The 14 month-long sub-lieutenant technical courses were like a dream come true for a newly commissioned naval officer. But as the saying goes - all good things must come to an end- so did it happen. Marking the end of our course was a forward area tour.

Although some of my course-mates were from a service background and some were ex-NDA, we never really had a chance to interact closely with the troops of the Indian Army to have a first-hand experience of their working conditions. As part of our training curriculum, a forward area tour was scheduled to primarily give the young naval officers an exposure to border defence.

Departing from Kochi on the morning of September 19 last, thirty- three of us reached New Delhi on the night of September 21 and subsequently were airlifted by an Indian Air Force courier flight AN-32 to Siliguri where one batch got off and the other batch went further on to Guwahati. Thus we had a short interaction with the Air Force.

For the next few days, we were put up in a transit camp at the corps headquarters of the Army. Briefings enabled us to know about the people, terrain and defence, related aspects of the sector. Initially, the names were hard to grasp but with the passage of time we bacame quite comfortable with the names and had a general idea about the place. Reaching the Divisional Headquarters at Gangtok, we were divided into two groups— the first half for North and North East Sikkim and the second for East Sikkim. Both groups were to change over later and see all the sectors.

During the course of the next few days, we spent a lot of time travelling by road to the various posts in the area. The Army had made excellent arrangements for our transportation and accommodation and the reception everywhere was very cordial and warm. Both the services had a lot to talk about. We took this opportunity to interact with the jawans as well. Due to high altitudes the travel was long and tedious and we were often warned not to overexert because of lack of oxygen. The weather conditions were extreme. However, we had been provided sufficient clothing. Throughout the tour we had numerous briefings, separately at each post, to have even the minutest detail which was very helpful.

It was a treat to sit in the various operational regions. The facilities at hand for situation control were fabulous; the maps (so many of them) were well brought-out. Visiting the posts at 19,000 ft was a very exciting moment. The men there had to withstand very trying conditions with the severe cold wind gusts striking their faces. Notwithstanding the heights and the weather, the warmth and josh in their heart was evident when we visited them. When the time came for us to pen down our feelings on the book at the posts, we were practically fighting for space to fill it. Mere words were not enough to express our feelings when there were tears in our eyes, smile on our faces, concern in out hearts and, most certainly, josh in our minds.

The exposure was a real eye-opener for us. We came to know the tactical importance of the Siliguri corridor and the border areas of Sikkim.