THE JOURNEY OF NCC

The journey is the reward. – Steve jobs

 

The proverb said by Steve jobs is a very true proverb because even if you achieve your goals and obtain your reward chances are, you will remember the moments that got you there than the actual reward and in my life on the way of achieving my goals I am creating my own journey and the days of NCC was one of them.

Hello friends, this is Ravi Singh a former NCC cadet of No.1(W.B) Air SQN. NCC, West Bengal and
I am going to share my unforgettable journey as an NCC cadet and how it shaped my personality,
life and carved my qualities, it also gave me a lot of exposure to learning many skills like
leadership, man management, time management and other interpersonal skills.

It was the month of may when after giving my higher secondary exams I was eager to join the
NCC. My personal motivation to join this organization had come from the Rajpath parade that I
had been witnessing since childhood and the dream of uniform.
So I reached Fort William, also recognized as eastern command of the Indian Army where all the NCC units were distributing their form, unfamiliar with that ambience I approached one of my friend there who took me to no.1 Air Sqn NCC unit where I collected my form and then after submitting that I was called for the selection at training Centre which was placed at Behala Flying Club, Behala.
I remember that when I reached their there were a lot of students had come for the selection, around 150 cadets and after some time our exam was conducted which was comprising some G.K
questions but heard there was no physical test being taken by them. After few hours of the
exams, the results were announced on the same day and I was merit in and yeah! From there a
memorable journey had started.
Just after attending classes for a month, I got a chance to be part of a pre-VSC camp where cadets for the AIVSC camp were being trained and then shortlisted for the final camp. It was my first camp with my coursemates and it became one of the best camps of my life. The camp was held in the month of July in the Gora Bazar area inside Fort William and I remember on the very first day it was raining heavily, our tents were totally drenched and
the area was dunked in the water, immediately we shifted from tents to allotted rooms.
There we had unlimited fun and learned a lot of valuable lessons throughout the camp. It was the first time when I was living in such circumstances and there I saw just a glimpse of fauji life.

NATIONAL LEVEL CAMP:-

1. All India Vayu Sainik Camp(AIVSC):– This camp usually held in October month but when our
time came it shifted to November somehow, well this was my second national level camp, 1stwas NIC Qdisha but why I am mentioning this camp at the very first because this camp has its own distinct value for air wing cadets. In this camp selected cadets from all over the country comes together to represent their state and take part in many events like a drill, tent pitching, flying subject, aeromodelling etc.

But first of all, you need to get through a selection process which isn’t so easy, this selection, also
called Pre-VSC camp, will happen in your own states comprising different units of air squadron,
such camps start three months prior to the inception of AIVSC.
In these camps, cadets are being selected on the basis of their performances in numerous events as I have mentioned above, and I was participating in the drill, 0.22 rifle shooting and flying subjects. But the most important thing for me that I was selected as contingent senior and parade commander of our AIVSC team and believe me, being a parade commander will give you a different feeling of pride and a sense of responsibility. With all teammate, we reached Jodhpur station were the staffs of Rajasthan units escorted us to the accommodation area.
From day one to the last day we as a team performed well and experience a lot of new things. As a contingent senior I had to face some different hurdles and task, as a senior man you can be called anytime for further instructions and you have to assign a task to other cadets, and even you have to take care of the needs of your cadets and maintain discipline amongst them.
In this camp, we didn’t only take part in different events but visited many places and those were
so beautiful and fascinated. The first among them is Jodhpur Air Base, where we had witnessed
some of the fighter jets, helicopter and even we enjoyed an unforgettable flight for at least 45
min in AVRO aircraft which is a kind of transport aircraft.
We also got a chance to interact with Garud commandos and the exhibition of weapons by Garud special forces. We were then taken to a desert area and also we had visited Mehrangarh Fort, a beautiful fort where even the walls will tell you the history.
AIVSC camp has still a special place in my heart and will remain always because it gave me such
beautiful memories and taught me countless lessons. 
These are some special moments from AIVSC, JODHPUR and in 2nd pic, I am with my teammate
with Red scarf provided to parade commander

National Integration Camp(NIC): –

NIC is a camp where you won’t be competing with others, what you all have to do is experience new things, make new friends, they will take you to the different places there.
So mainly this camp emphasized adventure and cultural events where cadets from every state will show their culture by means of dance, drama or historic events.
Well, I have attended two NIC camp in my tenure, the first one was scheduled for December 2017 in Rourkela, Odisha, and 2nd one was the “Ek Bharat Sreshtha Bharat Camp(EBSB)” which was being held in December 2018 at Namche, Sikkim.

First let me tell you about my first NIC camp in Odisha, it was so memorable that even now
whenever I recall those moments it brings a smile on my face. There we had visited a lot of
places like Rourkela still plant, mata vaisnodevi temple there and Hanuman vaatika, and these
all places are so beautiful and adventures specially mata vaisnodevi temple where we had to
trekked on a hill to reach there. I also performed in a cultural dance program to represent
Bengali culture. We had shared a good bond there and made a lot of friends

Now EBSB is too an awesome camp in such a beautiful city of Sikkim. Our accommodation was
being arranged there in a school and the best thing about there is I could see Kanchenjunga hill
every morning when sunlight fell on the hill, that view was completely fascinating.
There weused to trek everyday and there too we had visited a lot of beautiful places like Tathagata tsal a very beautiful Buddha temple, a Buddha temple in singtam and some other memorable places.
These camps were one of the best adventurous camp in my life and I would recommend every cadet to attend at least one NIC during his NCC, which will help you to know about culture of other states their way of living and provide you a chance to interact with the cadets from all over the India.
I consider myself fortunate to be a part of this great organization. This three year of journey
gave me an unforgettable memories and experiences. It turned me into a better person and
even after completion of my tenure I still feels like a part of it, the bond we made here is still  with me and some of them became by best buddies.
NCC gave me an opportunity that I didn’t have in my school and college, it made me a more disciplined, focused and motivated person, it carved out some best qualities in me and gave me a lot of opportunities to enhance them. Everyone who is dreaming of a uniform for these NCC is a place where they get a direction to achieve their goals. I wish everyone good luck who are about to join or already joined NCC for the better and prosperous life ahead.