YOU SAID IT

Lt Kunal Dey

Unwarranted pressures

“Where’s that file? Where’s the draft letter I’d asked you to put up for CO’s signature? And how about that SOC, have you made any headway? What about the returns? Isn’t the last date approaching? Come on guys…. How can you say that…? These days you youngsters just take it too lightly. How can you be so casual about flying? During our times we used to…”

Walk into any flying squadron today, and this is what one generally gets to hear. The junior aircrew of today is subjected to tremendous pressures from within as well as outside the squadron. He is expected to finish off everything in virtually no time. This makes it inevitable for him to adopt tempting shortcuts not only in his day-to-day work but also in his flying, which is a definite cause of concern. In addition to this, it also results in a drastic dip in his morale and motivation level, which over a period of time reduces his operational efficiency.

The probable cause for this could be the non-availability of database and immediately required operational information/knowledge at the higher formations resulting in the over delegation of tasks by them to the flying squadrons. This, together with the ever-existing issue of shortage of officers in the armed forces results in the ever-increasing load being shared by about half the strength than what it is actually meant for, and very often than never it is the junior officers who get tasked at the same time from different directions, with EDC’s already knocking at the door. This in the long run has a cascading effect. With the ever-increasing expectations of his superiors, shortcuts are the natural resort to meet objectives on time. As it is rightly said - ‘A person’s attitude is reflected in his flying’, he is often found taking similar shortcuts in aviation also, and at the end of the day is termed as professionally incompetent. This together with constant denigration and public humiliation lowers his morale further. It becomes very difficult for him not just to work, but even to survive in such an uncomfortable environment. This leads to depression, which he carries home, and then the lesser said the better it is. All these make the perfect recipe for a disaster waiting to happen.

Today most aircraft accidents and incidents are attributed to human error, but surprisingly nothing much is done to investigate as to what makes the human being sitting on controls commit such and error. Lack of professional competence may definitely be a factor, but can we afford to rule out or overlook the psychological aspect of it? The answer is no.

Now that we have a problem, there definitely has to be a solution, and it starts at the first place with the building up of a comfortable working environment, where even the junior-most aircrew feels free to raise any issue under the sky without having to think of the repercussions. Secondly, the senior should make a conscious effort to understand the constraints under which his juniors operate, and then task them accordingly. Just saying “I know you guys are hard pressed, but then this needs to be done”, doesn’t really solve the problem. Distribution of work within the squadron/department must be uniform, by which it is meant that an officer who is always ready to shoulder responsibilities should not be the obvious choice for every job that needs to be done. Aircrew officers especially must be kept away from unnecessary and unproductive jobs. Thirdly, the shortcomings of a particular individual should not be generalised with the very frequently used phrase - “you youngsters are good for nothing”. At the same time it must always be remembered that there is no misconduct or shortcoming in this world that justifies humiliation of an individual.

Lastly, the organisation must conduct stress management capsules at the end of day’s work, involving all aircrew and other officers. Its worth has already been proven in the civil world. This can be done by conducting team games at the squadron/department level, or by spending the last half an hour of the day’s routine in some recreational activity.

Having said all this, it is prudent for is prudent for junior officers also to do their bit of introspection and understand the requirements of the service. We must always work towards rectifying our mistakes, rather than justifying them. We must learn effective time management and strive for excellence in whatever we do. This will definitely go a long way towards ensuring safe and efficient conduct of flying operations.