Armed Forces: Integration and Joint Command
11 Oct, 2000 · 419
Wg Cdr NK Pant stresses the need for a integration within the armed forces and integration of the civilian bureaucracy with the military
As in other western democracies,
India needs cohesion between the political will emanating from the Ministry of Defence and the military might of the armed forces, carry out their functioning as an integrated team. In the Indian context each Service, especially during peacetime, pursues an independent role, inviting the MoD bureaucracy to act as a referee. The fall out of the dismissal of the former naval chief Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat had revived hopes of the three service headquarters of integration with the MoD for quicker decision making. The defence minister George Fernandes had gone on record to claim integration would take place within a period of thirty days but almost two years more have elapsed, and nothing tangible has emerged this far.
India , which is not conducive enough for cohesive functioning. The traditional distinction between ground, sea and air theatres of operations is rapidly being replaced by a single battle space using total military capabilities. The future of
India ’s defence lies in joint operations and setting up an integrated structure by co-locating the regional single Service Commands as part of the modernisation process without sacrificing the single Service concept.
One of the several post Kargil panels is reportedly working on the concept of Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), India seems to be examining a number of other models existing around the world to evolve a suitable system. Though politicians in power seem to appreciate the armed forces’ point of view and will readily accept their integration with MoD, it is the reported differences amongst the three services on the one hand and the divide between the Services and the civilian bureaucracy in the MoD on the other, which fact, is coming in the way.
The present day Indian defence organisation needs streamlining and early restructuring. The three Services –army, navy and air force are independent of each other and serviced by the unwieldy MoD secretariat which has grows inexorably, independent of its workload. No doubt, There is a Chiefs of Staff Committee for the sake of inter Service co-ordination with the longest serving Chief officiating as chairman. He wields no powers to take important decisions to ensure the nation’s defence and does not fit into the uniformed chain of command. The security scenario in our neighbourhood demands the immediate establishment of a CDS, a five star general, naval or air force equivalent, responsible for rendering a single window advice to the union government of vital matters of national defence. He should have under him not only the three Service chiefs but also the effective tri-service operational and support structure levels. It is the joint teamwork which will deliver the goods if at all a war is forced upon us the shrill cries for jehad and nuclear weapons in the background.
The Arun Singh Committee report had pointed out this flaw in the highest echelons of the national security system almost a decade back and recommended the merger of the civilian ministry and the armed forces’ headquarters. Duplication of work against the tenet of economy of effort often mentioned as one of the principles of war. This integration will result in considerable economies as it will do away with the infructuous two tier workload of file pushing presently in vogue causing avoidable delays. Since its implementation would have clipped the bureaucracy’s wings, the report was consigned to the archives of the MoD and is yet to see the light of the day.
But integration of the army, navy and air headquarters with the MoD may not yield the desired results unless the sincere measures are first initiated for closer inter-Service integration. The armed forces have their operational and support Command Headquarters scattered all over
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