Brigadier MCG was a chronic bachelor and commanding a brigade in the mountains in the northern sector of India facing the Chinese Army . A workaholic and a sadist by nature , his staff and subordinate commanders of battalions placed under him used to avoid him except what is required by protocol and work and MCG had very little social interaction with his team in the forward brigade location – a rarity considering that the officers live and work separated from their family on a 24 hour schedule facing the enemy and rest and recreation with constant interaction with team members was a very desirable norm in such situations. This did not affect MCG at all as he used to work ,work , and work taking only biological breaks in between .
When his turn came to indicate his choices for the entitled 60 days leave during the year , he sent his leave dates to the Divisional Commander with a request for permission to remain in his station and visit the forward posts of his brigade as well as the posts in all the neighboring brigades in the divisional sector for an in depth study of the sector which he could not undertake due to his preoccupations while on active duty.
The divisional commander was well aware of the work style of MCG and therefore approved his leave dates with only one rider – MCG will disappear from the divisional sector for 60 days while on leave and will not be seen anywhere within the divisional sector even in an emergency . He will formally hand over charge to the senior most battalion commander in his brigade . It was indeed a shock to poor MCG who had no place to go and a great joy and relief to his staff who never missed him during his leave !!!
The message from the Divisional Commander to MCG was — ” You are important to the division but not indispensable . Let us give space to your second in command to take over – and you also need to rest and unwind in life . “