Certain section of Army not happy with spending on MSD
Mumbai : After FPJ first reported that Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been training with the with elite Para Regiment of Territorial Army two weeks ago, the Team India ODI captain finally leaped towards his dream on Wednesday, successfully completing his first jump from a AN-32 transport aircraft at a height of 1,250 feet as part of his training.
He needs to carry out four more jumps to earn the ‘Parachute’ badge, including one jump at night hours.
However, it has been learned that certain section of Army is not happy with – time, money and resources spent on Dhoni who is considered a ‘special’ officer of elite Para Regiment and ultimately whose expertise is of no use to the Army.
A senior officer of Army on the condition of anonymity said, “Army is spending on Dhoni to train him as parachute, however, his knowledge and expertise are not going to be of any use to the Army or the nation.”
Dhoni has been undergoing military training at the Paratroopers Training School (PTS) of the 50th Independent para-brigade, known for its operations in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives from August 6.
He has already undergone two weeks of training, which includes classroom lessons followed by basic toughening exercise. The lectures focused on basic techniques of para-jumping and toughening exercise to help to prepare his body for sudden jerk and jolt while jumping off the aircraft. After the two weeks, there was final ground test on Tuesday. Dhoni performed well in the final test and then only he was given green signal from the Defence Ministry to board the aircraft for the dream jump.
On Wednesday, Dhoni jumped with a ‘canopy static line parachute’ from the aircraft and touched down at the designated landing spot. During the jump, he was seen accompanied by a dozen of parachuters. Army official at the Malpura drop zone confirmed that the jump was successful.
Former Territorial Army Additional Director General (TA ADG) Maj. Gen. H K Sing in whose tenure Kapil Dev, M S Dhoni, Abhinav Bindra and Mohan Lal were given honorary ranks had said earlier that on special
request from Dhoni, he was assigned in 106 Parachute Regiment – part of the Indian special forces (SF) that are entrusted to carry out beyond enemy line operations.
He was conferred the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel on November 1, 2011 for outstanding contribution in the field of sports and his commitment to the Army on various occasions.
