India is celebrating her 75th year of Independence. A lot has changed since that humid August midnight when Pandit Nehru gave his ‘Tryst with destiny’ speech, which was a message to the world that India had taken over the reins of its own future. Since that day, when the Tricolour was first unfurled at the Red Fort, India has grown from strength to strength.
One of the most important contributors to the growth of our country has been, without any doubts, the Indian Armed Forces. Not only have they answered the call of duty during wars, but also contributed immensely to humanitarian relief and development at home as well as abroad.
Entering into the 75th year of Independence, the Indian Armed Forces have only one mission – to build and maintain a modernized force which can keep up with the threats and challenges in today’s world. Given the fact that the Indian Armed Forces are amongst the largest armed forces in the world, it is essential for the nation that timely and effective reforms are introduced for the nation’s safety.
This blog deals with a topic considered very essential for the modernization and reformation of the Indian Armed Forces – Integrated Theatre Commands.
What are the Integrated theatre commands?
An Integrated Theatre Command is envisaged as a tri-service command established with the aim of pooling of resources of all the three services (i.e., Army, Air Force & Navy) under a single commander. These commands can be of two types:
1. Geographical Commands: Integrated Commands which have been established keeping in mind the border with a particular country/region, or
2. Thematic Commands: Integrated Commands which have been established keeping in mind a particular theme, like a command for all the maritime threats or a command for all the aerial threats.
The military commander in charge of a single command has the resources of all the three services at his disposal to face any national security threats that may arise. He is also responsible for the joint training of his command while benefitting from the logistics and resources of all the three services.
What is the proposal and why has it been proposed?
In India, a model with four to five integrated tri-service theatre commands has been proposed. These commands will be headed by a three-star officer (i.e., Lieutenant General in the Indian Army, Air Marshal in the Indian Air Force or Vice Admiral in the Indian Navy).
This three-star officer will report to the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC), which consists of the Chiefs of the three services and the Chief of Defense Staff as its permanent chairman.
The idea of an integrated theatre command for the Indian Armed Forces is not recent. It had been recommended at various levels since the 1999 Kargil War. Former Defense Minister Late Mr. Manohar Parrikar had formed a Committee of Experts (CoE) under Lieutenant General D.B. Shekatkar (Retd.) with a mandate to ‘suggest measures to enhance combat capability and rebalance defense expenditure of the armed forces’ in the year 2016. The Shekatkar Committee, apart from recommending the formation of Integrated Theatre Commands, also recommended the creation of the post of Chief of Defense Staff and the Department of Military Affairs, which were accepted and implemented in January, 2020.
Consequences of the establishment of Integrated Theatre Commands
The consequences of the establishment of Integrated Theatre Commands (ITCs) will no doubt be huge, for the Indian Armed Forces as well as for the nation itself. This will usher in a major change in the role played by the Chiefs of all the Services. The Chiefs currently have all the operational control over their forces, which on the creation of ITCs will move to the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) headed by the CDS.
In the current scenario, the three Services have to speak and request each other’s resources and assets to conduct an operation. The establishment of the ITCs, headed by a theatre commander having operational control over the assets of his command will enhance jointness among the forces and prevent and reduce duplication of resources.
The proposed scenario, while leaving the Service Chiefs with no operational control over the service’s assets, does not make their role redundant. The core tasks of the Service Chiefs will be
- · Raising the force
- · Training the force
- · Sustaining the force
Also, as a member of the CoSC who is an expert of his domain, the inputs of the Service Chiefs will be necessary for all operational decisions.
Reaction of various stakeholders
It is a well known within the Services and the Defense Ministry that while the Indian Army and the Indian Navy are on board with the proposal, the Indian Air Force has certain reservations. Some of the major reservations of the IAF are:
- · The Indian Air Force does not want the Indian Air Force Chief to lose the operational command over the Air Force Assets.
- · The Indian Air Force is currently functioning with 28 squadrons, against an authorized strength of 42 squadrons. The IAF believes that because of this shortfall, all of its assets might get divided within the integrated commands.
Many former service chiefs, including Admiral Arun Prakash (Retd.) and Air Chief Marshal Fali H. Major (Retd.) have also expressed doubts over the role of Service Chiefs and how the different elements of the Indian security apparatus, such as the paramilitary forces (BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP etc.) and the Indian Coast Guard, will fit in such commands.
The progress and the impediments
The creation of the office of the Chief of Defense Staff and the Department of Military affairs (DMA) in January 2020 was considered as a major step towards the joint warfare and theaterisation process. The recent creation of the Defense Cyber Agency, Defense Space Agency and the Special Operations Division have further given a push to the process. As proposed on June 30, 2020, the establishment of the Air Defense Command has commenced.
The creation of four to five integrated commands, as proposed by the Government of India, was delayed due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in India. Before the nation could completely overcome the challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreak, the sudden and unfortunate death of India’s Chief of Defense Staff, General Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash on December 8, 2021, not only shook the entire nation, but also severely hindered the process of unification and modernization of the Indian Armed Forces.
The current scenario
Apart from these service commands, India also has a few joint and integrated commands. The only fully-functional tri-service theatre command is the Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) Command, established in 2001. The Strategic Forces Command (SFC), set up in 2003, forms part of India’s Nuclear Command Authority and is responsible for the management and administration of India’s nuclear weapons stockpile.
The proposed scenario
Countries with similar defense structures
The concept of Integrated Theatre Commands was pioneered by the United States military in 1947. The number of such geographical tri-services commands, intended to cover the globe, has increased from 5 in 1947 to 11 in 2022.
In 2016, China mimicked the American model and reorganized its armed forces into 5 joint theatre commands.
Russia also has a similar model, with 5 tri-services integrated commands, overlooking various geographical regions.
THE path in the FUTURE
The progress of the establishment of the ITCs remains to be seen. The COVID-19 crisis and the untimely demise of General Rawat raises many questions over what will be the path taken by the Government and the three services. Some major questions that arise over the near future are:
- · Who will be the next Chief of Defense Staff of India? Which service will he belong to?
- · What will be his approach towards the proposal of Integrated Theatre Commands?
- · If India goes ahead with the proposal, by when will the commands be raised?
The path to be taken is yet to be decided and it will be determined by several factors. How a nation celebrating its 75th year of Independence reforms its armed forces, among the largest in the world, remains to be seen.
1 Comments
This is very well researched. Would love some more from you. How long, do you think, will it take to establish ITCs? Also, don't you think its high time for govt. to include armed forces in foreign policy planning?
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