NEW DELHI: Defence Minister A.K. Antony has asked senior armed forces personnel to study the changed profile of the modern soldier and develop "mature" man management skills to address the issue of distress deaths which have touched record levels this year. The Minister also backed their case for a more sympathetic pay package from the Sixth Pay Commission in view of their special operating conditions.

"After taking over, I told my senior officers that we will take care of all other issues, but they will have to take care of this aspect," he told newspersons after decorating Coast Guard personnel at the National Stadium here on Saturday. "Previously soldiers were illiterate but now most of them are graduates or even better educated. Their profile has changed and I am telling my senior officers to study this change in profile," he said.

Proposal for a tribunal

Mr. Antony felt the armed forces must improve their grievance redress mechanism, as the present system did not fully address complaints by the rank and file, leading to pent-up frustration. With over 500 distress deaths in the past four years, the Defence Ministry has already instructed the officers to be liberal with granting leave of absence to soldiers. The Government was putting the final touches to a proposal to set up an armed forces tribunal and Mr. Antony hoped the Bill would be introduced in the next session of Parliament.

`Demand genuine'

On a better pay package to defence personnel, the Defence Minister said he was "convinced" about the genuineness of "their demand" for special care and a better deal. "Their operational areas are in very difficult conditions. We can't imagine their difficulties by sitting here. The Defence Ministry is vigorously pursuing the issue. We will do what is humanly possible to get justice from the Pay Commission this time," he said.

The Minister said the Government was making a conscious effort to recruit armed forces personnel from all sections of society. The experience had been that youth from sections that were not represented earlier were also joining the security forces. "Youth from all sections are welcome. The only difference is that unlike other government services, we have to give special emphasis on quality and merit since they are a fighting force," he said.

Surveillance capacity

Mr. Antony said improving the surveillance capacity of the Navy and the Coast Guard would be a thrust area. "Guarding the Himalayas is very important but the oceans provide more opportunities and threats. Therefore more attention has to be paid to surveillance of the coastal areas." On procurement, he said things were moving fast and the Government was "determined" to provide the most modern equipment at the earliest.

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