Syllabus: GS3/ Defence
Context
- Army chief General outlined the three-phase approach towards enhancing jointness across the armed forces, at a time when the military is ready to present its Theaterisation model to the decision-makers.
Background
- Theaterisation, which requires jointness and integration, is a long-awaited reform for the best use of the military’s resources to fight future wars.
- The Theaterisation model being pursued involves raising;
- The China-centric northern Theatre command in Lucknow,
- The Pakistan-centric western Theatre command in Jaipur, and
- The maritime Theater command in Thiruvananthapuram.
The Three-phase approach
- Jointness 1.0: It focused on integrating acquisition planning, courses, and operational joint logistic nodes, with three fully operational and four more in progress.
- Jointness 2.0: The progress was made in aligning doctrines, standard operating procedures and creating joint maintenance organizations for major platforms.
- Jointness 3.0: The army aims to expand common operational planning process, tech sharing, and resources like UAVs and ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) systems.
Integrated Theatre Command – It is a unified command in which the resources of all the services are unified under a single commander looking at a geographical theater. – The commander of a joint command will have the freedom to train and equip his command as per the objective and will have logistics of all the services at his beckoning. 1. The three services will retain their independent identities as well. – A committee headed by Lieutenant General D B Shekatkar had recommended three commands: Northern, for China; Western, for the Pakistan border’ and Southern, for maritime security. |
Integrated vs Jointness
- Jointness means that while the 3 Services progress and develop in their respective spheres with their independent identity, they function together and so coordinate their operations in war.
- Integrated Commands, on the other hand, seek to merge individual service identities to achieve a composite and cohesive whole.
Advantages
- Better acclimatization of troops in the given battlespace for operational efficiency.
- Training needs and administrative requirements of the troops can be better understood for specialization and conducting drills.
- Quick mobilization of troops is possible for the high-intensity war-like situation.
- The allocation of military hardware can become theater specific and result in optimisation of the resources.
- Unified command will allow for prompt and precise decision making and remove hierarchical redundancies.
Challenges in Implementation
- Difference of opinion among three forces: There are differences among the three forces on scope, structure, and control of the commands.
- Transfer of Resources: There is a contention on the kind of war-fighting equipment that will be deployed under a single command and ambiguity surrounding the transfer of weapons, platforms, and resources from one theater command to another.
- Curriculum Framework: In terms of preparing the educational bedrock for military personnel to serve in theater commands, the country seems to be behind the curve.
Concluding remarks
- The three-phase approach to enhancing jointness lays a strong foundation for creating a cohesive and efficient command structure.
- However, successful implementation requires overcoming inter-service differences, revising educational frameworks, and ensuring robust resource allocation mechanisms.
Source: HT
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