Challenges
form the best part of human life. Challenges keep the human instinct alive and
one of the key components of the active instinct is the hormone called Adrenaline.
The pumping adrenaline causes rush inside the human body by activating the
neuro-transmitters which in turn move the effector organs. An active adrenalin
rush is known to cure many internal disorders and also can lead to anxiety
attacks. All in all, challenges simulate the human adrenaline and keep the
human body in correct health and shape if a little practice can be exercised to
keep the anxiety at bay.
Human
beings are taught to take on challenges from a young age. A toddler is
challenged to capture his favourite ball. The toddler crawls and moves to
capture the ball, throws it further ahead and again crawls to capture it. One
fine day, the adrenalin rush pushes him to take the nascent steps and he starts
his walk followed by a gentle run to capture the target. The gradual
achievement of challenges keeps honing the skill sets of humans and they meet
various stages of life with zeal and aplomb. The adrenalin has to pump to keep
meeting the challenges of life and to surmount them with ease.
The
Military Profession has a great deal of adrenalin rush. Military personnel go
through many adrenalin rushes to meet their share of unexpected challenges. A
composite training and cohesiveness helps them to meet even the most
complicated challenges with relative ease. The beauty of challenges in Military
life is their unpredictable nature and quantum. A soldier has to overcome his
own anxiety and keep the adrenalin rush in control to meet the challenges for a
common cause. In a singular or in a collective environment, each action has to
be precise to fix it into the next action so that the end result can be
achieved. Many of these challenges are achieved with a high cost and such costs
are paid smilingly by the men in uniform. A question does arise- what makes
them pay such high costs under such tough circumstances? It is the rush of the
adrenaline and the desire to meet the challenge head on which keeps the
soldiers going from one target to another.
It
was a long outing for the Submarine. The boat had comfortably settled down into
her patrol mode. The machineries were ticking well along with the critical
sensors. The well oiled crew was ready to take on any challenge that emerged
during the patrol. The boat was carrying out a difficult mission and life onboard
a dived submarine depends unilaterally upon the actions of the men who are
manning the various positions and operating the Submarine at any given time.
One wrong action can lead to catastrophic effects and the chain of events can
reach irreversible positions within no time.
The
various operators at various positions were up and about and keeping a sharp
eye on their control equipments. Along with the missions, the boats also carry
out the training for the new crews. Operations and training go side by side and
the best place to train is sea where live situations can be simulated. It was
one such day when the simulated training on Submarine Signal Ejector (SSE) was
to be carried out. SSEs are pyrotechnics which are ejected out of the
Submarines to indicate various states of the dived boats.
The
training Officer for the day moved into my compartment for carrying out the
training. After regular permissions, we isolated the Compartment from both the
ends and now we were like a small capsule inside the big capsule. The simulated
training began and I slipped into a high position from where the Main
Propulsion Motor (a 50 ton+ heavy duty motor) is controlled. The various crew
members were alert and held on to our positions as training continued. The new
crew members were getting familiarised with the nuances of the SSE, when Mr
Murphy raised his head inside the Compartment and wanted to check our adrenalin
rush. The SSE suddenly slipped from a new hand and fell on the Submarine’s deck
with a thud. The resultant shock fired the pyrotechnics of the SSE and it took
off in all possible directions as its powder started burning. It was a read
color ejector and within no time it was painting my compartment red.
With
the first thud itself, my mind had started its adrenalin rush. I sounded the
emergency stations, put the inter compartment communication system into active
mode with a quick emergency dialogue command, moved the main propulsion motor
telegraph into extreme full ahead mode to gather maximum speed for submarine to
enable breaking the eater surface in the shortest time and grabbed a water
bottle to wet a piece of cloth. The red color was thickening up and I shouted
orders for everyone inside the compartment to put wet cloth on their nose. The
SSE was by now red hot and smashing with all its might in the narrow
compartment and burning out its powder. The adrenalin rush had taken better of
the crew members fighting this emergency. The red color had started burning our
eyes and was choking our nostrils. Suddenly, the SSE was waylaid by a daredevil
young man. He held it firmly under his feet even as the heat burnt through his
footwear and he sustained minor burns.
Control
Room had taken charge of the Submarine’s motion and soon the boat broke the
surface. Our compartment was isolated and had to be ventilated thoroughly to
make it clear of the red smoke. The wet cloth pieces kept us going during the
emergency even as our eyes burnt from the smoke effect. A quick appreciation of
the situation and a whiff of fresh air on sea surface were administered to the
effected crew. Soon, the boat had again dived to chilling depths and the
mission continued. The rush of the adrenaline had guided us to meet a big
emergency with ease and with only one injury. The challenge was unexpected but the
actions of each and every soldier were perfect to quell the imminent danger. The
de-brief reflected positive alacrity in a compounding situation. The focused approach
in an adrenalin rush situation saved the day and certified the trained crew.
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