Inter Services Selection Board

The selection of right person for right job and to predict his behaviour under odds has always been an intricate process. Especially, for military organizations, stakes are much higher than profit or loss. Military leaders are required to possess some special qualities, which make them different from managers and entrepreneurs. In Pakistan ISSB is... performing the important role of selecting future leadership for defence forces of Pakistan. The present selection system for defence forces of Pakistan owes its origin to World War II. Before World War II the selection of officers in the British army was based on recommendations from commanding officers, interviews and written examination. This system worked well till there was a large supply of good human resource and minimal attrition. During World War II the source began to dry up quickly with increase in number of casualties and system became ineffective to handle large number of candidates who could meet the rigorous training and harsh field requirements. In 1942, Britishers took the revolutionary step by establishing the new type, War Office Selection Board. These boards employed more scientific and modern methods of selection based on extensive research and experimentation. In the new set up, selection board comprised of a president, psychologist and a military testing officer. The board conducted two to three days examinations and only selected the best suitable candidates. This new set up became instrumental in identifying the potential officers and screening out undesired candidates. In the war scenario, these boards made their mark by stimulating a continuous flow of good material to the army and so won the confidence of Royal Army. In February 1943, the British established first such board in India after bringing some changes according to local environment. At the time of partition two such boards came to the share of Pakistan and started functioning at Rawalpindi. In 1952, the two boards were amalgamated into what we now call as Inter Services ...Read More