‘Joint commands to be reality in 5 yrs’
1 Feb 2013 6:15 AM IST
With the addition of the proposed three new joint commands to the portfolio of the two joint commands already existing, some experts believe that the pressure on the services will increase for a four-star Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), or as Naresh Chandra Committee formulated, a permanent chief of the chiefs of staff committee (CCOSC) of the armed forces.
Assuming that the three joint commands take about five years to take full shape, as a senior official of the Integrated Defence Services Headquarters (IDS HQ) told Millennium Post, the CCOSC or a CDS will become a reality.
The resistance to the idea of a single-point military adviser to the highest echelons of the government will be lessened with the quantum increase of personnel, materiel and infrastructure will enable the IDS HQ to seek an expansion of their role.
As a former commander of the Andaman and Nicobar Joint Command, stated: ‘The ultimate onus of the decision will lie with the defence ministry. They will have to decide what the best way forward is.’
According to this former commander, the decision of elevating an officer of the armed forces to the same four star level – same as that of the chiefs – who will be the that military super-boss, entails that the decision to appoint one has to be ‘personality based.’
In effect, it means that the ‘personalities’ of then defence minister, and the three chiefs, besides, of course the prime minister will decide the fate of the CCOSC or a CDS. There were some apprehensions within the political class that such a ‘super-boss’ will enjoy too much power, thus potentially threatening the political structure, has been greatly alleviated by the government’s decision to take all the political parties on board, before taking the decision.
It will largely depend on the time for the new joint commands to come up on line. ‘From my previous experience, I can say that the Andaman and Nicobar Command had taken about two-and-a-half years to take full shape. The Strategic Forces Command had taken about three years to come up, even then without being fully operational. Clearly, five years for these new joint commands will take five years to be up and about.’
The external need for jointmanship in war and peace is becoming an abiding necessity with the deployment of all resources under command, thus compressing time while a yet unobserved expansion of the battle-space with all spectrums of warfare being covered is the new reality.
Assuming that the three joint commands take about five years to take full shape, as a senior official of the Integrated Defence Services Headquarters (IDS HQ) told Millennium Post, the CCOSC or a CDS will become a reality.
The resistance to the idea of a single-point military adviser to the highest echelons of the government will be lessened with the quantum increase of personnel, materiel and infrastructure will enable the IDS HQ to seek an expansion of their role.
As a former commander of the Andaman and Nicobar Joint Command, stated: ‘The ultimate onus of the decision will lie with the defence ministry. They will have to decide what the best way forward is.’
According to this former commander, the decision of elevating an officer of the armed forces to the same four star level – same as that of the chiefs – who will be the that military super-boss, entails that the decision to appoint one has to be ‘personality based.’
In effect, it means that the ‘personalities’ of then defence minister, and the three chiefs, besides, of course the prime minister will decide the fate of the CCOSC or a CDS. There were some apprehensions within the political class that such a ‘super-boss’ will enjoy too much power, thus potentially threatening the political structure, has been greatly alleviated by the government’s decision to take all the political parties on board, before taking the decision.
It will largely depend on the time for the new joint commands to come up on line. ‘From my previous experience, I can say that the Andaman and Nicobar Command had taken about two-and-a-half years to take full shape. The Strategic Forces Command had taken about three years to come up, even then without being fully operational. Clearly, five years for these new joint commands will take five years to be up and about.’
The external need for jointmanship in war and peace is becoming an abiding necessity with the deployment of all resources under command, thus compressing time while a yet unobserved expansion of the battle-space with all spectrums of warfare being covered is the new reality.
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