Armed Forces Resorting To Public Relations Mechanisms

The Armed Forces unlike the Police and the Para-Military forces have least public interaction. The officers and constabulary of the forces are not allowed to interact with media in general. The only time we heard about them was when there was a threat to India’s borders or if any untoward incident in relation to Separatists happened in states suffering with such problems. This had resulted in loss of popularity for them. The tough life of armed personals was already a repulsive factor for the job seekers so the best talents started avoiding it. It was not good taking into consideration the fact that the Armed Forces might have had to compromise on their standards of recruitment.

The top brass took serious note of the issue and is resorting to Public relations mechanisms for the last few years. Sports persons and other Public figures are being given honorary ranks in various wings of the forces. News relating to functions like valedictions and sports activities of the Armed Forces are being highlighted in the media. 

This indicates that they are resorting to media and image management techniques in order to attract the eyeballs of the masses. Recently M.S. Dhoni, Captain of the Indian Cricket team (ODI) has been in news not because he has achieved any milestone in his Sports career rather it is because he is undergoing a short duration training as a Para-Jumper in the Armed forces. The news reports give explicit details of the helicopters that are being used and the regiments he is training with. This displays the keen interest the armed forces is showing in Reputation Management.