Tri-service marching tune being composed to inculcate joint culture in armed forces: Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan

He stated that symbology and rituals are important tools for people to associate with a particular tradition or belief. Apart from the song and marching tune, tri-service participation in national events by inclusion of a tableau and a flypast at the Republic Day Parade and an audio-visual film on jointness and integration are a few steps towards the initiative.

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan and others pose for a group photo during the ‘35th Triservices Training Commanders’ Conference’ at the Southern Naval Command, in Kochi. (PTI Photo)

Gen Chauhan further added that the ‘Owl magazine’ of Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) will become a true representative and spokesperson for development of joint culture, jointmanship etc. The jointness in training at the DSSC has been enhanced by the establishment of a Joint Training Team, he said.

As part of these efforts, a Joint Division has been established as a pilot project for the 80th Staff Course which commenced in June 2024 at the DSSC, wherein, 44 officers will be subjected to an enhanced joint curriculum with the aim of preparing staff officers for joint staff appointments.

General Chauhan mentioned that in 2024, a number of joint instructions, joint orders and joint policies/directives would be issued.

“Joint Instructions will have financial and legal implications like conditions of service (Joint Staff), pay and allowances, scaling of equipment, financial powers and procedures etc. These would be issued post approval of Secretary DMA,” he wrote in the article.

He added that ‘Joint Orders’ would have legal implications and would be issued by the CDS. These orders will be applicable for all joint service organisations and the three services. Joint Orders, if issued by the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee under the aegis of HQ IDS, would be applicable for Tri-service organisations/establishments only, he pointed out.

“Joint Policies/Directives would not have the authority of an order but would be required to be implemented by sector/brigade HQ. These would be issued at the level of DMA or HQ IDS, as applicable. For instance, a joint exercises policy has been promulgated by HQ IDS,” Gen Chauhan wrote.

Commenting on the integration aspect of the three services, the CDS stated that the integration initiatives have been classified under nine verticals. “The verticals, in the order of priority, which have been identified and considered essential for integration before the establishment of theatre commands are, operations, operational logistics, capability development, intelligence communication and IT, training, maintenance and support services, human resources and administration and legal,” he wrote.

The integration initiatives are being taken to meet specific objectives. Gen Chauhan said 122 initiatives are being addressed under a two-timeline schedule of Phase I and Il which is related to establishment of theatre commands. As many as 65 integration initiatives form part of Phase 1 (as pre-requisites for the creation of joint structures), of which some have already been completed and rest are at advanced stages of implementation.

“Adoption of a common operational planning process by all services, interlinking of air defence networks, common standard operating procedures for all in-service missiles, setting up of a joint communication architecture, the notification of the Inter Services Organisation Bill, depot level repair of small arms of the Indian Navy and the IAF being undertaken by the Indian Army, to save time for repair and for sharing expertise, are some of the completed initiatives, to name a few,” he wrote.