Vishal Jasrotia

Samba, April 22

While most retired Army officers look forward to spend time with their families for the rest of their lives, Capt Raj Singh (retd) of Kehli Mandi in Samba had other things on his mind. After serving in the Army for 30 years, he decided to make a difference in others’ lives.Captain Raj Singh (52) has been making efforts to help youth build a career in the armed forces by providing free-of-cost training on a daily basis for the past two years.“I saw tremendous potential and zeal among the local youth who wanted to serve the nation. Unfortunately, they were not aware of the various recruitments conducted in the Army and paramilitary forces. So, I thought of getting them trained for the recruitment process based on my experience in the Army,” Captain Raj Singh said.He said there were academies to train youngsters for civil services, banking sector and other services but there was a lack of such facilities for the armed forces, especially in Samba district. “Keeping this in mind, I started giving training, which includes physical fitness and written test coaching, to aspiring youth with an aim to enable them gain entry in the Army and other security forces,” he said.With sustained hard work, practice and training, of the 150 youth he has trained, around 80 have been selected in the Army, BSF and other paramilitary forces, he said. At present, a group of around 200 to 300 youth, who were preparing to join the Army, were undergoing training, he said.The youth undergoing strenuous training were highly motivated. One of them, Abhimanyu Singh, said, “Gallantry is a cherished value for us and joining the Army to serve the nation is our dream.”“Many of our elderly generations had served in various decorated infantry regiments of the Army. So, we want to take forward the tradition. We are determined to join the armed forces come what may,” said Akshay Singh, an aspirant from Samba.