It's Tough Being Tough

The night is still and silent. Somewhere out in the Arabian Sea lurks an enemy come to destroy strategic targets on Indian soil that will reduce the efficiency of our nation to wage war. Radars, weapons factories, electricity producing plants, airports etc. They must not be allowed to get through. Don’t worry, they won’t.

For unknown to them in the darkness just ahead silently waiting for them are the men of the Indian Navy. The mighty aircraft carrier INS VIRAAT lies in their way. Surrounding it are other ships of the navy for the Viraat never sails alone. The wolf pack around it scans under the waters for submarines, it checks the surface of the water for shipping and it monitors the skies for hostile aircraft.

The Navy is ready and the enemy’s radars have picked nothing. He relaxes and just as he sees the first light of dawn his world erupts in flames and the threat to our nation is removed. The enemy vessel has been sunk. Sounds simple? Almost dramatic! Just like all those movies you have seen. But this is real life. This actually happens. To make sure that it does the men and women of the Indian Navy ensure that they have physical, mental and tactical superiority.

Today’s battles are not ONLY about bravado and charging the enemy’s guns. They are about making sure that it’s not you who lays down your life for your nation but you make sure that your enemy does so for his. And to help him along the way you need to be the best that you can be. Today’s Navy uses cutting edge weaponry and state of the art machines. Looking at the control panel of a submarine stuns and boggles the layman’s mind. That’s what happened to me and when you see it on JAI HIND that’s what will happen to you.

The job of being a man or a woman in the armed forces is not as simple as it used to be. There are stringent mental, physical and educational requirements before you are allowed to even touch a machine that costs the nation millions of rupees. The level of training in subjects such as physics, mathematics, avionics etc. is very high. These are practical requirements and your life and the life of your men and officers depend on your ability to function. To function when missiles launched are heading for you, to function when a fire fight is raging around you, to function when explosions rock your senses, to function when bullets fly around you, to function when acrid chemicals fill your nose and all seems to be lost, to function because it is your training that allows you to do so, to function because your objective requires you to do so, to function because your country requires you to do so. Sounds a little less simple now? Well, shooting JAI HIND on board the INS VIRAAT gave us a whole new understanding and respect for the men and women of the Indian Navy. See the show to understand some more about the requirements of being one of these officers or men.

An army commando trainer told me once that the most important thing for a commando is to take his mind into battle. The body requires such legendary fitness so that the mind has maximum mobility. That’s it. So when the physical challenges of being a commando are irrelevant, a commando’s work begins….. Just where we think it ends. The grueling physical requirement is just a basic necessity. The real job of a commando is to be able to go deep behind enemy lines, use a small force to surprise the enemy at a location where it is impossible for a big force to reach and then to destroy strategic targets. He must be able to use every physical, mental, geographical, political, financial and even emotional tool at his disposal to destroy his target. He must never slow down, never be weak, never waste even a moment’s time and always remember his mission. He is a finely trained instrument. The demands on his mind and body are unimaginable for people like you and me. Because, a commando’s work begins……just where we think it ends.

A siren rings out loud jarring the senses at dusk on a remote airfield far away from anywhere. A sleeping pilot comes awake and jumps out of bed. He has been flying up to 10 hours a day for 6 days, he is tired, sleep deprived his body aches and his eyes burn but he is into his G-suit within 3 minutes of the siren sounding and is running for his aircraft. His fellow pilots and commanding officer are standing near the SU-30’s they fly. Each aircraft swarms with men fuelling, fitting weapons and ensuring all systems are go,

“We have a wave of enemy aircraft heading bearing XXX, their target is XXX. We are severely outnumbered and cannot expect any backup at this time. We will head for quadrant XXX and engage the enemy bearings will be provided after take off, they must not be allowed to get through. We may take heavy casualties on this one boy’s but our response is critical. Stay with your wingman and watch your six. JAI HIND”.

Pilots run to their aircraft and as the pilot and the weapons system operator sit in their cockpits loud engines roar to life. The ground shakes as one after the other these mighty birds of war take to the air. India’s Air might lies on the young shoulders of these fighter pilots. They did not question the odds, they did not flinch when they heard that they were severely outnumbered, they did not even raise an eyebrow when they were told that they can expect heavy casualties. They only understood the requirements for their mission and ran to their aircraft, knowing that they may never walk out of that cockpit and that this well may be their last flight.

The radio crackles in mid flight “I’ll take down at least one more than you Falcon” and the response comes “I’d like that”. Smiles flash across their faces and thumbs up accompanies the smile. They go back to their instruments calculating their flight approach and their weapons readiness. Instructions crackle into their headsets and co-ordinates are given to them. They peel away from formation two by two and are ready to go. “Give them hell boys” says the CO and missiles are launched…..

What makes these young men and women go out against impossible odds with smiles on their faces? How do they function under such devastating pressure? Would you do it? Could you do it? It was an honor and privilege to see the men and the women who could and do. We learnt a lot about about them while shooting JAI HIND with the Indian Air Force.

This is a show very close to my heart, I am proud to have shared time and place with the men and women of the Indian Armed Forces. Our show is not just about what these men and women eat and how they go through their days. We try and bring to you a real sense of what it takes to do their job. Just the training is so hard and the demands so great that is was a little overwhelming when we first saw it. Just moving with these highly trained people caused us a lot of stress and many injuries to the crew and the anchors that include, multiple fracture, hairline fracture, torn ligaments, snake bite, 3rd degree burns, deep knife cut, knee surgery, food poisoning, altitude sickness, numerous scraped elbows and knees, many stitches, long sessions of thorn removal, dehydration, sunstroke etc.

It’s not been easy to bring you this show. The light tone and the fun and games that you will see are put together with a lot of hardship and pain. The reason is very simple. It about time people realized what makes the people of the armed forces so special. It’s about time that we appreciate these people and respect them for the tough life they undergo for the nation. And for us! This show is about us honoring these people and simply saying JAI HIND.