Joint Command a Myth

Joint command
Jointness in armed forces
Politics of Chief of Defence Staff
by Rakesh Datta
This refers to the article, “Jointness in armed forces” (August 26). There is no likelihood of the CDS coming up at least in the foreseeable future. First, there is no jointness; the three Services Chiefs hold divergent views. Secondly, there exists an unwarranted fear of army takeover in the mind of the politicians that is fuelled by vested interests in the bureaucracy. And thirdly, the all-powerful bureaucracy is afraid of losing its superiority.

The fear has even led to a systematic dilution of the status of the Services Chiefs. They have been brought down in precedence from their once exalted position. The million-strong Army has been virtually sidelined. It has lost its say even in the matters that directly concern it. And sadly, the Army has sheepishly allowed itself to be relegated to the inferior position. All this needs to be undone.

The government should get rid of its imaginary fear, the bureaucracy should shun its misplaced superiority complex, and the Army should assert its well-deserved importance. Give the Army its rightful due. This will be in the interest of national security.
Wg Cdr CL SEHGAL (Retd), Jalandhar

CDS: Is India going to follow Pakistan footsteps?

Pakistan bids for CDS. Interesting If Pakistan gets a CDS, our politicians might follow a few years later!

Read how Pakistan is thinking of changing the Command and Control gear of its Military as suggested by General Retd Mirza Aslam Beg | Published: May 28, 2010.

Three steps are needed to set the fundamental direction right:

Step One: Defuse the ongoing controversy between the judiciary and the government. Independence of judiciary is sacrosanct, as much as is the sovereignty of the parliament. There are enlightened people on both sides of the fence and they will find the answer. Justice Jawad Khawaja’s recent comment is very reassuring indeed: “We don’t claim any right beyond the will of the people.” A better understanding is developing between the two prime institutions.

Step Two: Give a meaning to the decision of the three services chiefs of 17th August 1988, by establishing the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as recommended by General Muhammad Sharif Committee in 1975. Mr Bhutto ignored this recommendation and suffered. Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Mr Nawaz Sharif both ignored my pleadings, to create the post of CDS. Nawaz Sharif ultimately had to bear the brunt. Why one may suffer any more?

Step Three: Having created the post of Chief of Defence Staff, it would be proper to appoint General Kayani as the first CDS, for a three years’ tenure. His credentials are well established. And a new Chief of Army Staff may be appointed in his place.
With these steps taken, better harmony would prevail between civil-military relations and understanding would develop to safeguard the independence of judiciary and the sovereignty of the parliament. And from military point of view also, the appointment of CDS is as important, if we care to learn from history. The ’65 and ’71 wars were started without due coordination with the other two services and we suffered. The Kargil operation was a bad example. Now is the time to take this well-considered decision, as the bedrock of harmonious civil-military relations.
The writer is a former COAS, Pakistan
Read more: Civil-Military Relations in Pakistan: Article by General Mirza Aslam Beg

Indian response- Integrated Defence Staff
A decision regarding the recommendation of the Group of Ministers for creation of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) has not been taken by the Government as yet pending consultation with political parties. However, with a view to ensure higher degree of jointness amongst the Services and attempt inter-service and intra-service prioritization, the Government has set up the Integrated Defence Staff, headed by the Chief of Integrated Staff to Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC), to support the Chiefs of Staff Committee and its Chairman in the optimal performance of their roles and functions. The CISC supervises the Integrated Defence Staff, chairs all multi-Service bodies and the Defence Crisis Management Group (DCMG) and is also responsible for the coordination of long-range plans, five year plans and annual budgetary proposals of the three Services in consultation and co-ordination with the Integrated Services Headquarters.
Integrated Defence Staff: India

Common law for all three defence services drafted

3 May 2010 Statesman News Service
New Delhi, 3 May: The government today said it has prepared a draft common law applicable to all three defence forces to ensure coordination in operations and functions and its enactment was under the active consideration of the defence ministry.
In a statement laid on the table of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, defence minister Mr AK Antony said the work on the common law, to be called the Tri Service Act, had begun in 2002 and the draft submitted to the ministry after approval from the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) in August 2009.
The Tri Service Act was “under consideration in consultation with the three services,” Mr Antony said on the status of implementation of recommendations contained in the Parliamentary Standing Committee report on Unified Command for Armed Forces submitted to the Lok Sabha in February 2009.
With regard to the creation of a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), as recommended by the Kargil Review Committee (KRC), the Minister said the proposal was “under examination”, though the institutional support and infrastructure had already been created in the form of the Integrated Defence Staff Headquarters to support the CDS, whenever created.
He said the case for finding consensus on appointment of CDS, as suggested by the KRC, had been taken up with political parties, but a number of them were yet to respond.
On setting up of Indian National Defence University, the minister said the draft cabinet note, after inter-ministerial consultation, had been submitted for approval of competent authority.
He also said that the process of internal review of security threats and challenges and restructuring of the IDS headquarters had been completed, and the case for external review through a high-powered expert committee was under examination and approval of COSC Chairman.
Gratuity ceiling Bill
A Bill to raise the ceiling of gratuity for employees to Rs 10 lakh from Rs 3.5 lakh was passed by the Lok Sabha without discussion today.
Common law for all three defence services drafted

National Security: Challenging Times Ahead

Courtesy SP's Land Forces

The Chief must aim at making the army a powerful organisation in all respects; alleviating the concerns of all personnel of the army and veterans; and bringing the fun back into the army, keeping in mind the old adage ‘a happy army is a powerful army’

Assumption of command by a new Army Chief is an important event, both for the army and the nation. It is no different for General V.K. Singh, the 24th Army Chief of independent India. The importance of commanding the Indian Army is not just because of its size, but more importantly it is the only organisation that has full faith in our polity, on account of its professional ethos and the alacrity with which it responds to evolving situations. These perceptions, coupled with the prevailing security environment, bring with them overwhelming responsibilities. All Army Chiefs have no doubt assumed command with varying challenges and distinguished themselves during their tenures. Some have done so with panache, while others could at best be termed as also-ran.

Situation
The ground reality is not encouraging. Nearly half the army is committed to fighting various insurgencies and a proxy war. The combat potential of the army is at an all-time low of nearly 50 per cent and there has hardly been any modernisation in recent years. The budget for the army gets reduced every year in real term; the government continues to keep the military out of the policy formulation loop; the deteriorating civil-military relations do not bode well for the safety and security of the nation; there have been several recent incidents that have tarnished the image of the army and could have been avoided; and the regional security environment is also a cause of concern.
Read the full article:
Challenging Times Ahead By Lt General (Retd) Vijay Oberoi

Combined Defence Services Exam 2009 results announced

UPSC has announced the final results of Combined Defence Services Examination (I), 2009. A total of 197 candidates have finally qualified. Of these 158 have qualified for admission to the Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai for 91st Short Service Commission Course (for Men); and 39 have qualified for 5th Short Service Commission Women (Non-Technical) Course, commencing in April, 2010. The list of 91st Short Service Commission Course (for Men) also includes the names of the candidates who were recommended earlier on the basis of the result of the same examination for admission to the Indian Military Academy- Dehradun/Naval Academy, Ezhimala, Kerala and Air Force Academy, Hyderabad (Pre-Flying) Training Course(s).

The number of vacancies as intimated by the Government for 91st Short Service Commission Course (for Men) is 175 and for 5th Short Service Commission Women (Non-Technical) course is 10.

The result of Medical Examination of candidates has not been taken into account in preparing the merit list. The candidature of all the candidates is provisional.

UPSC has a “Facilitation Counter” in its campus where Candidates can obtain any information / clarification regarding their examinations / recruitments during working hours in person or over telephone Nos. 23385271 / 23381125 / 23098543. Result is available on PIB website click here and also on the U.P.S.C. website click here
Click here for-: CDS (I) EXAMINATION,2009 -(MEN)
Click here for-: CDS (I) EXAMINATION,2009 -(WOMEN)
Combined Defence Services Exam 2009 results announced

UPA Dithers on important Defence Reforms

The government must act resolutely to implement the long- pending decision to appoint a CDS. Theatre commands will then be but one step further in the quest for synergy in operations.

It should be a short step, but given the way the Indian system works, it is likely to be a very long one indeed. The establishment of the Integrated Defence Staff is a good beginning, but there is a long and winding road ahead and, as yet, it does not even appear to be paved with good intentions.

Often during war, the fate of an entire campaign can hinge on a single decision.

Such a decision can only be made by a specially selected defence chief and not by a committee like the CoSC that operates on the principle of the least common denominator.

All other major democracies have opted for the CDS system. India cannot ignore it any further except at great peril. It is an idea whose time has come.
Courtsey: Mail Today, 23 December 2009
UPA Dithers on important Defence Reforms

Indian armed forces confident about nuclear arsenal

The scientists said the tests were enough and tested. We believe the scientists. click me

Rajat Pandit, TNN 28 August 2009, 01:29am IST
Indian armed forces seem quite confident about the country's nuclear arsenal despite the controversy over the "yields'' of the 1998 Pokhran-II nuclear tests, which included a 15 kiloton fission device, a 45 kiloton thermonuclear device (hydrogen bomb) and three sub-kiloton devices.

Outgoing Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta, also the chairman of the chiefs of staff committee, on Thursday said India had "a credible minimum nuclear deterrent" in line with its no-first use (NFU) policy.

"We are a nation which maintains a credible deterrent...more than enough to deter anybody, "said Admiral Mehta. And should someone do the unthinkable by launching a first-strike, then the "consequences will be more than what they can bear".

Asked about former DRDO scientist K Santhanam's statement that the hydrogen bomb tested during Pokhran-II was actually "a fizzle", Admiral Mehta said, "As far as we are concerned, scientists have given us a certain capability which is enough to provide requisite deterrence...the deterrent is tried and tested."

That may well be so but there are still some lingering doubts over whether India has a swift and assured second-strike capability, crucial for a country like India whose nuclear doctrine is centred around the NFU policy.

The doctrine, on its part, declares that nuclear retaliation to a first strike will be "massive and designed to inflict unacceptable damage". This connotes a robust stockpile of nuclear warheads, safe and ready for use if needed. Estimates indicate India's weapons-grade plutonium stockpile is enough for 80-90 warheads at present.

Pakistan, on its part, has deliberately kept its nuclear policy ambiguous in the belief it deters India from undertaking any conventional military action against it.

Moreover, recent reports indicate Pakistan has pressed the throttle to enhance its arsenal much beyond 60 nuclear warheads as well as supplement its ongoing enriched uranium-based nuke programme with a weapons-grade plutonium one.

But more than the actual number of nuclear warheads, the worry of the Indian armed forces has been the gap in their delivery systems. Pakistan, for instance, is well ahead in the missile arena, borrowing as it has heavily from China and North Korea.

China, with its long-range ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) and SLBMs (submarine-launched ballistic missiles), is in a different league altogether. Its road-mobile DF-31A missile, for instance, can hit targets 11,200 km away, while JL-2 SLBM has a reach beyond 7,200 km.

India, of course, has no ICBM or SLBM. While it's developing the 3,500-km Agni-III and 5,000-km Agni-V ballistic missiles, the only missiles available to armed forces as of now are Prithvi (150 to 350-km range), Agni-I (700-km) and Agni-II (2,500-km). But they, too, have not undergone the rigorous testing nuclear-capable missiles should undergo.

IAF has some fighters like Mirage-2000s jury-rigged to deliver nuclear weapons but the Strategic Forces Command has no dedicated bombers. Similarly, Navy has only two "dual-tasked'' warships armed with Dhanush (variant of Prithvi with a 330-km range) missiles, INS Subhadra and INS Suvarna.

Moreover, the nuclear-powered submarine INS Arihant, which was launched on July 26, will take at another two to three years to become fully operational. And it will be equipped only with 700-km range missiles to begin with.
Indian armed forces confident about nuclear arsenal

Armed forces will need Chief of Defence Staff in future: Mehta
New Delhi, Aug 27 (PTI) Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta today said the present system of having a chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) was working fine but the armed forces would need the services of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as they move towards a larger strategic setup.

"Within the existing limitations, it (COSC system) is working fine.. but in the due course of time as we go on to have a larger strategic set up, we will certainly need a CDS," he told reporters here. "It would be difficult for one of the services chiefs to devote so much of time," he added.
PTI: Armed forces will need Chief of Defence Staff in future: Mehta

Creation of Chief of Defence Staff: Reasons sound like coming from KG children

04 Aug 2009 8ak: Defence Minister Antony says that the delay in a decision on appointing a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) is that the political parties who were asked their opinion on the issue have not replied for the last 3 years. The issue was first suggested in 2001. Pragmatic has a few points on why a CDS is not required for India. Read the article here.

Rediff article here looks at the resistance from within the armed forces, the challenges in creating the jointness, the benefits and ends with a note that Antony may not have what it takes to be able to implement this.

According to the PIB, the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) is the main coordinating body between the Services. The Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQIDS), functioning under the COSC acts as the nodal organization to promote jointness among the services.

Responses to Express Editorial, "It's the Unifrom"

Mauryan EmperorRef: EXPRESS EDITORIAL
Posted online: Wednesday, September 03, 2008 at 0105 hrs
It’s the uniform

Gentlemen of Indian Express,

Yours is a very esteemed newspaper. You have often taken independent and even anti establishment line and one looks forward to reading point of view on national matters written in your daily and in particular the Editorials.

However, your Editorial dated 3 Sep 2008 titled "It's the Uniform" is ill advised and written by some one ignorant about Defence Matters and working. Some glaring aspects are -

1. It is apparent that the person writing the Editorial did not carry out required research, before passing judgment and using impertinent and derogatory language towards highly respected icons like Chiefs of Defence Services. He should have discussed with senior spokes persons of the Defence Services their apprehensions and then written such an immature editorial. Especially so, since he himself has conceded in the Editorial that it is not often that the three Services address joint letters to the Raksha Mantri and that also against a Government decision! He obviously failed to do this, thus causing great pain and anguish to the Defence fraternity due to wrong and biased conclusions drawn and derogatory language used.

2. And you Mr. Editor Sir, should have used your maturity, experience and sense of judgment to examine the draft critically, before letting it be published. Just look at the language used while ending the Editorial given below-

When the senior most of those wearing that uniform write letters of the sort that the defence minister just received, that hope receives a small jolt.

Do you really believe that the Service Chiefs do not know when and what to write to the Raksha Mantri! You think they are frivolous functionaries!! It does not behoove Indian Express Editorial to use such words for the Service Chiefs!

3. This just proves the point that the Services are not getting the required respect. If this is the respect shown for Service Chiefs by an esteemed Newspaper like yours, what is the Izzat and status the Jawans will get! This is a very dangerous trend and sad for the Country indeed.

4. It would therefore be in the fitness of things for the Editor to meet senior officers dealing with this letter and fully understand the Services point of view.

5. However, a number of letters have been written to you regarding this Editorial by senior retired officers.These can be seen in this blog "Report My Signal".

6. These explain why the persistent effort of the bureaucracy to downgrade in-terse status of Defence Services Officers vis a vis IAS and Para Military Forces is not acceptable and needs to be reversed. The game being played by them is anti national since it is anti Defence Services.

7. Please read this ancient Indian wisdom and ponder over it-

Kautilya's sagely advice to Chandragupta on the Mauryan Soldier.
"Pataliputra rests each night in peaceful comfort, O King, secure in the belief that the distant borders of Magadha are inviolate and the interiors are safe and secure, thanks only to the Mauryan Army standing vigil with naked swords and eyes peeled for action, day and night, in weather fair and foul, all eight praharas (round the clock), quite unmindful of personal discomfort and hardship, all through the year, year after year.

To this man, O Rajadhiraja, you owe a debt: please, therefore, see to it, suo motu, that the soldier continuously gets his dues in every form and respect, be they his needs or his wants, for he is not likely to ask for them himself.

The day the soldier has to demand his dues will be a sad day for Magadha; for then, on that day, you will have lost all moral sanction to be King!"

8. Defence Services are not "cannon fodder" sirs. They have hearts and souls too and are the only organization functioning effectively in the Country. It is suffering casualties day in and day out since the dawn of Independence on 15 Aug 1947 but not flinched. There is no other military in the World, which could bear such hardships and casualties for 60 years, non stop!! And there is no other organization in the Country which could be so patriotic and disciplined.

Who saved Kashmir in 1948. Indian troops air lifted a few hours before the Raiders could enter Srinagar !!

Who saved Amritsar and area West of Beas River in 1965 and carried the War to enemy's heartland !!

Who liberated East Pakistan, helped form Bangladesh in 1971 and bombarded Karachi !!

Who suffered over 500 casualties in Kargil in 1999 but evicted the intruders from our sacred land !!

Who were the first to arrive and help survivors after Bhuj Earth Quack in 2001!

Who were the ones to help effectively in Tusami in 2004 !!

Who are the ones now evacuating people in Bihar floods and providing them food and water as also medical aid !!

Who are the ones fighting terrorism in J&K and insurgency in the East for years and years !! Every day our brave officers and men are losing their lives in faithfully carrying out their duties. Situations created due to greed, lethargy, dis interest of the Politicians and the Bureaucracy, who are just not interested in resolving such issues.

9. How short can be the memory of even enlightened people like you and how ungrateful you can be! Sirs, Defence Services are the sentinels of this Country and in case they are demoralized, the safety and security of the Nation cannot be assured.

10. Let us keep the status and Izzat of the Defence Forces high. The Press/ media have a very crucial role to play to keep reminding the Nation in this regard

11. Sir, you need to tender an apology to the Nation and the Defence Services for denigrating the three Service Chiefs in your Editorial dated 3 Sep 2008. It will be in the fitness of things for you to write another editorial explaining the Defence Services point of view.

Sincerely,
Lt Gen Harbhajan Singh (Retd)

Genuine Pointer by Service Chiefs being contested by Finance Ministry.

Dear Sir,
1. This is with reference to the news item in your paper dated 04 Sep 2008.
2. It is a pity that the glaring anomalies in the pay fixation of Lt Colonel and Lt General pointed out by the three Chiefs are being ceaselessly objected to by the Finance Ministry. Why are they strengthening the beliefs of serving and veteran Defence personnel and also the youth that the military is being mistreated and discriminated? Why can’t they understand the simple logic that the Govt employee who was getting more than another Govt employee cannot get Rs 14000/- less as a 6th PC award. 19000 Lt Cols and their equivalent in Navy and Air force, who are working in the most hazardous conditions and are working at the cutting edge of the Defence Forces have been ignored by the cabinet cleared proposal on pay commission and thus not given their due status and respect. If any one thinks, it will not adversely affect their morale, is definitely not thinking logical. Does the Govt know the extent of damage it will inflict on the country’s defence? Likewise please don’t lower the status of Lt Gen. The officers holding this rank have to function in a much larger area both for external and internal threats and for God sake let the equations between the Defence Services and Civilian Counter parts be not lowered any further. Instead, the equation needs to be corrected and restored to what existed in 1947. A civilian Officer who was equivalent to a Major is now equivalent to a Major General. This steep lowering of status is grievously unacceptable to the Defence Forces Personnel. What a pity? The patriot soldiers who lay down their levies to protect and strengthen Democracy and are the last resort of the Nation in natural and man made calamities are being mercilessly downgraded, degraded and mistreated. We appeal to the people of the country to support our “just and fair cause” by raising the issue at all forums and requesting the Govt to accept the genuine demands of the Defence Services both serving and Ex-servicemen.
3. The RM and the PM are requested to kindly give serious consideration to the genuine request of the three Chiefs and correct serious anomalies in the 6th Pay Commission award..

With Kind Regards,
Yours Sincerely,
Maj Gen Satbir Singh, SM (Retd)

Officer Shortages and Sixth Pay Commission

Chief of Defence Staff
The armed forces will get a chief of defence staff (CDS) as a single point reference to advise the government on military matters once the structures to support the institution are in place, says the Indian Army chief.
'It is an evolutionary process and it should, therefore, follow, that the CDS must come into existence,' Gen. Deepak Kapoor said in a TV interview.
'The fact that the CDS must come about is not in doubt. What is in doubt is when it should happen,' Kapoor told CNBC-TV18's Karan Thapar, adding: 'The CDS will enable the government to get a one point reference on matters military.'

Quicker Decisions
The creation of a CDS was one of the recommendations of a high-powered committee that examined the conduct of the 1999 border conflict that occurred after Pakistani intruders occupied the heights of Kargil in Jammu and Kashmir. The committee felt that a CDS would ensure quicker decisions on matters where the three services were required to act in tandem and to resolve whatever differences might exist on this.
The government accepted the recommendation in 2000 with the caveat that what was first required was the creation of a chief of integrated defence staff (CIDS) to synergise the functioning of the three services. This system has been put into place and is functioning successfully.

Theatre commands
According to Kapoor, a CDS 'is only one part of the issue. Before that, there will be theatre commands which will be joint commands. Therefore, the integration would have come in at lower levels'.
'It is better the CDS comes into existence once the other structures are in place. A large number of those structures are currently coming into place,' he added.
Asked whether it would be two-three years before a CDS was appointed, the army chief replied: 'Maybe it will take longer than two-three years. It depends on how fast we move in putting the structures in place.'
He also agreed that the CDS could be picked from any of the three services.
'The CDS could well be an army, navy or air force man. It's very much possible and it is perhaps inbuilt into the thought process,' Kapoor contended, in a statement that could put at rest apprehensions amongst the other two services that the army would attempt to monopolise the position.

Officer Shortages
Answering a question on the shortfall of officers, the army chief said: 'The issue is of concern and from whatever measures we have taken, the deficiency levels that were touching 12,000 four to five years ago have dropped to a little over 11,000.
'The fact remains that when a young man completes his schooling and looks for avenues outside, he would look at opportunities like engineering, medicine or the corporate sector as he finds all these much more attractive compared to the armed forces,' he added.

Sixth Pay Commission
In this context, he hoped that the Sixth Pay Commission that is currently examining the pay and perks of government employees would be 'positive' toward the armed forces.
'There has been good interaction (with the commission) and even the raksha mantri (Defence Minister AK Antony) has met the chairman. They are quite positive and we are hopeful that their recommendations should be positive toward the armed forces.
'Let's see what comes about finally,' Kapoor added.

CDS will be reality
India eNews, Monday, February 25, 2008

Comments
The number of Armed Forces Personnel seeking civil justice is on the increase. Will increasing salary alone resolve the exodus of serving Officers? Is there any in house mechanism to examine the increasing discontentment of all ranks? Serious thought must be given to address issues which are generally swept under the carpet.