ARMY DAYS Way back in 1976, I was a Captain in the Army and my unit was deployed on high mountains all along the railway line from Harnai to Khost, (the only means of land travel ) in Balochistan. In those days there was one train per week. It left Sibbi in the morning, reached the last stop, Khost in the evening, stayed there for the night under heavy protection and then started off for Sibbi the next morning. The army was totally dependant on this vital link for all the logistic supplies. Our mission was to protect the tracks against raids by the insurgents, who would blow up the track, and then pick off the repair crews at their lesuire. On the bare rocky mountain tops, life was a matter of existance and survival for a team of 15 men comprising of an Officer and fourteen other ranks. The constant howling icy wind made it impossible to walk erect and lighting a fire was an ordeal. Because of resupply problems we used to have a single meal in 24 hrs and our water rations were fixed at 1litre per 24 hrs. All our ammunition and rations were brought up by mules on fortnightly basis from the base camp which at times would be 6 walking hrs away (distance was not calculated in Kms or miles, there was no other transport, no jeeps or trucks as there were no roads or tracks - just one solitary pair of steel rails bisecting from east to West, the arid brown, stony valley about 3000 feet below. The worst part was isolation - after a few days, the laughter would stop, the casual talk would also peter out and tempers would flare up even at the drop of a pebble. There was no connection with the outer world except for the Wireless Sets which would stay open and drive us crazy with their constant static noise. Our hunger for change or some information was so much that we would note down the aircraft number (painted on the underside of the wings) of the weekly PIA flt from Isl to Qta and then compare it with the timings etc of the same flight last week. We couldnt shave, have a bath or even do proper Wazu ! After a week upstairs, we smelled awful, we looked awful and we felt awful - but we had our moments of fun and laughter - Ill share them later.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 07:21:23 +0000
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