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New Indian Army Command
The Indian army will have a new, high-profile rapid-action strike command to take on Pakistan along the Punjab-Rajasthan sector.It will be called the South-West Command and will be made up of integrated battle groups with the capability to "obliterate an enemy objective" rather than merely hold ground. Outlook has learnt that the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) finally cleared this long-pending demand of the army at its January 28 meeting... The new command, the product of major brainstorming in army headquarters for over five years, is a bid to rationalise its operational readiness in keeping with its new war doctrine which was introduced last year. This doctrine has moved away from the earlier concept of holding and strike formations, and instead looks at integrated battle groups. The 11-month vigil on the western borders during Operation Parakram in 2001-02 revealed that protracted deployment was problematic—susceptible as it was to pressure from the international community, which treats it as a 'hostile' buildup. A permanent, dedicated command was seen as preferable. The key operational features of the new command will be: *Accent on mobility rather than holding ground; a developed capacity to strike deep into enemy area. The impetus for creating the new command was prompted by what was happening in Northern Command. Past conflicts with Pakistan revealed several problems in the Shakargargh bulge in northern Punjab. What was also worrisome was the huge responsibilities that had tied down its Nagrota-based 16 Corps. This corps, considered the largest formation of its kind anywhere in the world, was bogged down with too many operational duties. For instance, it was deploying formations in the mountains as well as planning for operations in the plains south of Jammu. While it had conventional defensive and offensive responsibilities in the event of a war, it also had to oversee counter-terrorist operations. With so much on its plate affecting its operational capabilities, army HQ thought that it was time for a massive shakeout. The new command would mean that the responsibilities of the Northern, Western and Southern Commands would be rationalised to improve their strike capabilities. Earlier, these three commands would be responsible for varied tasks: taking on mountain warfare, counter-insurgency operations and planning offensive operations in the plains. For example, Nagrota's 16 Corps, under the new order, will primarily look at counter-terrorist and defensive operations. The strike capability will henceforth rest with the Western Command and the new South-West Command. "This would mean improving our ability to inflict optimum damage on the enemy," says a senior army officer... I hardly think that this re-org is oriented towards Pakistan. Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-02-09 |
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