‘Theaterisation of commands may take up to 2 yrs’

S India moves closer to rolling out long-pending theatre commands, ques- tions around force re- structuring, particularly the proposal for a dedicated rocket and missile force, have come into sharper focus. Javaria Rana spoke with former fighter pilot and mili- tary affairs commentator, Group Captain Ajay Ahlawat (Retd), to under- stand the implications of theaterisation, the IAF’s con- cerns, and the much-talked- about proposal for a stan- dalone rocket and missile force. Excerpts:

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S India moves closer to rolling out long-pending theatre commands, questions around force restructuring, particularly the proposal for a dedicated rocket and missile force, have come into sharper focus.

What is the core problem theaterisation is trying to solve within the military?

The current Indian military system is fundamentally disjointed. We are trying to coordinate from a structure that was never designed for integration. We need harmonisation at the planning stage, including procurement harmonisation and from there, synergy in execution, such as joint fires. A joint commander should be able to issue an order that is executed seamlessly, without being filtered through service-specific doctrinal biases.