First Joint Command To be launched in May

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    In Context: India is set to begin a formal roll-out of its long-awaited Theaterisation plan with the Air Defence Command and the Maritime Theatre Command set to be launched by May.

    • The commands are being set up in the backdrop of border tensions with China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and Pakistani hostility along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu & Kashmir.

    About

    •  Air Defence Command
      • It will come up in Prayagraj (Allahabad) and will be the first to be set up in April.
      •  It will control the air defence resources of all the three services and will be tasked with protecting military assets from airborne enemies.
      •  Its commander-in-chief will be a top three-star Indian Air Force officer.
      • It will bring about the much-needed synergy between air assets of the three services, with their optimal application providing seamless air defence cover.
    • Maritime Theatre Command
      • It is to be headquartered in Karwar on the west coast, will come up in May.
      • It will be responsible for securing India from seaborne threats and will have army and air force elements under it.
      •  Its commander-in-chief will be a top three-star Indian Navy officer.
    • Plan Ahead
    • Apart from the Air Defence and Maritime Theatre Commands, India is expected to have three other integrated commands to secure its western, northern and eastern fronts
      • These will be rolled out by December 2022, and several studies are currently on to finalise the structures of these commands.
    • In addition, a logistics command is in the works to avoid duplication of efforts and resources.

    About Integrated Theatre Command(Theaterisation):

    • The idea of Theatre Command was suggested in the reports of the committee The military reforms committee – under Lt General (retd.) DB Shekatkar.
    •  It recommended the creation of 3 integrated theatre commands northern for the China border, western for the Pakistan border and southern for the maritime role.
    • It enables the pooling of resources of all three services under a single commander, towards securing a particular geographical area.
    • A theatre will be identified on the basis of its sharing of a contiguous geographical boundary with a competing entity or an adversary.
      • The geographical area must also include adjoining seas and space that may be essential for manoeuvre of own forces to address the threatening entity/adversary and also its geographically contiguous collaborators.
    • The commander of a Theatre Command will not be answerable to individual Service in particular and will have all resources from the Tri-Services at his disposal.
      • The integrated theatre commander will be free to train, equip and exercise his command to make it a cohesive fighting force capable of achieving designated goals.
      • The commander will have all the logistic resources required to support his operations at his disposal.

    Advantages:

    • Equipment can be procured, maintained and pre-positioned for quick mobilisation and apt application during the envisaged, short-duration, high-intensity war.
    • The allocation of military hardware, in terms of weapon systems, command, control and communication equipment and combat support elements will be theatre specific and result in optimisation of the resources.
    • Unified command of the three Services under one designated commander will allow for prompt and precise decision making and will remove unnecessary tri-services one-man-up ships.
    • Hence, it goes without saying, that the theatre commands will afford better coordination, intelligence sharing, apt advice and seamless conduct of operations in a given theatre of operation.

    Chief of Defense Staff

    • The CDS is a high military office that oversees and coordinates the working of the three Services.
    •  It offers seamless tri-service views and single-point advice to the Executive.
    • The CDS will also head the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) to be created within the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and function as its Secretary.
    • He will be a four-star General office and would not be eligible to hold any government office after demitting the office of CDS.
    • The CDS would come in the ambit of ‘Right to Information Act, in accordance with the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005.

    Roles and responsibilities

    • The CDS’s mandate includes bringing about jointness in operations, logistics, transport, training, support services and repairs and maintenance of the three services.
    • He will act as the Principal Military Adviser to Defence Minister on all tri-Services matters.
    • The CDS will also be a member of the Defence Acquisition Council chaired by the Defence Minister and Defence Planning Committee chaired by the NSA.
    • The operational control of all the theatre commands will eventually come under CDS, with the service chiefs being responsible for raising, training and sustaining their forces.

    Source :HT

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