Theaterisation & The Joint Military Doctrine

There needs to be a legal framework under which the military reorganisation should take place. At present the CDS functions in a legal vacuum

- Johnson Chacko

The need to apply military force in an integrated manner has been felt for a long time. The effect of the force applied should be greater than the sum of individual forces. If we hypothetically quantify the effect of application of military force by the Army as 1 and similarly that of the Navy and Air Force also as 1 each, then by integration we need to achieve a quantum of more than 3. If the design of Higher Defence Organisation (HDO) is with the objective of achieving this, then we can achieve true integration. This then would be the litmus test during testing/wargaming before implementation.

To achieve this level of integration we need to design an organisation de-novo without the baggage of what exists now. If we try to force fit the existing elements into a paradigm that does not permit the potential of each force to be fully exploited, it will lead to suboptimal results. The end states need to be defined on what we intend to achieve. What will be the percentage of enhancement of integration with the Theatre Commands in place? Will the CDS control all operations? There are more questions to be answered than what meets the eye. The Nation should benefit out of this process.

Evolution and pre-eminence of air power

The basis of creation of an Armed Force is the medium in/on which it operates. Historically it is land warfare that started initially. The principles and tenets of Land warfare have evolved from the wars and battles fought over many centuries. Then came Maritime warfare, using the medium of water. Principles of Maritime warfare also evolved after many Naval battles and they are different from Land warfare. Those who controlled the seas controlled the world became an adage.