NEW DELHI: Ramrod straight at 85, Faqir Singh stood at one corner of the sprawling lawn at the Air House on Monday evening, looking at his erstwhile cadet with pride as he welcomed the high and mighty of the land, from Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and his predecessor
Manmohan Singh to several ministers and top military brass, for the IAF’s 86th anniversary celebrations.
Faqir Singh, after all, was the “drill ustad” or drill instructor of IAF chief
Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa when the latter was a cadet in his teens at the National Defence Academy in Khadakwasla,
Maharashtra, in the later-1970s.
Many officers remember their drill ustads at military academies, where cadets are transformed into officers through rigorous physical training and mental toughening, with a sense of awe and at least a bit of dread. Drawn from the ranks of non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and junior commissioned officer (JCOs), the ustads are responsible for teaching drills, weapons training, physical training and field craft to callow cadets, and frequently punish them when they stray from the path.
“Honorary Captain Faqir Singh (retd) was a tough taskmaster. I invited him to the IAF Day parade today to check the drill and turn-out of our air warriors. He gave us good marks,” said a beaming ACM Dhanoa.
Faqir Singh, who lives in a village near Adampur, nodded in agreement. “The IAF drill has improved over the years,” said Singh, though in his heart he remains an Army soldier. “Army chief General
Bipin Rawat was also in the NDA at that time but he was in a different squadron. I trained the IAF chief in the Echo squadron. He was a disciplined cadet (ACM Dhanoa),” he said.
“You have to transform civilians into soldiers in the academy…the cadets have to learn how to follow orders and behave like officers. It involves a lot of physical and mental conditioning. It feels very nice to see a cadet you have trained become a military chief,” he added.