Parting Shot - Lesson in Integrity

            After ‘marching out’ of (handing over) our house on the penultimate day of our stay in Australia, we moved to the Point Lonsdale Motel for overnight stay before wishing the area good bye and catching our flight from Melbourne for our return journey home. Since we had quite a bit of accompanied baggage with us, I had specifically requested the MCO for a Toyota Hi Ace van to take us to Tullamrine airport in Melbourne.

On the next morning after a good breakfast, we were ready to move to the airport at 9.00 a.m. as the flight was at 12.00 noon and the driving time to the airport about two hrs. When we were waiting for the van, we saw Brig John & Mrs Helen Grey (The Commandant and his wife) drive into the motel premises in their silver Merc. They had come to say good bye to us at the motel – it was a Sunday. While we were exchanging pleasantries, a Ford Falcon staff car drove in and parked next to us. The driver – an Army Sergeant, got out and asked for me by that typical Aussie pronunciation – “Mijor Kooshwaha?” The Brigadier had seen our accompanied baggage in the lobby and rightly inferred that it would in no case fit in the staff car. So he asked me as to how would I go. I told him that I had booked a van to which he replied that these things happened not only in India but Australia too. He also informed me that exactly the same thing had happened with him too when he was to go to Camberlay for his Staff Course some years ago. I then told him that I would call the MCO and request for a van. Then he said, “Mahindra, you have been here for a year now but have still not digested the fact that it is Australia during the Christmas vacations. To top that, it happens to be a Sunday! No one would answer the phone – let alone react to my rather untimely request.”

I then suggested to him that perhaps the duty van of the College can be detailed for our trip to the airport. It is reply to this and his actions thereafter which I want every senior officer in the Indian Armed Forces to digest and note. He said, “I could do that very easily but the vehicle is NOT to be employed beyond an 8 km radius from the College as per my own orders. If I relax them in this case, others would have an excuse to do so whenever it suited them in future. Ok, let us see what I can do. The driver of my staff car has gone for fishing. So I can’t call him. But my staff car would be in the MT Park all topped up. I have the privilege to sign for it and take it out myself. Ok, let us go to MT in my Mercedes which I will park there and come back in my staff car. This way, I will not have to spend my own petrol.”

I couldn’t believe what he had just told me. So I asked just to confirm, “Sir, you will drive us all the way to Melbourne airport?” (Mind you, it was 125 km away!) He quipped, “Otherwise you miss your flight.”

So he drove us to the MT Park while Mrs Grey stayed back with Keerti & kids. After parking his car there, he signed for his staff car and drove back to the motel. There we fitted ourselves and our ‘accompanied’ baggage in two staff cars and travelled to Tullmarine airport – the Sergeant’s car leading and the Commandant following. Those of you who have doubts about this episode, I am attaching a pic of us at the airport with the Commandant and his graceful lady wife.

The Commandant Brig J.C.Grey rose to become the Chief of Australian Army as a three star general. During my last trip to Australia in 2013, I found that he is settled in Cairns, QLD where he runs his management consultancy.

Now the question I would like to pose to all my Services brethren is that which Commandant of which Defence training establishment in our country would even think of a personal farewell visit to an overseas student officer, let alone doing what Brig John Grey did for us? This was the benchmark of morals and ethics that I got exposed to and tried to live up to during my days as a senior officer in the Army. We have so many talks by esteemed guest speakers in DSSC, CDM and HC courses on Morals and Ethics. Do the speakers have any idea what true morals and ethics mean? I wish some of the future speakers read this and take a cue from it.