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Kuwaitis pull out of tough Indian Navy course
Topic Started: Jan 5 2004, 06:14 PM (293 Views)
RBTiger
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In an unprecedented incident, 10 Kuwaiti Naval officers recently deserted a training course run by the Indian Navy after complaining of 'maltreatment' by the hosts.

The 10 Kuwaiti officers of the rank of lieutenant were undergoing a Bridge Watchkeeping Certificate Course conducted by the Indian Navy's Southern Command at Kochi and Vishakhapatnam. They had completed four-and-a-half months of the six-month course when they pulled out in August. This was the first time Kuwaiti officers were attending this course.

The Indian Navy has denied the Kuwaitis were maltreated but indicated that they were soft, expected "five-star treatment" and were unable to take the rigour of training.

The course is rudimentary but rigorous. "It's an important benchmark. An officer can be useful on a ship only if he is a qualified watchkeeper," a senior Navy officer said.

The Kuwaiti embassy in New Delhi appeared to concur with its officers that the Indian Navy’s training regimen was too rough.

It cited the "inability" of its officers to put up with the training regimen in high seas during the monsoon as the reason for the "withdrawal". Significantly, each of the 10 Kuwaiti lieutenants had a record of five to ten years of service.

Indian training standards are tough. Apocryphal legend has it that even the US SEALS — the universally-known crack marine commandos — were staggered at the Indian training rigour (for their counterparts) and had described it as “inhuman”.

The Indian Navy insists the trainees have to be "put through the paces" and that there can be no compromise on the regimen. "This is only a reflection of the high standard of training imparted by the Indian Navy," a senior officer said. "The Kuwait Navy needs to be concerned that its officers were unable to cope up," he pointed out.

On its part, the Indian Navy was observing a certain leniency with the Kuwaitis, as it does with many foreign trainees.

"Foreign personnel from certain Gulf countries under training with the Indian Navy have been provided additional residential facilities of soft furnishing and air conditioning on payment by their governments," a Navy spokesman said.

In the case of the Kuwaitis, they were allowed to stay in hotels on off-duty days while their ships were in harbour. The 10 officers were assigned to three Indian naval ships based at Kochi and Vishakhapatnam.

The Navy has strongly dismissed the "maltreatment" charge. "We have been training foreigners from 28 countries since 1965. Currently, about 350 foreign personnel are being trained by the Indian Navy annually. No complaint of maltreatment has been received,” a spokesman said.


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PacEMakeR
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Yes, Indian Navy standards are tough, but thats what makes them rulers of the seas fom Arabia to the Straits.
My cousin told me that he wished he had joined the air focrce ;-)

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