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• ‘Modernisation of Weapon Systems’ by
Cdr J Prakash.
The ‘Overseer’s Diary’, a six monthly forum for
exchange of ideas on shipbuilding, conceived by WPS
(MB) and edited (again !!) by Cdr Kulkarni, was
launched in Jan 09. It has grown from a 8 page
compilation of only WOT (Mb) articles in Jan 09, to a
12 page looked-forward-to journal in Jan 2010, with
articles from almost all the WOTs, in India and abroad.
It is our endeavour that the shipyards too contribute
to it.
As on date, a number of technical articles and
book reviews are awaiting publication in various
journals, including :
• Alignment Requirements during Ship
Construction for Weapon Systems’ by Cdr PD
Giri.
• Improvements and Innovations in Aircraft Carrier
Design’ by Cdr AK Sud.
• Replacement of GTG with 1MW D/A on SNFs’,
by Cdr Pradeep Kumar (now Capt.).
• Privitisation of DRDO’ by Cdr Sai Manohar.
• Power Management of P17 Ships’ by Cdr Ashish
Saxena.
• Design Considerations of FREMM Frigates’ by
Cdr Pradeep Kumar.
• Gods, Demons and Spirits’ by Abraham Kovoor,
reviewed by Lt NS Hemant.
• Working with Emotional Intelligence’ by Daniel
Goleman, reviewed by Cdr PD Giri.
The success of their colleagues and constant
goading (to put it mildly) by the WPS saw a number of
first timers hesitantly forward articles for inclusion in
various publications. The pain of researching, writing
and editing their articles notwithstanding, nothing
could beat the satisfaction and pride of seeing their
names in print, enforcing their claims forever to be
counted as a ‘writer’. ‘The feeling was a mixture of
pain and pleasure, not exactly describable’, as one first
timer put it. ‘There is a Feel Good factor to it’, said
another.
Not content with the effort and research we
were putting into our technical literary efforts, the WPS
decreed that, as overseers, we had to be at the cutting
edge of technology. We were soon organizing
technical presentations by firms promoting new
technology. Officers of the unit (and those from MDL
and SOT) were soon being enlightened on Noise
Abatement Techniques (Stealth), Removal of scale by
Magneto Hydrodynamics (Preservation), Effective
Spray Insulations (Weight, time and space efficiency),
Revolutionary Paints (life and application advantages),
Hi Tech Specialised Sewage Treatment Plants et al.
Much as we may have fidgeted and fretted through
the presentations, in the end, we did end up more
knowledgeable than before. Hmmm ! Something to
do with the famous Rule 1 and Rule 2 about the boss
always being right.
Having tasted blood, by the WOT (MB) being
awarded only ‘Appreciation Certificates’ in the
Rajbhasha Trophy Competition for earlier two years,
the bar was raised and WOT became Runner-Up in
2009. The WPS then decided that a KRA would be
winning the Rajbhasha Trophy 2010. Towards this
end, a Hindi magazine has just been successfully
published by the unit by Mr Pandey, CTA, and two
South Indian officers !!! And it threatens to be a six
monthly affair, but thankfully out of sync with the
Overseer’s Diary.
Apart from all of the above, the only things extra
in the year ahead are a Coffee Table Book, a Golden
Jubilee Seminar, a special edition of Overseer’s Diary,
a compilation of all technical papers and book reviews
by WOT officers in recent years, and a special series
of technical lectures from high end OEMs !!! I wonder
if the number of hours in a day can be increased.
Adventure Activities
Not willing to play second fiddle to the ship
building activities and technical writing activities, the
adventure activities decided to chip in too, with the
unit taking off for a number of outbound excursions.
As it is, after the Camel Safari and Rappelling Camp
organized by WOT (Mb) in 2008, adventure activities
by us were eagerly awaited by all.
After the Camel Safari in the hot deserts of
Rajasthan in 2008, it was time for the colder climes of
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SEPTEMBER 2010
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