Army Casualties reduce by 30% J J Singh

Pune, Nov 29 (UNI) Calling the loss of a trained soldier a matter of serious concern, Chief of Army Staff Gen J J Singh informed here today that the implementation of timely and corrective measures has reduced the number of casualties in the army by 30 per cent per year.

''It is indeed a matter of concern and the army can ill afford to suffer the loss of a trained soldier,'' he said.

The Army Chief was addressing a media conference after reviewing the passing out parade of the 111th batch of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla.

Referring to the fatal casualties of soldiers deployed at Siachen, the Army chief pointed out that number of casualties due to road accidents and high altitude diseases, now has been brought down to zero. As regards road accidents, preventive and safety measures have gone a long way in reducing the loss of life, the Army chief said.

Elaborating further, Gen Singh observed that even in combat if one goes by precise information in a professionally conducted operation, the risk of losing lives will be reduced.

On an average, the Army suffers 230 casualties but now the figure has been brought down to 70 to 75, the Gen explained.

When his attention was drawn to stress-related suicides by soldiers in the Army, specially in the Jammu and Kashmir area, Gen Singh said ''We are aware of the situation prevailing, specially soldiers serving at high altitudes and isolated places in J&K were greatly affected psychologically; the army has since then been working out counter measures to reduce the pressure on the soldiers.'' More UNI SP GB MQA HT2055