The Baggage of Being a REPEATER

22SSB Bhopal (TGC entry), the testing JCO screamed at the top of his voice “kaun kaun pehle kahin aur dhakke kha chukka hai” a confused candidate asked “Sir matlab??” the JCO replied “arre repeater alag alag SSB me dhakke khate rehte hai na wahi puch rha hu “

It’s not easy facing an exam when you know that the person(s) assessing me is aware of the fact that I have already flunked this once or maybe more times. There is a stigma attached to it which somehow makes us uncomfortable and apprehensive. We quote examples of XYZ who made it in his xyz^th attempt but deep down we find that the clock is ticking and with each failure we add another entry at the bottom of the PIQ page. Another common cause for embarrassment is when you land up in a group with people who have had only 2-3 attempts and you quote an astronomical figure when asked about the number of attempts, the way we squirm needs no mentioning. The interviewing officer and sometimes the GTO too rub salt into the wounds when they suggest “its better you move on or maybe your talent lies elsewhere”. Though they probably only want to gauge our reaction but surely it hurts like hell.

 A very standard dialogue is that Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam did not make it in SSB, yet he went on to become the supreme commander of the armed forces or some XYZ actor, sportsman, celebrity did not make it in SSB yet succeeded in a very different sphere of life. Let’s face it we are no Abdul Kalam’s, men like him are born once in a century, so guys no chance in the next 100 years, its nothing but a polite way of saying “get out”. I am not going to blabber about being tough or keeping a backup for yourself or what attitude/strategy will get you recommended, there is no magic wand and we all know it. The only thing I want to share is that it’s your gut feeling that matters, if you are eligible and if you believe even 1% that you deserve to be an armed force officer then never stop yourself on account of the number of attempts already made. Men like Dr. Kalam are born once in a century but men of character take birth daily from the womb of difficulty, hopelessness and sheer odds.

. We all have heard of Seal team six, the special ops force responsible for operation Geronimo, I would like to tell you an incident related to it. Seal team six was formulated, selected, commissioned and commanded by a man called Richard Marcinko, a US Navy Officer and special ops expert. When he was handpicking men for his team from the UDT (underwater demolition team) another special ops group within the Navy, he insisted on individuals who had somehow scraped and struggled through the entire UDT course and ignored course toppers. When his superiors questioned his reasoning behind this, he replied “the men I have picked may not be as good as your so called brilliant performers but they sure know how to handle pressure, they know how to stretch their limits and in battle that is what counts. I don’t want men who can swim faster than a fish or shoot with their eyes closed. I want men who can shove their middle finger in the enemy’s face and tell them to go to hell and if required help them find the way.”

Initially I was also petrified at the rapid rate my numbers of attempts were increasing but thankfully sense prevailed and I chucked out the nonsense from my system. The result of my second attempt at SSB was probably the most depressing thing to have happened to me in my life but like all things that phase too passed and hardened me for the tough times ahead. Two years down the road I find myself to be a better individual, I still haven’t reached my destination but I promise that I am not stopping before I get there, no matter how much time, attempts it takes.

P.S-: This post isn’t informative in nature as far as SSB is concerned just my random ramblings. Hope you find something of use in it, if not hopefully you will enjoy reading it. Apologies if you find me preaching on a subject in which I have no expertise. Ignore the typos and grammatical catastrophes if any.

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