Featured Ex Air Chief Sohail Aman interview with Qalam Camera

[PanzerKiel]

Compare this man to your COAS. The IQ of our average army officer is just embarrassing. I wish this man was our PM. He could do some excellent work for our industry.

Higher IQ individuals are always in short quantity....

No one would like higher IQ individuals to get blown on roads.... Trying to capture a random peak against an entrenched enemy which facing a hail of bullets or missiles.....
... Manning CPs at busy roads in cities where anyone can bump into them....
... Cleaning sewerage etc like it is being done in Karachi....
... Mounting hostage rescue operations which can mean certain death for the first officer who enters that deadly room...... If I remember correctly, Capt Salman Farooq, SSG, Lal Masjid op... His body had more than 30 bullet entry points.....

.... Ground forces is an entirely different league altogether. Here, an officer may not have to handle multi million dollar equipment for which a very high IQ and knowledge is required.....
Here what matters is self example, leading from the front, sharing all hardships with your troops, sleeping under open sky, motivating your troops and then joining them in the march towards death....

Then, due to obvious reasons, ground forces also suffer large casualties, officers included, then other forces. It's nothing special, it's just their job and duty....

Whereas in Air force.... The equipment, aircraft, the demands on a fighter pilot to make quick calculations, OODA loop, survival in the air, all of this requires a person of a much higher IQ.... That's why induction in PAF is much more difficult than army....

Simple question.... Would you like your higher quality stuff to be risked everyday..... Or maybe a 27FebEvent once a year......?

As far as your comments are concerned, regarding the embarrassing IQ of an average army officer.... Well... These average IQ army officers and their achievements.....must be no less than miracles, isn't it.......

I mean average IQ officers mounted innumerable hostage rescue Ops...

average IQ officers also fought against highly trained terrorists for decades, and brought peace to our country....

average IQ officers are also called in aid to civil governments... From elections to floods and city cleaning....

average IQ officers also form part of organizations like ISI etc who are wreaking havoc in enemy ranks in multi ways...

average IQ officers saved innumerable lives by their daring actions....

... In a nutshell..... Whether it a natural disaster, enemy ground forces ingressing along thousands of kilometers of our borders, internal security,..... These average IQ officers are always found at the forefront.

I wonder what makes them do all this.

From
(AN EXTREMELY LOW IQ OFFICER)

 

[RAMPAGE]

The average army officer also has a lower bar to entry than the PAF and has to spend less on training and exposure accordingly - however, the COAS is the product of an older generation and things are improving rapidly.
Today’s average colonel isnt the gagoo whom I worked with at some point developing equipment and couldn’t tell the difference between a Su-30 or mig, or a Wire and Laser guided ATGM.
Nor are such gagoos representative of the norm - however, bear in mind that the system’s merit tends to fail as the pool for going up gets smaller. So other knowledge areas such as relationship building and politics comes into light more and more. This is true to different extents in all organizations- military or civilian -Pakistani or the world. What differentiates them is commitment of the whole to the cause of the organization.

@PanzerKiel @jaibi

The cause you identify for this intellectual poverty of the army can be removed simply by restructuring the military. Let me explain what I mean, the Pakistan and Indian armies have a structure that was built in accordance with the kind of warfare the world saw during the two world wars - that is, the deployment of force on a grand scale that is more quantitative than qualitative. The events that followed the independence kept such a deployment of force relevant for a while. Since the Pakistani military is in the habit of using brute force for its purposes, it lacks any experience in using wit and ingenuity in problem-solving. You can also see this reflected in its response to politics and internal security. On the other hand, the air force is usually obliged to rely on subtlety and ingenuity to compensate for its lack of brute force. I would suggest that the army be resized and transformed into a more mobile, better equipped, and better trained force such that it is similarly obliged to rely more on its intellectual faculties. And thus you have enlarged the pool that was hitherto too small for your purposes.

 

[RAMPAGE]

Higher IQ individuals are always in short quantity....

No one would like higher IQ individuals to get blown on roads.... Trying to capture a random peak against an entrenched enemy which facing a hail of bullets or missiles.....
... Manning CPs at busy roads in cities where anyone can bump into them....
... Cleaning sewerage etc like it is being done in Karachi....
... Mounting hostage rescue operations which can mean certain death for the first officer who enters that deadly room...... If I remember correctly, Capt Salman Farooq, SSG, Lal Masjid op... His body had more than 30 bullet entry points.....

.... Ground forces is an entirely different league altogether. Here, an officer may not have to handle multi million dollar equipment for which a very high IQ and knowledge is required.....
Here what matters is self example, leading from the front, sharing all hardships with your troops, sleeping under open sky, motivating your troops and then joining them in the march towards death....

Then, due to obvious reasons, ground forces also suffer large casualties, officers included, then other forces. It's nothing special, it's just their job and duty....

Whereas in Air force.... The equipment, aircraft, the demands on a fighter pilot to make quick calculations, OODA loop, survival in the air, all of this requires a person of a much higher IQ.... That's why induction in PAF is much more difficult than army....

Simple question.... Would you like your higher quality stuff to be risked everyday..... Or maybe a 27FebEvent once a year......?

As far as your comments are concerned, regarding the embarrassing IQ of an average army officer.... Well... These average IQ army officers and their achievements.....must be no less than miracles, isn't it.......

I mean average IQ officers mounted innumerable hostage rescue Ops...

average IQ officers also fought against highly trained terrorists for decades, and brought peace to our country....

average IQ officers are also called in aid to civil governments... From elections to floods and city cleaning....

average IQ officers also form part of organizations like ISI etc who are wreaking havoc in enemy ranks in multi ways...

average IQ officers saved innumerable lives by their daring actions....

... In a nutshell..... Whether it a natural disaster, enemy ground forces ingressing along thousands of kilometers of our borders, internal security,..... These average IQ officers are always found at the forefront.

I wonder what makes them do all this.

From
(AN EXTREMELY LOW IQ OFFICER)

Please do not mistake a somewhat harsh diagnosis for a lack of gratitude. There are few services rendered to one's community that are more noble than risking one's life to defend one's community. If you will please read my response above, you will see that I understand the reasons for why the situation is the way it is, but that shouldn't be a reason for it to stay unchanged. I hope we can agree on this.

Please accept my gratitude for your service. Criticism on the army by civilians most of the times is an attempt to resolve problems that exists within the institution and is sincere in its intentions, but since we have a culture that does not appreciate criticism of an existing order, be it based on religion or some other form of belief, we become bitter in our conversations. I believe the trick is to avoid assuming infallibility and instead assuming the viewpoint of the other party

 

[PanzerKiel]

Please do not mistake a somewhat harsh diagnosis for a lack of gratitude. There is are few services rendered to one's community that are more noble than risking one's life to defend one's community. If you will please read my response above, you will see that I understand the reasons for why the situation is the way it is, but that shouldn't be a reason for it to stay unchanged. I hope we can agree on this.

Please accept my gratitude for your service. Criticism on the army by civilians most oft times is

No problem dear. You can attribute my response to my low IQ. what else one can expect from me.

 

[Yasser76]

Lets stick to analysing the video.....

 

[Xone]

His main points are,
Pakistan used its own electronic warfare capabilities, to get an edge over India on the previous skirmish. and Idia is 10 years behind to reach the level of competence Pakistan enjoys today.
The capability to shoot first Pakistan had even the induction of Rafale and S400 could not take it away, the system works more efficiently than merely a single plane or missile. This first shoot luxury will remain with Pakistan.
Pakistan should stand against the Israel recognition campaign. the will remove pressure on other Islamic countries.
according to his view, we can sustain such pressure tactics others can not so lead from the front.
The difference of opinion will be sorted out between Saudia Pakistan.
Lastly, keep consistent with our belief in Allah.
What a heart refreshing interview it was for Pakistanis and heartbreaking for the poor Indians. an in-depth, thought-provoking, worth watching again and again.

 

[Yasser76]

PAF edge in training and skill cannot be taken for granted. This is a mixture of cultures, attitude, quality of human capital, access to high end training and equipment. All of these things India can overcome, Indians are very bright people. Pakistan has to work hard to maintain this combat edge and this also requires access to the very cutting edge of technology and training.

To give you an example, even without F-35s, we would all bet on an Israeli AF consisting of F-16s and F-15s beating a combined UAE/Saudi AF consisting of F-16s and F-15s.

1) Israel will fight at a time and place of it's choosing
2) It will use tactics it has kept secret
3) It's pilots constantly train is such tactics and constantly refine them
4) It has it's own cutting edge EW equipment and total networking throughout the force
5) It's fighters will be supported by a system of AEW aircraft, tankers, UAVs, ground radar etc
6) High morale of it's pilots. They are often elite of Israeli youth and also are aware country will do everything to rescue them if they are shot down

Now if you look at the above you will realise PAF shares many of these things and work does need to be done on EW. India and in fact UAE/Saudi is behind on much and what constantly amazes me is that they make little effort on vital things like ACMI ranges for traning, more AEWs and refuellers and CSAR. It seems that the IAF top brass and Indian politicians see a few shiny new planes as vote winners. I do expect them to wake up at some point.Another major handicap of the Indian system is of course the vast array of types and standardisation. It is hard to make a high quality networked force when you are flying Jaguars, SU-30s, Rafales, LCA, MIG-29s and Mirages. This massively effects standardisation which of course has knock on effects to weapons, tactics, training etc. By keep a F-16/JF-17 front line force and Mirage as back up strike PAF have, to a large extent, kept thinsg very simple

 

[PDF]

Yashfeen Jamal continues to do well in these interviews. She seems to research things and asks good questions.

Also, I was and remain a fan of CAS Aman. A man of vision and integrity. God bless!

 

[ps3linux]

1. Rafale is not a game-changer in India - Pakistan scenario
2. Pakistani Pilots Capability is way ahead than Indians and if they want to match current fighter pilot skills they need at least 10 years.
3. Pakistan will keep its first shoot capability in the future as well.
4. S400 is definitely a capability, but it is something like not that it will dominate Pakistani skies
5. PAF is studying Rafale and S400 for many years.
6. Pakistan has worked a lot on indigenization
7. Azm Project design is almost finalized in 3 years. Azm will be in light in a few years and some countries want to JV or collaborate
8. PAF wants to use homemade electronic warfare
9. EW played an important role on 27th feb incident

During my dad's tenure in PAF I interacted with different officers on different bases some of the memorable names are:

1. Validslav Turowicz (never met him, met his daughters, wife and I was always impressed)
2. The "M.M.Alam"
3. Asghar Khan
4. Nur Khan
5. Mushaf Ali Mir (in his honor our elder son too is nicknamed by his grandad as Mashoo)
6. Sohail Aman
7. My class fellow hopefully going to make flag rank soon

PAF of today is due to 1-4 gentlemen their contributions are just too much, Sohail sb worked with my dad perhaps ADC or something he is one sharp person used to be an excellent sportsman, upright and extremely perceptive. Normally this is what you expect from PAF flag rank GDP.

One of the best thing Pakistan armed forces have developed as a culture is that they are really tight lipped about their capabilities. Some of the previous lessons have driven so deep that it has become a rule, a belief that there will never be a 71, we will never be caught with our pants down, civilian rulers no matter how good will never be allowed to cause another Indus water or Kargil, Shareef Family will never again be allowed to oust any COAS even if it means to have Musharraf as COAS.

Not even Americans know what we have been upto and which red line we crossed when, even if it means home grown ECM/EW. His interview hints in the same direction. As for Rafael and S400 as they say we'll cross that bridge...... every platform has its strength and its weaknesses, strengths could be turned into weaknesses and weaknesses can be exploited all that is required is commitment, resolve and perseverance.

Now for the IQ thing we the class fellows/batch mates have discussed this matter for over a decade, one of us was at a key position in ISSB and we discussed why average intelligence of Officers is dropping and he was pretty opinionated about his statement "officers are a product of our educational system if you see a deterioration in the intelligence this means your education system is deteriorating"

The main culprit behind deterioration of officer intelligence was Zia, whose minion started a cult where people with certain religious traits were promoted and then the dominos effect, thank goodness that era of horror is over.

For the difference in IQ here is a practical example many of us (the class fellows) came from the same school, and many from the same college. Our college section after FSc result was one of the best ever in terms if positions in the board. It was a fiercely competitive section with some of the best teachers of twin cities as lecturers. The difference between various positions in exams was no more than 2-3. Most of us applied for commission in various forces only 1 of us made it to PAF GDP hopefully will make flag rank this year, 4 of us went to PN (including me) to date 2 have made it to flag rank, and I think 10 odd went to PA three have made to flag rank rest have retired. If memory serves me right Army batch was 4 times that of NAVY, Airforce two times. Preliminary entrance test in PN was a b**ch, those who made it to PA mentioned upon sharing that theirs was the easiest of the three and PAF was the toughest.

But one should do an analysis how many appear in ISSB every year, how many qualify and out of each batch how many make it to the flag rank.

The physical requirements for a GDP brings it down to fractions of population size, then comes intelligence so you have may be less than actually 100 per batch. PN being smaller member yet have the same challenges less physical (may be lower than PA debatable) yet higher on the IQ chart because X officer even the engineering corps are commanding/leading/managing multi million dollars weapons platform.

However, the type of course forces are introducing and putting the young officer through them has started to raise the bar, and those who are unable to cope with the war of today well you see them retiring even at captain level. Not all of them are due to medical reason.

From
(AN EXTREMELY LOW IQ OFFICER)

My dear sir I have yet to meet an officer with this type of traits, even if he is a retired captain, and not even an honorary captain.

BTW what these low IQed officers did to the plans aimed at disintegration of Pakistan and, the new great games are now being analyzed at micro level by many think tank across the globe. Strange many people in the west and arab states have started calling us "Markhor"

 

[Dil Pakistan]

@RAMPAGE

I think your post about IQ is deleted, so I am unable to reply to you directly.

Very politely and respectfully, you are completely mistaken about Gen Bajwa.
What COAS has on his plate, and what he is dealing with, is a completely different game compared to anything else. He, combined with IK (+ China + Russia) are in the process of changing of undoing the international strategy (also known as the New World Order) and the world map. His approach has got to be cool, calculated, mostly looking like a scared fox rather than an aggressive lion and very understated.

Just watch two more years and you will find out.

@SQ8 ; @PanzerKiel

 

[m52k85]

Higher IQ individuals are always in short quantity....

From
(AN EXTREMELY LOW IQ OFFICER)

Sir I would argue a rational man would not put them selves in the dangers a Pakistani officer puts themselves in. Courage is a very irrational creature but it wins wars. Proud of my Army.

 

[m52k85]

While I enjoyed the interview, I will go ahead and be the devils advocate.

With regards Rafale + Meteor and PAF first shot capability the following are now clear:

1. Meteor has a significantly better "shot" capability compared to Block 52 and Jf-17 blk 2. (Most on PDF knew this)

2. "First shot capability is not only a function of missile and aircraft but how you employ the package, it changes ranges and everything". For me, this makes it clear that PAF is not comparing ranges of missiles when talking about first shot capability so we should not be surprised if Pl-15 was never meant to match the Meteor in kinematics.

This is a cause of concern for me since we are focusing on tactics together with EW to retain first shot. This is very risky, what is to make sure our tactics will be better that the select few of the IAF that fly the Rafale? It is also risky because we are making an assumption about the EW capabilities of the Rafale. Having access to Rafale manuals and sitting in a Qatari cockpit doesnt give you knowledge of Spectra, such knowledge in my opinion is a long drawn process of learning through multiple training scenarios vs multiple assets and systems.

To me it seems PAFs opinion of Rafale is very underwhelming (I hope they are not underestimating it). Sohail Aman also calls the Rafale a 4th gen not 4.5 gen aircraft. Keeping in mind it is the electronics and software (Radar, EW suite and sensor fusion level) that makes a 4th gen plane a 4.5 gen plane, it seems the PAF is suggesting there is much to be desired from the Rafale's Spectra suite and/or sensor fusion level. This is very surprising for me since these are among the unique selling points of the Rafale compared to its European brothers that also carry the Meteor.

@MastanKhan I would love to hear your comments on my analysis.

 

[Trango Towers]

he said project azam could have more partners in it and i am guessing turkey is one of them since they are not gonna get F-35s and future cannot be forged upon F-16s moreover Azerbaijan could also be a part of programme ....who else ??

Turkey also has a fth gen program

 

[Invicta]

While I enjoyed the interview, I will go ahead and be the devils advocate.

With regards Rafale + Meteor and PAF first shot capability the following are now clear:

1. Meteor has a significantly better "shot" capability compared to Block 52 and Jf-17 blk 2. (Most on PDF new this)

2. "First shot capability is not only a function of missile and aircraft but how you employ the package, it changes ranges and everything". For me, this makes it clear that PAF is not comparing ranges of missiles when talking about first shot capability so we should not be surprised if Pl-15 was never meant to match the Meteor in kinematics.

This is a cause of concern for me since we are focusing on tactics together with EW to retain first shot. This is very risky, what is to make sure our tactics will be better that the select few of the IAF that fly the Rafale? It is also risky because we are making an assumption about the EW capabilities of the Rafale. Having access to Rafale manuals and sitting in a Qatari cockpit doesnt give you knowledge of Spectra, such knowledge in my opinion is a long drawn process of learning through multiple training scenarios vs multiple assets and systems.

To me it seems PAFs opinion of Rafale is very underwhelming (I hope they are not underestimating it). Sohail Aman also calls the Rafale a 4th gen not 4.5 gen aircraft. Keeping in mind it is the electronics and software (Radar, EW suite and sensor fusion level) that makes a 4th gen plane a 4.5 gen plane, it seems the PAF is suggesting there is much to be desired from the Rafale's Spectra suite and/or sensor fusion level. This is very surprising for me since these are among the unique selling points of the Rafale compared to its European brothers that also carry the Meteor.

@MastanKhan I would love to hear your comments on my analysis.

I think you are spot on with regards to point 2. I also believe that PAF is now seemingly overconfident in their EW capacity. While it is true that because of the limited variations of platforms PAF is using, it enables them to act as a very highly network centralised AF. It is also a weakness. If any one of your key assets is lost you are now no longer a highly networked AF but a sitting duck.

Countering Rafael should be a two pronged strategy, PAF needs to use its seemingly current upperhand in EW and develop it further. They should also actively look to improve on current shortcomings in radar detection and missile ranges vs Rafel/Meteor combination.

This will ensure that in a scenario where you might lose your network centralisation (AWACS and other EW platforms) is rendered useless your fighters alone can fight to an extent.

IAF's shortcomings in network centralisation and cross communication between platforms is nothing new, however their fighting philosophy mirrors that as well. Which is the only reason they have so many different platforms etc. This is not ideal but so far they are managing and haven't been called out.

Unlike IAF, PAF cannot afford to be caught with its pants down, if that were to happen the ramifications would be dire - all bets are off. For this reason alone I am not comfortable with this current emphasis on tactics, tactics alone will not guarantee air supremacy.

 

[PakFactor]

During my dad's tenure in PAF I interacted with different officers on different bases some of the memorable names are:

1. Validslav Turowicz (never met him, met his daughters, wife and I was always impressed)
2. The "M.M.Alam"
3. Asghar Khan
4. Nur Khan
5. Mushaf Ali Mir (in his honor our elder son too is nicknamed by his grandad as Mashoo)
6. Sohail Aman
7. My class fellow hopefully going to make flag rank soon

PAF of today is due to 1-4 gentlemen their contributions are just too much, Sohail sb worked with my dad perhaps ADC or something he is one sharp person used to be an excellent sportsman, upright and extremely perceptive. Normally this is what you expect from PAF flag rank GDP.

One of the best thing Pakistan armed forces have developed as a culture is that they are really tight lipped about their capabilities. Some of the previous lessons have driven so deep that it has become a rule, a belief that there will never be a 71, we will never be caught with our pants down, civilian rulers no matter how good will never be allowed to cause another Indus water or Kargil, Shareef Family will never again be allowed to oust any COAS even if it means to have Musharraf as COAS.

Not even Americans know what we have been upto and which red line we crossed when, even if it means home grown ECM/EW. His interview hints in the same direction. As for Rafael and S400 as they say we'll cross that bridge...... every platform has its strength and its weaknesses, strengths could be turned into weaknesses and weaknesses can be exploited all that is required is commitment, resolve and perseverance.

Now for the IQ thing we the class fellows/batch mates have discussed this matter for over a decade, one of us was at a key position in ISSB and we discussed why average intelligence of Officers is dropping and he was pretty opinionated about his statement "officers are a product of our educational system if you see a deterioration in the intelligence this means your education system is deteriorating"

The main culprit behind deterioration of officer intelligence was Zia, whose minion started a cult where people with certain religious traits were promoted and then the dominos effect, thank goodness that era of horror is over.

For the difference in IQ here is a practical example many of us (the class fellows) came from the same school, and many from the same college. Our college section after FSc result was one of the best ever in terms if positions in the board. It was a fiercely competitive section with some of the best teachers of twin cities as lecturers. The difference between various positions in exams was no more than 2-3. Most of us applied for commission in various forces only 1 of us made it to PAF GDP hopefully will make flag rank this year, 4 of us went to PN (including me) to date 2 have made it to flag rank, and I think 10 odd went to PA three have made to flag rank rest have retired. If memory serves me right Army batch was 4 times that of NAVY, Airforce two times. Preliminary entrance test in PN was a b**ch, those who made it to PA mentioned upon sharing that theirs was the easiest of the three and PAF was the toughest.

But one should do an analysis how many appear in ISSB every year, how many qualify and out of each batch how many make it to the flag rank.

The physical requirements for a GDP brings it down to fractions of population size, then comes intelligence so you have may be less than actually 100 per batch. PN being smaller member yet have the same challenges less physical (may be lower than PA debatable) yet higher on the IQ chart because X officer even the engineering corps are commanding/leading/managing multi million dollars weapons platform.

However, the type of course forces are introducing and putting the young officer through them has started to raise the bar, and those who are unable to cope with the war of today well you see them retiring even at captain level. Not all of them are due to medical reason.



My dear sir I have yet to meet an officer with this type of traits, even if he is a retired captain, and not even an honorary captain.

BTW what these low IQed officers did to the plans aimed at disintegration of Pakistan and, the new great games are now being analyzed at micro level at many think tank levels in many countries. Strange many people in the west and arab states have started calling us "Markhor"

You made good points and so did @Dil Pakistan however we must not forget why we suffered in the past and it’s not due to education by itself. While we were a new nation and had to rebuild ourselves ground up, but we also brought the Yes Sir culture of the British along with us. In the US Military while their is a strict protocol to follow orders often times younger officers are put to the challenge to question their officers and both would then learn the short comings of each other’s plans. We’ve in the education system and public domain are hampered from questioning superiors and this can demoralize the officer corps as well; hopefully this is changing and @PanzerKiel can fill us on this.

I do not recall the name of the officer but he also went as far as having his soldiers question his tactics and how they would counter him.

An officer should encompass all opinions.

@RAMPAGE @SQ8 @PanzerKiel @jaibi