ARMY POSTAL SERVICE CENTRE GOLDEN JUBILEE
Army Postal Service (APS) Centre is the Regimental Training Centre of the Corps of APS. The raising of APS Centre commenced in June 1948 and ended on Nov. 30, 1948. It became a fully operational training centre from 01 Dec 1948 onwards. At that time it was designed to hold 20 clerks and packers for training with its officer Commanding in the rank of Captain. With the expansion of the APS Corps in the subsequent years, the training needs of its personnel also increased manifold. As a result the capacity of the Centre is designed to train 200 recruits and 50 Cadre Course personnel with a holding capacity of 50 personnel in the Depot Company. The post of the Commandant has now been upgraded to the rank of Colonel.
The Corps of APS is a unique Corps as it forms an integral part of the Indian Army for administrative purposes but is functionally a part of the Department of Posts. Three fourth of the personnel in APS are on deputation from the Department of Posts. They serve the Corps as combatants for a fixed tenure and then revert back to their parent Department. In this regard APS Service Centre plays a very important role. More than 98% of the personnel who volunteer to join APS from Civil, complete their training successfully and go on to serve the Corps over a number of years.
APS Centre is located at Kamptee near Nagpur in Central India. It imparts basic as well as technical training to the recruits as well as trainee officers. Besides the customary infrastructure and facilities that go with any Army Training Centre, it has model Field Post Office (FPO), Simulated CBPO, and a bunker FPO to make the training more purposeful. APS Centre has a lasting memorial of its war hero L/Nk Issac Perinbam Vir Chakra, that motivates its recruits to imbibe and inculcate the motto 'Service Before Self. The Centre has recently started a full fledged Computer Faculty, wherein APS personnel are given hands-on computer training to meet the growing functional needs of Post Offices in view of the modernisation drive launched by the Department of Posts.
Stamp issued to mark the golden jubilee celebrations of Army Postal Service Centre.
Date of Issue: 2.12.1998