HOME GUARDS TRAINING

I am asked to write this article on a specific subject, Home Guards Training. Rather than
resorting to repetitions of what is already known and codified in Home Guards Manuals,
I venture here to touch upon the place of a holistic training programme in Home Guards
setup.

The backdrop of the voluntary nature and uncertain tenure of service in the Home Guards
necessiates its training programmes to be capsuled in short-term courses, ranging from
five days to a month to avoid long absences of the volunteers from their homes. The
short-term nature of the training underlines the need of repeated training courses in Home
Guards as a device of a stratified and stepped-up training plan. A holistic training scheme
needs to be programmed to these short-term courses. I do not go here to the brasstacks
of a training programme in Home Guards for obvious reasons, and restrict myself to the
scope of the training programmes to make it holistic and complete.

The two facts of a holistic training programme are internal and external orientations,
which in final analysis, complement each other to creat a complete training programme.

INTERNAL ORIENTATION

Internal Orientation is the most neglected facet of a training programme in the present
world. The basic configuration of internal orientation is founded on right motivation,
professional attitude and creation of a truly committed persona. The voluntary nature of
Home Guards services renders the internal orientation more basic to Home Guards
Training rather than the other way round. The ephemeral nature and uncertain tenure of
the Home Guards service necessiate a strong foundation of the internal orientation to
sustain interest in the service. Its absence manifests in low turnout of volunteers when
called for service and poor performance. Unlike career services, there is no adhesive of
financial guarantee and perks, and job security in Home Guards service to bind the
volunteers irrevocably to the Home Guards Service. The absence renders the need of
internal orientation all the more important in Home Guards organisation. The need of
internal!sat ion of Maslow’s need hierarchy comes to play here as the internal orientation
spurs the need of internal!sat ion. Sans internal orientation. Home Guards service is
hollow, and Home Guards service sans internal orientation is directionless, Human nature
being what it is, the spark of voluntary service, once ignited, needs to be consistently
stoked and sustained to harness the maximum out of it. This need can be met only by
liberal dose of internal orientation in the training programme. Home Guards can ignore
the need only at its own peril. The fact is that extant Home Guards training programmes
nowhere in India have internal orientation incorporated in its agenda. This shortfall has
arrested the growth of Home Guards movement in India.

EXTERNAL ORIENTATION

Present Home Guards braining basically is external orientation programmes. External

Orientation is constituted. of Knowledge Orientation and skill orientation. Present
training programmes identify knowledge orientation with indoor classes and skill
orientation with outdoor classes. Here also training contents in both programmes in
extant Home Guards training are rather passe and do not meet the operational needs in
the field. The need of updating training contents is largely forgotten. I round off this
discussion with the observation that the knowledge orientation programmes in a
purposeful training plan should include topics like history of Home Guards, its
organizational structures, case studies of model operations, principles of time and space
management, basics of inter-person relationship and courteous conduct in addition to
what is already there. And skill orientation programme in a utility based training plan
should cover latest researches and tools of rescue operations including medical aid,
handling of computers and information technology gadgets, driving, methods of
identififation and defusing of sophisticated bombs, basics of electric wirings in addition
to present topics. The skill oriented training programme must create real skills unlike
being an eye-wash as at present, as the skill is meant to save lives and bring order.Further,
the skill oriented training programme in Home Guards can be either physical or strategic
in nature. Physical skill needs are addressed by parade and physical
training. Strategic skills useful in Home Guards operations, are addressed by outdoor
demonstrations and rehearsals. The strategic skills can be either managerial or operational
in nature. The managerial skill is required to address organisational matters including
planning, communication transportation and control that are central to Home Guards
operations whij^e operational skill comes to force and useful during actual operations.

INTERLINKED

The two facets of Home Guards Training, namely internal and external orientations are
not distinct and independent entities, removed from each other. They are interlinked and
constitute a holistic training programme. An external orientation like physical skill
harnessed in the parade ground positively contributes to reinforce the internal orientation
of a professional attitude like discipline. Acquiring stratigic skills contribute to strengthen
right professional attitude and motivation. Similarly, the knowledge of Home Guards
history, its objectives and case studies add to motivation towards Home Guards service.

Home Guards being an organisation of voluntary service, there is a need of making its
training programme a pleasure-event to attract more and more volunteers to partake in the
programme. It is training that differentiates a Home Guard from who is not. Therefore,
the success of Home Guard setup depends on the success-story of its training
programmes.