Post Retirement, Former Kashmiri Army Captain Trains Soldiers For Avalanches

Describing himself as an army man “till grave”, Honorary Captain Mohammed Ilyas Ahmed even after his retirement helps in training troops to face avalanches in the higher reaches of the Kashmir. Hailing from the remote village of Tangdhar in north Kashmir, Ahmed retired from the army’s Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry in 2016 after 31 years of service in the mountains. But the motto of his regiment- BalidanamVirLakshanam (sacrifice is a characteristic of the brave) — remained etched on his mind even after he hung up his boots. “An army man is always an army man till the graveyard,” said 63-year-old Ahmed, whose services were utilized in the first week of this month by the army when an avalanche hit its camp in Tangdhar area.