogen.

In fairness, however, Bosch has some ideas here to help station owners maximize the usefulness of all that electricity.

“Cold is like gold,” says Dave Hull, regional vice-president, Bosch Rexroth. “You’ve got all this cold energy. All my career I worked to get rid of heat. You can take that energy and run a whole station’s refrigerators for Rock Star energy drinks, or air conditioning. Bosh has a whole division of heat pumps and building technologies.”

Whether or not that added efficiency adds up to actual energy and cost savings, rather than a lifeline for the gas industry and tier 1 auto suppliers like Bosch however, remains to be seen. Meanwhile, hydrogen costs continue to rise.

Platts last assessed California’s retail hydrogen price at $33.48/kg Jan. 4, 2023, which is the weighted average hydrogen price offered at retail fueling stations across the state. The price has risen 112% from when Platts began the assessment in September 2021, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights data. SP GLOBAL

Despite the high cost of hydrogen ( “green” hydrogen is more expensive, still ), Shane Stephens, one of FirstElement’s founders and its chief development officer, remains undeterred.

Top comment by john

Hydrogen fuel like hydrogen fusion is always 10 years in the future. It seems to be an inherent property of hydrogen.

“We, at FirstElement Fuels, have a lot of confidence the market is coming,” says Stephens. “We see the regulations on the horizon, the OEMs and fleet owners are going to have to respond to that, especially when it comes to goods movement, and hydrogen and fuel cells are the best – if not only – solution that will work for many of those use cases.”

Electrek’s Take

As a light vehicle fuel – despite the efforts of Hyundai , Toyota, and (more recently) Honda – things aren’t going well for hydrogen. As a fuel for massive semi trucks and even bigger heavy equipment, however, it might stand a chance against current battery technology.

But battery tech isn’t stagnant, and lighter, better, faster charging battery news that used to come every year, and then every month , now seems to be coming every week – and I’d argue that you’d be foolish to assume batteries that are twice as energy dense at half the weight won’t be here well ahead of California’s 2035 ICE ban.

But that’s just me. You guys are smart. Head on down to the comments and let us know what you think.

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I’ve been in and around the auto industry since the 90s, and have written for a number of well-known outlets like CleanTechnica, the Truth About Cars, Popular Mechanics, and more. You can catch me on The Heavy Equipment Podcast with Mike Switzer, the AutoHub Show with Ian and Jeff, or chasing my kids around Oak Park, IL.