Kapil Dev to join Territorial Army

Kapil confirmed to this newspaper that he is joining the TA as an honourary officer on Wednesday. Sources said Kapil will get his rank tags and badges personally from Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor at a special function.

While Kapil will not take part in the rigorous training of the regular Territorial Army, a part time “citizens’ army” consisting of civilians who act as a reserve force, he will act as a “brand ambassador” for the Armed Forces. The Army, sources said, approached Kapil to join in as an honourary officer earlier this year. “The idea is to get a well-known personality from the sports field and help promote the Armed Forces as a good career choice for youth. Kapil will inspire youngsters to come and join the Army,” a senior officer said.

The Territorial Army is part of the regular Army and has various roles, including relieving the regular personnel from static duties and assistance to the civil administration in times of calamities. TA personnel can also voluntarily serve in active duty for short durations and several officers and men have won gallantry awards for exceptional bravery.

Interestingly, the Territorial Army, which has a sanctioned strength of just over 40,000 personnel, was keen on roping in young MPs and MLAs to join its ranks to set an example for youngsters. A presentation was also held at the Parliament house last year but the force did not receive any applications from the elected representatives.