We can recall that our great Nation, Nigeria, gained political independence on the 1st of October, 1960. I only mentioned “political independence” here, for a particular reason. Well, that’s a topic for another discussion. Nigeria became independent due to the incessant efforts and struggle of Its finest intellectuals. They include; Funmi Ransome kuti, Jaja Wachukwu, Adedoyin, just to mention a few. They were on a mission to rescue Nigeria from the claws of European colonialism. They even addressed the British Delegates in full “Agbada” and other native attires. Eventually, their effort paid off. Nigeria became an independent Country in 1960.

In 1960, Nigeria had its first Republic, having the British Parliamentary style as its form of Government. At that time, things looked so good, but the table was turned around when a fight between Awolowo and Akintola, erupted in the Western Region. A special commissioner, Coker, was assigned to investigate the issue. He (Coker) discovered the corrupt practices of Awolowo, money looting and an attempt to overthrow the Balewa Government. He (awolowo) was immediately charged with treason which led to his imprisonment. It was time for election, but unfortunately, it was massively rigged. Young soldiers watched in disgust, how ballot boxes were being stuffed and elections were being rigged by our so called intellectual politicians. All these, swept the Army into power, which brought about the first Coup in Nigeria.

Military rule in Nigeria lasted from 1966 to 1998. During this period, Nigerians were under the dictatorial leadership of several Heads of states, chronologically including: Generals Aguiyi Ironsi, Yakubu Gowon, Murtala Mohammed, Olusegun Obasanjo, Mohammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida, Sani Abacha, and Abdulsalam Abubakar, who later completed the political transition to civilian rule, a transition that had been done earlier, resulting to the second and third Republic.

At the beginning, Nigerians were so welcoming of the military, whose aim was to “clean up the Country”. Eventually, the military proved to be just as bad and corrupt as the politicians were. As a result of this, Nigerians began to mount pressure on the military, to restore power back to the civilians again. Eventually, power was restored back the politicians in 1999, under the leadership of General Abdulsalam Abubakar, which ushered in the fourth and present Republic. At this stage, we can safely say the Army have returned to the barracks. But the challenging questions are; have they really returned to the barracks? Is Nigeria still under the leadership of military officers(who are meant to protect the state) or of civilians?

It is quite unfortunate that the subsequent leaders of the fourth Republic, were the former Heads of state, who ruled Nigeria during the military era. Infact, I would argue that these so called leaders in the fourth republic, were responsible for bringing corruption into Nigeria, which has continued to dug the Country till date. The dubious, corrupt and dictatorial practices of these retired military officers and Generals (who ought to be training younger military officers), brought Nigeria into the political turmoil that we are all experiencing today. No wonder the great Musical Icon, Fela Anikulapo Kuti said, “the same old politicians wey spoil Nigeria before, na dem dey there now”. In fact, it is more surprising that these retired military Generals who became Presidents in the fourth republic, promised again to clean up corruption and indiscipline in the Country. A promise which they all made, and eventually failed. If they had fulfilled their promises, Nigerians wouldn’t have been so eager to return to civilian rule. Yet, Nigerians still believe in the promises of these retired military Generals.

My panacea to this Nigerian illness, is the full implementation of Plato’s Ideal State, where Philosopher kings are to rule, Auxiliary soldiers (retired and serving military Generals) are to protect the State, and the Artisans (civil servants) are to effectively carry out their societal duties. I’ll also propose that a well structured leadership Academy, should be established (if it hasn’t been established before, or taken seriously). This leadership Academy, will admit only Presidential, Governorship and Senatorial Aspirants. They will be trained in leadership skills by foreign and local Tutors, and when it is time for elections, only students(Presidential, Governorship and Senatorial Aspirants) who graduated from this leadership Academy, will be allowed to contest for certain leadership roles in Nigeria. Of course, the current age limit for these leadership Aspirants, which is 30years, also apply to this leadership Academy, as regards its admission.

Hence, with these little and drastic reforms, Nigeria can eventually eradicate corruption from Its pouch, by sending the Army back to the Barracks, making sure that they remain there and discharge their protective duties effectively.

What should you know about Army Officer Vacancy Promotions? Let me start by telling you that one of the best kept secrets of the Army National Guard is the ability to get promoted quickly, via a vacancy promotion.

Here’s how it works. Once you’ve met the minimum time in grade requirements for your respective officer rank, you become eligible for promotion. If you do what most officers do, you will wait until you get notified by the Human Resources Command (HRC) that your packet will go before the DA Board. If you do this, you might end up spending an extra 2-3 years at your current rank. I’m not against going before a DA Board, but I do believe that vacancy promotions are a better idea.

If you are proactive, you can start looking for unit vacancies in your state ahead of time, preferably about six months before you are eligible for promotion. Assuming you have completed your military education requirements, you meet height and weight requirements and your personnel file in updated; you can position yourself for a unit vacancy promotion. Once you know all the vacancies in your state, you can start applying for these jobs. I recommend you network with your peers and apply to as many jobs as possible. This will improve your chances of getting selected for a position.

If you get selected for a unit vacancy, you can submit your promotion packet to your state G1 on the day you become eligible for promotion. In most cases, the selection process will take 2-4 months to work its way through the state and up to the Human Resources Command. Once it is approved, you will receive your FED REC Orders and will be promoted. As I mentioned earlier, if you follow this approach you can get promoted 2-3 years ahead of your peers.

To the best of my knowledge, the Active Duty and Army Reserve do not offer this option. This is why you will find many officers in the ARNG, who outrank their Active Duty peers that were commissioned at the same time. It’s a great program if you know how to use it effectively.

In summary, Army Officer Vacancy Promotions are an awesome way to get promoted ahead of your peers. Your key to success is to know how long you must stay at each rank and to make sure you complete your military education requirements ahead of time. After you do that, you simply need to keep your eyes and ears open and monitor the unit vacancies in your state. If you stay proactive, there’s a good chance you can get a vacancy promotion.

One of the major contributions of the British to the countries of India and Pakistan was a first class army. This army had distinguished itself in the two world wars as well as battles against the Afghans and the tribes of the frontier. This was known as the Indian army during the days of the Raj.

In 1947 when the British left India, the Army was divided into the armies of India and Pakistan. Thus the basic ingredient of the Pakistan Army was the ethos of the culture brought by the English. Unfortunately while India retained and even developed the British ethos, Pakistan followed a diametrically opposite path. The result was that the professionalism of the Pakistan Army was given a go by.

Right from 1947 down to the present time the Army has been suffering only defeats. This is a direct corollary of the lack of a professional fighting spirit in the Pakistan Army. To make matters worse right from 1957 when General Ayub Khan seized power in a military coup, the Army is enmeshed in the politics of the nation. Thus a string of Generals as Presidents and Governors have appeared. All these do not add up to a professional atmosphere in the Army where top Generals are eyeing plum civil appointments.

The Bangladesh war is a case in point, when 93, 000 soldiers surrendered without much resistance. Learned soldiers are of the opinion that the Pakistan Army could have held out much longer, but it did not happen. Again the 1965 war with India and the Kargil episode again showed the Army in poor light. Despite advantage of terrain and equipment the armed forces abjectly failed in all their objectives.

The situation is now very volatile as the Pakistan Army brought up on a diet of India as the main enemy is confronted by Islamic jihad groups. These groups could sound the death knell of Pakistan. The Army thus has a monster in it's rear. Given the fact that the Army is not the Professional force that it is supposed to be, fighting the jihad groups will not be easy. Another lurking danger is the fact that the Army is rife with elements of Islamic fundamentalism. For this the blame must lie with General Zia who gave the green signal to Islamise the Army. Thus one of the fundamental principles of the British of a secular force was thrown to the winds.

The future is indeed bleak. The Pakistan Army will have to inculcate professionalism at all levels, otherwise the defeats of the last 60 years may come back to haunt them again in the guise of the Taliban and Jihad groups.

Swiss Knives Express offers a free knife if you send in a Swiss Army knife story that gets published or used on their website. Here are some of the interesting stories and uses that people have for Swiss Army knives.

Story 1 – R. Reyes from Keller, TX

I was raised in a non-knife family. The only knives in the house were kitchen knives and they were incredibly dull. Both of my parents were raised the same way. Neither one had a knife phobia, but they were wary of knives. So, when I was 13, I went to the local Target. I then bought a Victorinox Spartan knife and loved it. My dad, on the other hand, didn’t. After a long discussion, my mother convinced my dad to let me keep it. By the next year, every one of my family members had a Swiss knife or multitool of some sort. I now have five Victorinox knives that are in rotation for my every day carrying. My dad thanked me for buying him one the next week after he used it to disassemble a chair at his office. I love SAK’s and always will.

Story 2 – M. Ceranski from Phoenix, AZ

When I was about 10, my dad gave me a Swiss Army knife – well, it was a knock off, but I didn’t know that! It’s red and has a bunch of functions. I’ve always had it with me, but never really used it, unless we went camping. Then there was the phase I went through when I thought I could whittle a kachina doll! My dad had me practice skinning the outside of a branch to get to the wood inside – just in case I ever needed to know! He and my grandfather always carried a pocket knife, so it seemed normal to me. I’m actually expanding my collection – I have one Victorinox and one Wenger so far.

As a mom of two boys, for the last several months I have had my original SAK in my pocket: lanyard attached, and clipped to my belt loop. I’ve used it so much! Dad has cancer and is on oxygen now, so when we’re out for an appointment and he needs a new tank, I use it to cut the tape that covers the holes on the neck of the tank. That happens several times a week. I also have found it very useful around the house – opening packages, letters, CDs, anything taped closed… the list goes on. My oldest son often says to me “Mom! Just get out your knife and CUT it!” I think the last time that happened was last weekend when out shopping for new shoes for the kids. He wanted to wear his new ones out of the store. So, I got my Swiss Army knife out of my pocket, wondered if security would appear, and cut the plastic that held the shoes together, and we checked out with the old shoes in the boxes. No one ever said a word.

Story 3 – Chris from somewhere in the USA

I was born in 1983. Once I was old enough to understand things, I started watching MacGyver and fell in love with not only the show but the knives that he used. The Swiss Army knife has become something I wanted for years and finally got one on my 12th birthday. I chose it myself, a Red SwissChamp. I treasured that knife and used it constantly.

Army Regulation 140-10, Army Reserve Assignments, Attachments, Details, and Transfers, covers IRR transfers. It details what a Soldier needs to do to request transfer from the Troop Program Unit (TPU) to the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) because of dependency or hardship. This article is based on paragraph 4-13 of this regulation; voluntary reassignment for dependency or hardship.

During a soldier’s enlistment contract, a dependency or hardship may arise. The severity of the dependency need, or hardship, may prohibit the Soldier from continuing to meet TPU training and deployment obligations. Meeting these obligations worsens the dependency or hardship.

In order to apply for transfer to the IRR, a Soldier must: be credited with IET completion, have an MOS, and not be within 3 months of the end of his or her enlistment contract.

Dependency:

Many Soldiers have dependents, and are able to meet their TPU obligations. However, there are instances when a dependency or hardship makes drilling incompatible with the needs of a Soldier’s family member.

This may happen as a result of the Soldier’s spouse passing away, or the death of the only other “able-bodied” family member. This could also happen as a result of a change of a family member’s medical or physical condition.

The Soldier, in this scenario, is the main family member able to address the dependency or hardship issue. The dependency, or hardship, focuses on a family member’s need for independent living supports and additional care giver focus.

Family members that need additional attention, and independent living supports, include the intellectually disabled, physically disabled, medically disabled, incapacitating illness, etc. These family members are not able to live independently without adult supervision and support. They need more attention, representation and care effort, then normal.

Doctors, and social services personnel, determine and verify the status of the family member categorized into the “hardship” category. Doctors also determine medical conditions, and the special care and attention required for these individuals.

Children under 18 are included in this category. Although they may be able to do basic day-to-day tasks, they need adult supervision, assistance, support, and care.

If another member of the family is able to attend to these needs, the Soldier is usually able to participate in training, or mobilize. However, if the Soldier is the only one that can provide independent living supports, or who can address the dependency or hardship, that Soldier’s departure creates a hardship for the remaining family members.

In these scenarios, a Soldier’s absence results in neglect. It also could result in the family member not receiving medical assistance support.

A dependency could arise, for example, when a Soldier’s spouse passes away, leaving the Soldier with the sole responsibility of tending to the remaining family members. These family members now primarily depend on the Soldier for their independent living supports. Absence, of the Soldier, risks negligence toward the family member requiring additional care.

Again, doctors are required to determine the disability or ailment impacting dependency, or hardship relating to a disability or medical condition. Affidavits from social services personnel assist in verifying the Soldier’s need to tend to children under 18… Or to tend to adult family members with disabilities.

Hardship:

A Soldier finds himself, or herself, as the sole caregiver, or primary caregiver, for a family member. This family member requires independent living supports. They may have special medical needs. Common categories in this group include children under 18, incapacitated family members, and family members with a serious medical condition.

These Soldiers risk child or adult neglect if they’re not available to render proper care, assistance, or supervision.

Attendance at drill, annual training, active duty for training, or mobilization, creates a child or incapacitated adult care hardship and possible neglect. A soldier may transfer to the IRR to mitigate this risk.

Parenthood:

The Soldier fulfills a parent position either through having natural children under 18, or by becoming a step parent for children under 18. The children, or step children, need more support and assistance than normal. The responsibilities, needed to address these supports, overburdens the remaining family members during prolonged Soldier absences.

Physically or intellectually disabled adults, whose disability began prior to their 18th birthday (incapacitated), fall under a similar category as a child under 18. These individuals can be the reason for the dependency or hardship. Doctors make the determination regarding disability.

Children under 18, and incapacitated family members, must reside within the Soldier’s household.

A Soldier experiencing these conditions may submit a packet to request transfer to the IRR.

Sole parent:

Same situation as parenthood, except that the Soldier is the only parent. This Soldier is the only one available to address a child’s, or incapacitated child’s, independent living support or medical needs.

Sole parenthood can result from a birth to a single mother; from one of the spouses becoming widowed; or from divorce. In cases of divorce, the Soldier might be awarded child custody. Divorce and child custody court documents are needed to help support the IRR transfer request.

Family members:

When identifying a dependency, or hardship IRR transfer, only certain members of the family are considered. They include: spouse, daughter, son, stepdaughter, stepson, mother, father, sister, brother, and an individual that was “in loco parentis”.

“In loco parentis” is someone that performed a parent role for the Soldier during the Soldier’s childhood. A minimum of five continuous years, during the Soldier’s childhood, is required for “in loco parentis”.

Have you been awarded guardianship, and the person with whom you have guardianship over risks neglect due to your obligations? Check with JAG, and with your servicing career counselor, regarding moving forward under the auspices of this regulation.

Dependency or hardship requirements to transfer to the IRR:

* The dependency hardship has to occur, or be aggravated, since the Soldier enlisted or reenlisted.

* The hardship has to be either permanent, or long-term.

* The Soldier did everything that he or she could do to address the dependency or hardship condition, while also meeting military obligations, but didn’t succeed.

Unable to resolve these conditions, a Soldier has no other choice but to transfer to the IRR. Transfer to the IRR removes or reduces the hardship or dependency conflict with military obligations; which otherwise would be aggravated by meeting a military obligation.

The following, by themselves, do not justify transfer to the IRR:

* A soldier’s wife being pregnant.

* A soldier experiences a change of family income.

* Inconveniences to the Soldier because of military service.

* A Soldier not being able to get a dependent care plan approved.

Supporting evidence:

To transfer to the IRR, for dependency or hardship, you need supporting evidence. Witnesses can either submit an affidavit or statement. Affidavits usually carry more weight than a mere statement. Documents, like court documents, are also included. So, to improve your chances of getting an IRR transfer packet approved, use affidavits.

The affidavits must address the conditions that created the hardship or dependency.

One affidavit, or statement, must be from each dependent related to the dependency or hardship. If not from this dependent, from someone representing each affected dependent.

The packet needs a minimum of two affidavits from relevant agencies related to the dependency or hardship. For example, if a child has a birth defect, an affidavit or statement from the child’s doctor is required. The other affidavit can come from another doctor, or social worker.

If the child is physically or intellectually disabled, you can use an affidavit from both the child’s primary care doctor and case manager.

In cases of disability, a physician’s certificate should be included. This certificate has to specifically identify the date the disability began, the nature of the disability, and the chances of recovery.

Additionally, you need a document listing family member details. This includes both immediate and extended. For each family member, you need names, ages, professions, home addresses, and monthly income.

This provides the Army with a snapshot of the feasibility, or lack of feasibility, of the Soldier getting support from family members.

The above listed affidavits, from physicians, case managers, social workers, disinterested agencies, etc., must also include an explanation covering the ability of these other family members to provide support.

A major theme to consider, when addressing these other family members, is financial and physical support. If the Soldier, requesting transfer to the IRR, mobilizes or goes on active duty, can these other family members help in any way? If they could help, would their help be sufficient to substitute for the Soldier’s support in the Soldier’s prolonged absence?

Or, would these family members be unable to provide any kind of substantive help, financial or physical? Details have to be provided in the affidavit to support the answer.

Follow these details up with justifications as to why you are the only one that is able to effectively address the dependency hardship issue… And the ramifications, to the dependency or hardship, in your absence. If others are available to help, would their help be insufficient in your absence?

If the dependency or hardship issue is the result of a death in the family, a copy of the death certificate must be included in the packet.

Parenthood as cause for dependency or hardship issue:

The Soldier could either be married, or be the only parent. Affidavits must be provided to support the dependency or hardship issue. Events have to be beyond the Soldier’s control, and these events need to have occurred after the marriage.

Consequently, being present for military training or other military obligation will result in child, or incapacitated family member, neglect.

Affidavits from the Commanding Officer and from the first officer in the Soldier’s chain of command may meet the evidence standard for hardship or dependency due to parenthood.

In cases of divorce, or separation, court documents substantiating award of child custody, for the Soldier, are required for inclusion in the packet.

Examples of hardship:

* Physically disabled adult needing assistance in the home and in the community.

* Intellectually disabled adult needing assistance in the home and in the community.

* Family member incapacitated by prolonged illness.

* Family member that, if left alone for long periods of time, would have a difficult or impossible time addressing a basic need.

This list is not inclusive.

Tips:

Ensure that these affidavits prove that you are the sole, or main, effort in addressing the dependency or hardship. That, without you to address it, there is no viable alternative to completely address the dependency or hardship.

AR 140-10, Paragraph 4-13, provide the minimum affidavits for each of the situations above. The more affidavits that you could include in the packet, the stronger your case. They must meet the requirements mentioned in this paragraph.

Refer to AR 140-10, paragraph 4-13, for details on what was covered in this article. Paragraph 4-13 of AR 140-10 supersedes this article in cases of possible disagreement.

This is not legal advice. Contact your local JAG for assistance with legal matters.

References:

AR 140–10 Army Reserve Assignments, Attachments, Details, and Transfers

AR 140–185 Training and Retirement Point Credits and Unit Level Strength Accounting Records

Hi my name is Bill Whitmore. I am an ex-army parachutist, Para sqn RAC we did some training with the SAS Special Air Service, in the desert and jungle, Middle East and Burma.

The SAS drove pink land rovers in the desert, believe it or not pink blends into the desert making them hard to see. The training was called escape and evasion, this is where we were given a route to follow and somewhere along the route we would get caught by the SAS. We would then be tortured i.e.: kept awake for day’s lack of food and physically and mentally abused. Hoods over our heads, taken away from our location, hands tied behind our backs, got knocked about and as above, looking back it was a good experience, we trained hard.

Then we would escape, we stole a Bedford truck and dumped it miles from where we were going, taking with us what we could carry and use, then make our way to a pacific location ready to capture the enemy, this was a waddy or an oases. In the middle of the desert and a small town. This meant digging our self’s in and staying put for days on end with the SAS still looking for us.

We lived in this whole the size of a grave for a week. This meant living of the land, setting traps for food, finding water. We stole food at night and drank from the oases, we had to crap into bags and leave no trace of ourselves, and there were four of us in this whole. It was good fun.

Now the point of all this is we needed a survival kit, which we had sewn into our clothes. Our survival kit was water safe tablets, polythene bags, matches in candle wax. Para cord fishing line, fishing hooks, safety pins, needle and cotton, a rope saw, razor blade a small candle and a small compass.

When it was not sewn into our clothes we kept it in a tobacco tin, we used this survival kit in a lot of situations in my army career, I was never without it, and we used it at times for fishing setting traps, lighting fires, carrying water, cooking, making shelter and living off the land. I have some think for you that is free it’s the survival grenade.

What is a “Survival Grenade”? It’s a compact survival kit that includes 15 essential survival items tightly wrapped up in to small grenade shaped package that can be used as a key-ring, clip onto your belt or bag. Valued at $24.99

Do you know what you need to bring to basic training? Before you read the official packing list on the goarmy.com site, you need to know what items you should buy, before wasting your money on things that could be tossed into the trash by your drill sergeant.

Also, you don’t need to take everything on the packing list. You can buy most of these items at the Post Exchange Store (PX) when you arrive at BCT (Basic Combat Training) Reception Battalion. Given below are some useful tips on what to bring to basic training.

Clothing

Your wardrobe should be of minimal concern, so don’t worry about trying to pack 3 different outfits for every day you’re going to be gone. I highly recommend you wear the clothes on your back because they will issue you new uniforms as soon as you arrive to reception.

Here are the things you need for basic training:

What to Bring

• A cell phone/charger. Bring your cell phone because that 30 minute talk time means the world. It’s your life line to the outside world because you won’t be able to use it for several weeks until BRM (Basic Rifle Marksmanship) is over. In basic training, your drill sergeants may not allow you to use it at certain times until you earn that privilege.
• 2 combo locks (no key locks). You will want to secure your wall locker from thieves who will try to steal your wallet, postal stamps and etc.
• Eyeglasses (if prescribed, no faddish/stylish eyewear). When you get to the reception battalion, they will issue you BCG’s or Birth Control Glasses.
• Eye glass band (glasses wearers only)
• Calling cards. You don’t have to buy them unless you are going to leave your cell phone at home. They provide free prepaid cards in the dining facility or DFAC as it more commonly called but you do have to activate it over a phone booth with a debit card to use the minutes.
• GI Gooseneck Flashlight. You will have field training exercise in the dark and also will use it to do fire guard watch. (Buy at PX)
• Batteries. You will need size “C” kind because you don’t want a dead flashlight.
• Wrist watch. You will want to tell time for everything and it makes life much easier for you to keep track of schedule. (Buy at PX)

Shipping Documents

• A copy of your birth certificate
• Your marriage license
• Your social security card
• Your orders
• Your direct deposit form SF-1199
• A picture ID such as your DL drivers license, State ID or your Future Soldier ID card
• You’re ATM Card, Debit Card or a checkbook.

Personal Hygiene (Buy at PX)

• Shampoo and conditioner (1 oz.)
• Soap and soap case (1 bar of soap or 1 oz. liquid soap)
• Antiperspirants/deodorant (non-aerosol only)
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Disposable shaving razor (non-electric). I would not pack it for TSA and airport reasons. It’s best to buy it at the PX Store when you arrive at basic training.
• Shaving cream (non-aerosol)
• Hair accessories. Comb, brush, hair accessories (black or matching hair color).
• Foot powder/baby powder
• Dental floss
• 3+ liter camouflage hydration packs (buy at PX)
• Wash cloth
• Lots of Q-tips
• Men’s supporter (athletic/biker shorts) or spandex

Stationery Supplies (Buy at PX)

• Postal stamps, envelopes and postcards.
• Writing pads or stationery material
• Gallon and snack size zip-lock bags. Put everything in a zip-lock bag because at basic training they will throw your stuff out on the floor. It will prevent your liquid items from splashing on the floor.
• Sharpie marker. Name all your stuff because it will get stolen from desperate battles who need it and your stuff can get mixed up when the drill sergeants flip your bags upside down. Sharpies don’t come off and markers don’t lie.

The “Chevron” is an architectural term to denote the rafters of a roof that meet at an angle forming the upper apex. It began being used in various forms as a symbol of rank for knights or men-at-arms. It is believed that the “Chevron” was originally given as an award to a knight to show he had captured a castle, town or other building (hence the resemblance to a roof), from there it began being used as an insignia by the military.

From approximately 1820-1903, Chevrons were sewn onto the sleeves of uniforms with the point down. Between 1903 and 1905, the Chevrons were worn with the points both up and down because of a confusion in the new authorization requiring the insignia to be worn with the points facing up. In 1905, it became clearer that the points were to be worn facing up.

Beginning in 1920, the number of insignia was reduced to seven and were to be worn on the left sleeve, point up, and were to be made of an olive drab material on a dark blue background. The seven titles were:

1. Master Sergeant (First Grade): Three chevrons and an arc of three bars with the upper bar of the arc forming a tie to the lower chevron.

2. Technical Sergeant (Second Grade): Three chevrons and an arc of two bars with the upper bar of the arc forming a tie to the lower chevron. There is a lozenge (or diamond) between the lower chevron and upper bar.

3. First Sergeant (Third Grade): Three chevrons and an arc of three bars with the upper bar of the arc forming a tie to the lower chevron. There is a lozenge (or diamond) between the lower chevron and upper bar.

4. Staff Sergeant (Third Grade): Three chevrons and an arc of one bar forming a tie to the lower chevron.

5. Sergeant (Fourth Grade): Three chevrons.

6. Corporal (Fifth Grade): Two chevrons.

7. Private First Class (Sixth Grade): One chevron and an arc of one bar forming a tie to the chevron.

In 1956, the color of all insignia patches was changed to Army Green or Army Blue with the chevron, arc, lozenge (diamond), and eagle to be gold. The following specialists’ insignia were changed during this same year as well:

1. Master Specialist (E7): Three arcs above the eagle device.

2. Specialist First Class (E6): Two arcs above the eagle device.

3. Specialist Second Class (E5): One arc above the eagle device.

4. Specialist Third Class (E5): Eagle device only.

In 1958, it was determined that the insignia remained the same size for female personnel and insignia for grades E8-E9 were added and designed as follows:

1. Sergeant Major (E9): Three chevrons and an arc of three bars with a 5-point star in between the chevrons and arcs.

2. Specialist Nine (E9): Three arcs above the eagle device and two chevrons below.

3. Specialist Eight (E8): Three arcs above the eagle device and one chevron below.

4. Sergeant First Class (E7): Three chevrons and an arc of two bars with the upper bar of the arc forming a tie to the lower chevron.

5. Specialist Seven (E7): Three arcs above the eagle device.

6. Specialist Six (E6): Two arcs above the eagle device.

7. Specialist Five (E5): One arc above the eagle device.

8. Specialist Four (E4): Eagle device only.

In 1996, the designation between male and female insignia was discontinued. The current difference in insignia is their size. The larger ones are 3-1/8 inches wide with the smaller size being 2-5/8 inches wide.

Have you completed your Matric examination and would like to join the Pakistan army? Here is how you should go about it:

Qualification

For you to be eligible for the position you need to meet a number of qualifications. For example, you should be unmarried, have a minimum height of 165.5 cm, be physically fit, and have the Matric certificate and Matric exhaustive marks sheet.

If you are 18 years old you should have your automated national identity card. If you are below the age of 18 years you should have the identity card of your guardian.

How to apply

You can apply for the position either online or by sending an application letter through post office to the ISSB selection board. One your application has gone through, you will be subjected to a written test that is aimed at determining your intelligence.

Once you are through with the written test you have to undergo a physical test aimed at determining your fitness level. Some of the exercises that you need to engage in include: 1.6 km run, pushups, chin ups, sit ups, and ditch passage.

To qualify you need to do all these exercises within a given time frame. For example, you need to complete 15 pushups within 2 minutes. If you can’t do this you will be declared unqualified.

What can make you ineligible for the army position?

There are many reasons that can disqualify you for the position. The most common reasons are:

• If you have been rejected twice by ISSB/NHQ/AHQ selection board
• If you have been permanently declared unfit by the appeal medical board
• If you have been declared unfit by the armed forces hospital
• If you have been declared unfit due to Hepatitis B or C
• If you have withdrawn from any academy/training institution of the armed forces
• If you have been convicted in a court of law
• Withdrawn from any bonded armed forces college/institution as a result of disciplinary issues.

What happens after qualifying?

One you have qualified to join the army, you will go to the Pakistan military academy. The academy is located in Abbottabad and here you will undergo combat training. In addition to this you will also learn how to be courageous, disciplined, and patriotic to the republic of Pakistan.

If you would like to undertake academic courses you can do so in the academy. Here you can pursue academic courses such as bachelors of military arts and sciences.

Conclusion

If you have always wanted to be in the army you should go online and send your application.

Yes, you read that headline right. In fact, you might even want to read it again.

You can totally get affiliates to PAY YOU for the right to send you buyers.

I ran across this a couple of years ago, and I have to say I was impressed. In fact, I just about joined this myself, and I’m a seasoned pro. This was done by a group of seasoned marketers, but there’s no reason why a new marketer or marketers couldn’t do it, too.

Last time I checked, this funnel I’m about to describe is still up and running and going strong. I don’t want anyone to actually steal their exact system, salescopy and funnel, so I’m going to just give you the highlights and you can fill in the rest:

First you start with a sales funnel. You’ve got a squeeze page offering a terrific little “how to do marketing” type of lead magnet. Once visitors grab the lead magnet, or even if they try to click away without picking up the lead magnet, they are then directed to a sales page for an online marketing membership site.

The membership site has several levels, with the lowest level being free to join. Of course they highlight the free level in the headline to keep people on the page, and then they extoll the virtues of the other levels. Each level has more and better content, better support and so forth.

The free level is fairly basic, but does give enough info for a newbie to make a start in making money online.

And of course each level is more expensive than the previous level, with the prices skewed a bit to encourage visitors to choose the highest level.

I’ll give you an example of that pricing to give you an idea of what I’m talking about:

Level 1: Free

Level 2: $29 per month

Level 3: $44 per month

Level 4: $49 per month

These aren’t the exact price points they used, but you get the idea. You see there is very little difference between level 3 and 4 in terms of price, but in terms of content there is a big difference.

This is a great psychological ploy, because it gets the prospect to study the differences between levels 3 and 4 while forgetting all about level 2.

And of course if they’re going to get a paid membership, they’re most likely to choose level 4.

The content is drip fed each week…

… and if you’ve been paying close attention, you’ve realized I haven’t really shown you anything new yet.

Here it comes, so hang on to your seat, because THIS is how you get affiliates to PAY you to send you a list of BUYERS:

(I love this bit!)

All of the levels offer a built-in affiliate program that sets the affiliates up to sell their own memberships for all of the levels they qualify for.

This means if they are a level 2 member, they can give away level 1 and sell level 2. If they happen to sell level 3 or 4, they still get paid, but not as much.

But if they are a level 4 member, they get to sell all four levels and KEEP ALL the money.

That’s right – they get to keep 100% of what they sell if they are level 4.

I hope this is making sense. It sounds complicated at first, but it’s actually fairly simple once you understand the concept.

Thus you’ve got affiliates paying (in our example above) $49 a month for the privilege of selling memberships and keeping all the money.

That’s a great deal for the affiliates, right? Absolutely. You can see why I almost jumped on it.

The affiliates don’t have to worry about hosting, fulfillment or any of that stuff, because the membership takes care of all of that.

The affiliate gets a unique salespage URL, squeeze page URL and membership area.

The content is automatically drip fed into that member’s area. The subscriptions are managed for them, the levels are managed for them… all they have to do is make sales by promoting their squeeze page URL.

The affiliate gets to build a list of prospects and buyers simply by promoting the URL, and of course they are earning residual monthly income, too.

The list of prospects and customers stays in the system and cannot be exported. Affiliates can only email their lists from inside the system. So if they drop out and stop paying their monthly fee, they lose their lists.

This can make for some very sticky affiliates who never leave.

Now for the icing… in the terms and conditions, it is made explicitly clear that the membership site operator(s) have access to all of the prospects and customers who sign up.

This means they can email prospects and customers any time they like, making any offer they like. PLUS the site owners can also place offers in the membership area as well.

Now think about what I just said… affiliates are paying you $49 a month (or whatever price point you choose) to be able to build you a list of prospects and customers.

And the affiliates are getting a terrific deal, too, getting 100% monthly commissions and the ability to email their customers and prospects from within your website.

It’s a true win / win for everyone involved, and done correctly it can yield a tremendous amount of prospects and buyers for you, as well as excellent monthly income to pay for a very nice membership site and have money left over.

When I heard about this, they were making five figures a month from the membership site fees alone. This doesn’t include what they were earning from mailing to their ever-growing email lists, or from the special promotions they continually placed in the members’ area.

Imagine if you were earning 5 figures from your membership site AND having a team of affiliates working hard to build your list of prospects and buyers. Sweet.

I wish I had started my first site this way – I’d probably be retired today.