Cyber Command And Support Wing, Thal Sena Bhawan And Simulators: Here Are The Key Decisions Taken At The Army Commanders' Conference

Operationalisation of Command Cyber Operations and Support Wings, addition of simulator for enhanced training and changing the training regime of the Technical Entry Schemes were some of the decisions taken in the Army Commanders Conference (ACC) from 17 to 21 April.

This ACC is the first conference held under the hybrid model, where the army commanders interacted virtually on the first day and later in the end came to New Delhi for face to face interactions.

As per statement released by the government, the conference saw deliberations over wide-ranging strategic, training, human resource development and administrative aspects and took key decisions in shaping the army for the future.

"The forum reviewed the pan-India, quantified progress on the ongoing transformational initiatives in the key domains of Force Structuring & Optimisation, Modernisation & Technology Infusion, Processes & Functions, Human Resources Management, and Jointness and Integration as part of 'Year of Transformation' announced in January 2023," the statement added.

The commanders agreed to operationalise Command Cyber Operations and Support Wings (CCOSW) to tackle the increasing use of cyber and grey-zone capabilities by the enemy.

According to an ANI tweet quoting from a government source, "This organisation will assist the formations to undertake the mandated cyber security functions to strengthen the cyber security posture of the Indian Army".

The training regime of the Techincal Entry Scheme (TES) entry for officers was changed from the earlier model of 1+3+1 TES model to 3+1 TES model from January 2024 onwards. This will increase the availability of officers in the units and address officer shortages.

Procurement of an additional 435 simulators worth Rs 791 crore was also decided to help improve training. Implementation of the Agnipath scheme was also discussed, as per the statement.

The construction of Thal Sena Bhawan at Delhi Cantt is expected to finish by 2025, was also discussed. Thal Sena Bhawan will will not only add office spaces but also enhance efficiency of the Army by bringing all directorates under one roof.

The decision to nominate lead directorates and 'test bed' formations was also taken to increase the forces' ability for absorption of niche technologies and equipment and to evolve optimal employment philosophies and scaling to facilitate better exploitation pan army.

The commanders also decided to identify and train selected motivated soldiers who sustained battle and physical casualties for paralympic events by helping them train at Army Sports and Mission Olympic nodes in nine sporting events.

The allowance of specially-abled children of soldiers was also doubled through AGIF.

"The welfare of soldiers is an abiding responsibility of the leadership and the organisation. In a significant step towards welfare of specially abled children of those soldiers who die in harness, it was decided to double the sustenance allowance to such children through AGIF," the statement said.