Towards Creating Joint Theatre Commands: Indian Army To Soon Start Cross-Posting Officers To IAF, Navy

In a major step towards creating joint theatre commands, around 40 Army officers will soon be cross-posted to Indian Air Force and Navy establishments.

According to top officials, Major and Lieutenant Colonel level Army officers will be cross posted to IAF and Navy, with a similar number of IAF and Navy officers also expected to be posted to Army establishments for similar duties.

Officer's will be transferred to missile, UAV and logistics, repair and recovery management units. Many of these equipments, including UAVs, radars, vehicles, and telecommunication equipment are shared among the three services.

Until now, only a small number of officers has taken such cross-services posting. Officials reported only a few cases where Army officers were assigned to specific roles in naval or flying operations in the IAF, but only a small number of such assignments had occurred.

Creating cross-functional teams is crucial for achieving theaterisation, according to defence officials. By learning the ethos and nuances of all services early in their careers, officers will be better equipped to function effectively within this structure.

Officers will be moved to missile units where they will handle UAVs, logistics, repair and recovery, as well as manage materials and supplies. Shared equipment, weapon systems, and platforms between services will allow officers to gain a better understanding of the service they are currently serving in and ultimately lead to increased synergy and integration.

“This would help in overcoming the various challenges in terms of reporting procedures, procurement as well as supply chain management,” an official said.

He further said that, the intent would be to learn the best practices from each other and subsequently create a common functional base which would be a necessity once the theatre commands are created.

“This will be a ground-up integration, and can help optimise support services,” the official added.

The Indian armed forces are finalising plans to merge the Army, Navy, and Air Force and their resources into single theatre commands.

According to the report, the government is also considering creating joint theatre commands based on their neighbouring adversaries, against the earlier proposed four geographically based theatre commands. However, the formation of these commands is expected to take a while.

India has two joint services commands: the ANC and SFC, responsible for Andaman/Nicobar regions and strategic forces respectively.