Being a defence service officer gives people the chance to serve the country in the three wings of army, air force and navy. Each division is involved in different functions with two broad goals, which are protecting the country from insurgency and the other one is performing civilian duties in conditions of natural disasters. Whatever be the occasion, defence service personnel is required to put country before self and work with utmost devotion and sincerity. It is not without reason that so much of respect and pride is bestowed upon those who are uniformed in the national colors and receive gallantry awards posthumously.
Every moment of the life and even after death, these chivalrous people are respected and if this is not reason enough for a career in defence, then nothing else would be. When people are interested to join the defence services of the country, they can do so at two stages. The first one is after the 10+2 level where a number of opportunities are available for people to join in the different wings of the defence services. The other one is the chance to join after the graduation or post graduation which is through the Combined Defence Services Examination.
It is after the 10+2 exams that one can have an entry into the officer cadre in the three wings of Indian defence services. Being eligible for these cadre selections when the candidates are in the age group of 16 ½ years to 19 years, it is a matter of great honour and opportunity to be selected in one of India’s most defining and respected sectors. Entry at such a point will enable the candidates to become officers from a very young age and get a chance to serve the nation as officers.
- National Defence Academy – The NDA is an institute which is the most sought after path to be a part of the Indian defence services. Entry into the NDA is through the written exam conducted by UPSC, twice in a year in the months of June and January. The basic qualification for selection in education front is the pass in 10+2 from a recognised board in India. the written examination is for 300 and 600 marks for maths and general ability within a duration of 2 ½ hours. After qualifying in the written round, the candidates are to appear in an interview conducted by the Service Selection Board. After the interview, the scores are given based on which the candidates can select the army, air force and navy or the naval academy, as per the preference mentioned during the filling up of the application. The final round is a medical board certification where the minimal physical attributes are to be satisfied, which is conducted by a Board or Service Medical Officers. After the final selection is over, the candidates are to receive training in NDA for a period of 3 years, of which the first 2 ½ years is the same for everyone. When the candidates pass out, they are awarded the certificates of B.Sc or B.A. by JNU, Delhi. Further training for the army inductees is in Indian Military Academy in Dehradun while the navy and air force cadets are sent to Cadets Training Ship and AFA in Hyderabad or BFTS in Allahabad.
- Another opportunity is in the Naval Engineering College in Lonavla where the candidates within the age of 161/2 to 19 years are directly selected by the Navy, where they study Naval architecture, marine engineering and electrical engineering and are conferred with the degree of B Tech from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.
- One more option for the interested students to enter into ranks of the army after 10+2 is through the Army Technical Branch Entry, where the candidates enter into the technical branch like EME, signals and engineers, for which the induction is twice in a year and training is for about 4 and half years in various Military Engineering Colleges.
Plenty of options as above are found in the three wings of Indian defence services so that the interested students can opt for a career in the military from the 10+2 level. It is quite important for the candidates because they will be in government services from a very young age, apart from the charm and adventure of working in one of the most respected domains of Indian employment sector.