Gilbert, Several classmates at the school I studied at, in N. India, were children of Army personnel. They always came to school in Army trucks. I never knew they may have paid for the service. Thanks for sharing that.
On the flipside, the Indian Army, would take all students from our school in their Shaktiman trucks to their base regularly for Hindi movies. While the fare of movies were dour, the ride to/from the base was always exhilarating - open trucks, high-speed........Just before graduation, the class spent an entire day at "the range" - running with stone-laden backpacks, target shooting (live ammo), mock attacks thru growing "bootha" fields and mounds of earth. Was a tough day - several bottles of Iodex and Sloans were utilized that night. While the class had an entertaining day, nobody contemplated joining the Armed Services, other than Balwinder and the Dhupia bros. Several years later, I still carry those wonderful memories about the Armed Services. The Armed Services in India are always perceived to be above the law, possibly due to their own judiciary system - the Army Act. Nevertheless, it is in the interest of the Armed Services that fellow Indians know more about the former. To that end, you have volunteered information, several times. Thank you. I hope you continue to do so. Best - Bosco gilbert menezes wrote on Wed Mar 8 20:02:33 PST 2006: In your continueing campaign to tarnish the image of the Armed Forces, you are now implying that families of servicemen get free helicopter rides, and kids get free transportation to school.