Pics mailed to Manjiri, Vishwas, Triveni and ChandanPune: Lieutenant General S K Saini , General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Command, said here on Tuesday that the army has been continuously evolving its strategy to counter the menace of suicide attacks based on the trends that have emerged in conflict zones.“The security mechanism is based on the premise that any militant person, who tries to enter a conflict zone, will want to get away from such zone later, but this is not applicable in the case of a suicide attack. The person launching such attacks has no intention of going back and finds it easier to defeat the security mechanism, drills and standard operating procedures. Nonetheless, we are evolving our strategies, time and again,” Saini told newspersons on the sidelines of the Southern Command’s investiture ceremony at the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) here.On February 14, a suicide attack killed 40 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir.Saini said, “There have been instances earlier when local youths were involved in carrying out suicide attacks. In 2005, they used vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (IED), but it did not cause much damage. In the Pulwama attack, the content of explosives was phenomenal and contributed to the heavy damage. The attack, however, has not affected the morale of the Indian Army, which is prepared to tackle any security challenge effectively.”Saini said, “More than the internal factors, it is the external factors which play a dominant role in the conflict-affected state. India has experience in fighting insurgencies and terrorism since Independence. We have a clear-cut national policy...any conflict has two major influencers -- external and internal drivers. As far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, the external drivers have overwhelmed the internal influencers, and therefore, that is the problem in the state compared to other insurgencies, which we have been able to find an answer to."Saini said, “Since the Southern Command has a land border and coast line, a joint initiative among the forces is an operational imperative, and the same is maintained through joint exercises.”Earlier in his speech, Saini said that the army accords priority to welfare of its veterans and veer naris by providing timely medical facility, reemployment, resolving pension-related issues, among others.Investiture ceremonyLieutenant General S K Saini, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command, felicitated eight officers, one Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and ten other ranks (ORs) with Sena Medal (gallantry), including two posthumous awards, which were collected by the next of kin of the awardees.Seven Sena Medals, one Bar to Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) and 12 Vishisht Seva Medals (VSM) were awarded for distinguished service.The army commander also bestowed unit citations to 19 units of the Southern Command for their meritorious and outstanding performance.Of these, four units had participated in relief and rescue operations during Kerala floods in August 2018.Altogether 12,500 people were rescued by troops of Southern Command in Kerala.The award for the best Record Office (RO) was given to army supply corps records (Animal Transport), Bengaluru.Best Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) polyclinic award was given to ECHS polyclinic, Theni (Tamil Nadu).

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