ABSTRACT: We live today in a knowledge economy.

The core assets of modern business enterprise lie

not in buildings, machinery, and real estate, but in the intelligence, understanding, skills, and experience
of employees. Unfortunately, it is a challenge to harness the skill set and optimally utilize them.
Motivation is a condition that is initiated by a physiological or psychological deficiency or need in an
individual, which causes the individual to behave in a certain manner in order to achieve a particular
goal or incentive. Motivation is the fuel that drives a person to fulfill their goals, wants, and needs. There
are a number of motivational theories, like Maslow’s Hierarchical Needs theory, Herzberg’s two-factor
theory, Alderfer’s ERG theory, Adam’s Equity Theory, and many more. In this paper, we intend to study
what motivates people to join and pay service to the armed forces. We tried to focus on the various
motivational factors based on the above mentioned theories that initiate this drive. Our primary data
included interview questionnaire and the secondary data source was mainly the internet. We had
around 35 respondents all in active service. The findings that we came up with were very interesting and
challenged some established theories of motivation. Moreover the data collected also presents a
viewpoint that can come handy in explaining the severe shortage of officers in all the three wings. Firstly
the results of the questionnaire were inconsistent with the Maslow’s Hierarchical Needs theory. Our
respondents are all very satisfied with their job but they have not taken good care about their
physiological, security and belongingness needs. They have only partially taken care of these needs and
they are more inclined towards their self actualization needs. In fact the primary reason for their job
satisfaction is that the life of defence personnel helps them in fulfilling their self actualization needs.
They seemed inclined for power, patriotism and pride, adventure and others. Also later in the analysis
part we find how Alderfer’s ERG theory and Maslow’s need hierarchy theory fight each other in
explaining the motivational aspects of our defense forces. A detailed analysis is covered in the sections
ahead.