Brigadier A. Rashid took umbrage to Dr Maqbool Bhatti's argument when the latter suggested that a joint secretary should be able to command a brigade when a brigadier could function as joint secretary (The Nation May 21). Brig Rashid considered the view preposterous as, according to him, commanding a brigade was a specialised job. The Brigadier, I am sorry to say, missed the point by taking it too literally. Dr Bhatti probably meant that only those trained for a certain assignment were best suited to manage it. The good Brigadier thought a soldier trained to perform in the battlefield could run any organisation under the sun. Frankly, my vote is for the Brigadier. I think a brigadier not only can administer a civilian department, he can even perform an intricate surgery on human body. Never mind if the body cannot move afterwards. -Dr A.P. SANGDIL, Oslo, Norway, via e-mail, May 21.