Army officers to be deployed to Navy, IAF in theaterisation push: Report

A batch of nearly 40 Indian Army officers will be posted to the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Navy in an effort to ease the armed forces into the creation of integrated theatre commands, The Indian Express reported.

Sources in the armed forces told the publication that the cross-staffing postings will involve Army officers who belong to the executive level and serve in the ranks of Major and Lieutenant Colonel. The report stated that officers from the IAF and the Navy may also be posted to serve in the Army.

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Since the three services deploy a range of common Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), surveillance radars, vehicles and telecommunication equipment, the cross-staffed officers will likely be tasked with handling logistics, reconnaissance, repair and recovery as well as supplies management during their non-native postings.

Cross-functional deployments are seen as a prerequisite for achieving theaterisation of the armed forces. The aim is to familiarise officers with the ethos and the functioning of the other two forces so that they can carry out operations in an integrated manner.

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Joint theatre commands seek to integrate the resources of the three forces, create synergy and cross–service cooperation based on the threats the country faces in its neighbourhood.

The Centre formed the post of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in January 2020 as a push towards the theaterisation process, with the aim of improving tri-service effectiveness and the integration of the three forces' combat capabilities.