THE BIRTH AND GROWTH OF 33 MECHANISED DIVISIONAL SIGNALS
By
Maj Gen VK Singh
When I received my posting order as CO
33 Mechanised Divisional Signal Regiment, I was the 2ic in 31 Armoured
Divisional Signal Regiment. Having just returned to the unit in November 1982 after
taking part in the Himalayan Car Rally, I was looking forward to some well
earned leave. Though I had been approved for promotion to Lt Col, I had been
informally told that my turn will come after about six months, since there were
three or four officers of my batch senior to me. I had hardly spent a week in the
unit when we received a message from Army HQ, ordering me to move forthwith on
promotion as CO of the unit, which was being raised at Hisar. I was surprised,
but had no choice in the matter. The reasons for my out of turn promotion became
clear soon after I arrived in Hisar. The new GOC, Major General LB ‘Marshal’
Sondhi, was coming from the MS Branch. An ex Armoured Corps officer from the 1st
JSW course, he had later transferred to the Infantry, and was now Colonel of
the Sikh Regiment. He had decided that COs of all divisional units should have served
in an armoured division. So, the C Engrs, C Sigs, CAOC, CEME, CASC etc were all
selected with this criterion in mind. In a way, it was a wise decision, as we
realised with the passage of time.
It is now 33 years since I left the DOT Signals. But the
memories of my stay in the unit are as fresh as ever. Raising 33 Mechanised
Divisional Signal Regiment was an unique experience. It was not like any other
signal unit – it was the country’s first mechanized divisional signal regiment.
This was also the first instance when a division was raised in a non military
station. There was no supply depot, garrison engineer or military hospital. If
one fell sick or caught a cold, he had to go all the way to Delhi for
treatment. And we had to travel over a hundred kilometres to carry out annual
range classification! The first officers’ mess was in an unfinished cookhouse,
and the CO’s first chair was a case of Hercules rum (cardboard cartons were not
used at that time). The first OR posted to the unit only cooked food, with the
officers doing runner duties.
Though I can recall almost every
minute of the two and a half years that I spent in the unit, some memories
stand out. One of these is the first visit by the SO-in-C, Lt Gen MS Sodhi. We
were having lunch in the Officers’ Mess, which was then in a store tent. There
was a violent sand storm and the tent came down, with the tent pole falling
across the dining table and splitting it in two. Then there was the incident of
the water tank falling down, taking the life of a civilian labourer, just a day
after the CO’s EPIP tent had been moved from that location. Operation Blue Star
in 1984 also kept us busy, in many ways. Since the GOC was also the Colonel of
the Sikh Regiment, in which there were many incidents of mutiny, he was out
almost every day in a helicopter, visiting his units.
Another misfortune that befell us was the ‘loss’ 600 of rounds
of 9 mm sten ammunition while carrying out annual range classification at
another station, in Punjab. Actually, the number of rounds found in the box was
less, but the JCO who discovered it at the range did not report it to the officer
in charge. The matter was reported to the officiating CO only after the firing
party returned to Hisar. He in turn rang me up – I was then on leave – and
asked me what he should do. Naturally, I told him to report the matter
immediately, which he did. As was expected, there was a high level Court of
Inquiry, and a visit from a military intelligence unit from Delhi. Since this incident
had occurred in Punjab just after Blue Star, there was a possibility that the
ammunition may have fallen in wrong hands. All the personnel who had gone for
the firing were thoroughly investigated, along with their families, especially
those hailing from Punjab. Finally, nothing came of it but everyone was tense
for a couple of months.
Perhaps the most ‘forgettable’
incident was the time when the almost the entire ‘O’ Group of the Division was
very nearly electrocuted during an exercise. The GOC’s ICV, which carrying the
GOC, the C Arty, the C Engrs and the C Sigs went under an 11 KVA power line.
The radio antenna touched the power line and there was a flash. We thought we
had been struck by lightning. Fortunately, all that we suffered from was shock.
It was during the same exercise that Major VK Gupta, the ‘Sparrow’ of 39 Mech
Bde fell off when the Commander’s ICV took a sharp turn. When his absence was
discovered, the driver reversed the ICV, almost running over Gupta, who injured
his back during the fall.
There is an interesting story about
how the formation got its formation sign. The GOC asked for suggestions and
announced that a prize would be given to the person whose suggestion is finally
accepted. Keeping in mind the formation
signs of the existing armoured formations – black elephant, white tiger etc -
almost all suggestions had an animal or bird on a yellow background. Finally,
the GOC decided that the formation sign that best suited our role was the cross
hair of a gun sight, with the dot representing the target. So, that is how the
Dot on Target or DOT became the divisional formation sign.
It is gratifying to see the rapid
growth of the unit. We won the Iyyapa Trophy in the third year after raising,
which is perhaps a record. The unit has developed an ethos, something of rarity
in Signals. It is the only unit in the Corps that has a Re-union every two
years. The next one is due this year, sometime in December. Needless to say, I
have not missed a single one until now. To reduce the load on the Officers
Mess, I had decreed that all ex COs will carry a bottle of Scotch whiskey, a
custom that is still being followed. It is a pleasure to see the sand dunes on
which we camped in 1982 transformed into tree lined avenues. One each visit, I find something new. During
my last visit in 2016, the unit won the divisional inter unit volleyball
tournament. The GOC very graciously requested me to present the trophy to the
unit. I protested that it was his privilege as the GOC, but he would have none
of it, and finally both of us did the honours.
27
March 2018
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