what you 'civilians' may call 'education', we army apologists call 'training'.
Training
Training is the overall responsibility of the Inspector General, Training and Evaluation (IG T&E) in GHQ. The army relies largely on the efficient regimental system whereby each infantry regiment has its own training center, as have other arms and services. Initial training of officers (now including females in other than the Medical Corps) is conducted mainly at the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul, Abbotabad. Standards are adequate, although the course is too short, and emphasis has to be placed on instruction in the English language.
Regimental and special-to-arms and -services training is of a high standard but there is much learning by rote, which tends to reduce initiative. Instruction at army schools (such as the School of Infantry and Tactics at Quetta) is impressive and courses are conducted efficiently. This also applies to the Command and Staff College. Directing staff are high quality and the syallabus is sound. However, the culture of chappa- an anxiety to conform, resulting in emphasis on obtaining "correct" solutions from former students - produces careful, but imitative papers. Despite this, topic discussion is energetic, and the product is generally good.
Advanced technical training and graduate/post-graduate studies are carried out under the aegis of the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), which involves the Colleges of Medicine, Signals, Military Engg and Electrical and Mechanical Engg. These are linked with civilian, naval and airforce institutions and with Michigan State (US) and Cranfield (UK) universities.
Advanced courses for officers are conducted at National Defence University in Islamabad, of which the two main courses (August to June) are the National Defence Course (brigadiers and equivalent) and the Armed Forces War Course (lieutenant colonels and equivalent). Instruction is world standard.
Individual and collective training in units is conducted in an annual cycle, usually dictated by the timing of higher-level excercises. Sub-unit and unit excercises generally held in summer, with brigade and divisional manoeuveres after the harvest and in winter.
There has been emphasis on computer-based war gaming, with consequent improvement in staff work, especially in logistics. In the 1965 and 1971 wars, few formations were far from base facilities and supply dumps and it is only comparitively recently that battlefield recovery and practice in forward supply have been alotted the importance they deserve. Much training focuses on obstacle crossing, as there are extensive natural and manmade water barriers on both sides of the border, especially in Punjab.
Since 2001, following the invasion of Afghanistan, there has been a gradual than accelerating requirement to counter terrorism and insurgency, especially in, but far from limited to, Baluchistan and North West Frontier Province (NWFP). As the main task of the army was defence of the eastern border, and low level border control was almost exclusively the responsibility of the Pakistan Rangers and the Frontier Corps (the latter assisted by tribal irregulars), there was no particular emphasis on instruction in counter insurgency. When it became necessary to deploy formation HQ and units to the western regions it became apparent that such instruction was essential, and unit and sub-unit training was undertaken concurrently with modification of syllabi in army schools such as the School of Infantry and Tactics. It is expected that this emphasis will be maintained, given the senstivity of the western border regions and the decreasing likelihood of conflict with India (?).
i wish i had all of this when i was in service.....
