Better coordination needed among defence forces, say experts at Military Literature Festival in Chandigarh
Suggest that chief of defence staff be made a permanent member of all committees related to national security
Experts present on the last day of the Military Literature Festival in UT, on Sunday called for the need to form a separate defence cadre in the country for ‘better coordination’ among the defence forces.
Speaking during a panel discussion on ‘Creation of the post of the chief of defence staff (CDS)’, former Vice Air Marshal Manmohan Bahadur stressed on the need for the same and said that officers of the proposed cadre should be deputed only in organisations related to the national security.
He said the CDS should be made a permanent member of all committees related to strategic policy group, nuclear command authority and be made a part of all the inter-ministerial discussions that are related to matters of the national security. “At present, a bureaucrat heading the defence ministry formulates the operational plans for war-fighting and chiefs of staff execute it. With creation of the post of CDS, it could be rectified,” he said.
Former defence secretary Shekhar Dutt said the post of CDS be created to facilitate ‘jointmanship’ and render single-point military advice to the government on matters of national security.
‘TO ACT AS ADVISOR TO GOVT’
Lieutenant General (retd) Aditya Singh who was moderating the talk, said the post of CDS is aimed at ensuring better coordination between the three services, Indian Army, Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force, adding that it would act as the single-point advisor to the government of India. “The officer concerned will be in a position to advise on matters related to all the three services, thus, making India’s armed forces integrated,” he said.
Advisor to British High Commission, New Delhi, Brigadier Gavin Thompson, said a central decision-making body such as the CDS is the need of the hour. “It has been followed in the United Kingdom for several years,” he said, while sharing about the working of the CDS in the British country.
COMPARISON ON WORKING OF CDS IN OTHER NATIONS
Meanwhile, Lieutenant General (retd) Sanjeev Langer gave a presentation and compared the system of the command of armed forces in USA, China, France and other countries with that of the CDS proposed in India.
He said that men who don uniforms in the armed forces should be deputed permanently in the Union ministry of defence, adding that the proposed CDS could play a great role in fostering inter-services jointness in terms of budgeting, equipment purchases, training, joint doctrines and planning of military operations, an imperative of the modern warfare.