Defence Correspondents Course-2024, starts Forward Area Tour in J&K
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Jammu, 02 Sep : Defence Correspondents Course (DCC) -2024 comprising of Journalists from pan India, both from print and electronic media houses started the most difficult, enducative and enriching module of the course, the week long Army leg and Forward Area Tour (FAT), today.
The participant journalists from every part of the country under Nodal officer, Lt Col Manish Shrivastava had congregated at Karwar for the DCC which commenced on 19 Aug August 2024. The participants of the course after undergoing the Navy leg at Karwar/ Goa and Air Force leg at Sulur (Tamil Nadu), reached Jammu for Forward Area Tour from 02 to 07 September 2024 in Jammu region.
The Army Leg commenced with welcome address by Lt Col Suneel Bartwal, PRO (Defence) Jammu on behalf of Rising Star Corps and White Knight Corps. The DCC team visited Ratnuchak Military Station to get an insight of Armoured Equipment, training activities, obstacle crossing drills and drive in a Tank to get a feeling of battle zone.
In the coming days, the DCC journalists will be moving out to forward areas along the LoC to see the Anti Infiltration Obstacle System (AIOS) popularly known as the Line of Control (LC) Fence in Poonch-Rajouri sectors. They will also visit the Corps Battle School, Sarol in order to witness the orientation training of soldiers who are newly inducted into the Corps Zone. They will also visit forward posts on the Line of Control to witness first hand experience, how our troops operate 24×7 on the Line of Control and in the hinterland. In addition, they will also be exposed to manning of posts/ bunkers to gain real time experience. They will also interact with the soldiers on the forward posts as well the Awaam residing in villages closer to the LoC.
The aim of DCC is to build over time, a pool of journalists at all levels, who understand the Armed Forces and are cognizant of the domain whenever reporting on stories related to the security forces.
DCC is conducted annually by Directorate of Public Relations (DPR), MoD for journalists from the print and electronic media, to acquaint them with the nuances of the armed forces to help them become specialist Defence journalists. Eminent speakers, Defence experts & Serving & retired officers from the three Services and Coast Guard shared their expertise and views with the journalists on varied military subjects.
Visit of the journalists to such remote locations will help them in understanding the hardships and the challenges faced by the troops of Indian Army and Awaam along the borders and in the hinterland in J&K.