Senior officers to be posted across services as part of Army, Navy, IAF integration move

This comes days after inter-service postings of a large batch of around 40 officers of the rank of Major and Lieutenant Colonel and equivalent, again a first, were announced. Earlier, only a handful of such postings had taken place within the services.

The move also comes close on the heels of the recent decision of the Indian military to go for common annual confidential reports for two and three-star officers. (Representational)

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For the first time, the Indian Armed Forces are planning to go ahead with cross-services postings of a large number of senior officers in the ranks of Brigadier and Major General and equivalent shortly. This will be in line with efforts towards tri-service integration and the planned creation of theatre commands, senior officials familiar with the development told The Indian Express.

This comes days after inter-service postings of a large batch of around 40 officers of the rank of Major and Lieutenant Colonel and equivalent, again a first, were announced. Earlier, only a handful of such postings had taken place within the services.

As reported by The Indian Express last month, these officers would be transferred to missile units, for handling UAVs, and for logistics, repair and recovery and material and supplies management among other roles in the two other services.

Officials said there are now plans to effect postings of senior military officers across the services within the next few months.

“Around 25 one- and two-star officers (ranks of Brigadier and Major General) could go for inter-service postings in the next few months,” an official said. Earlier, senior military officers were posted in tri-service organisations but inter-service postings were not usually done.

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Looking to the future

The cross-postings are in line with plans to integrate the three services and create theatre commands. There are plans to create two adversary-based theatre commands — one facing Pakistan and the other for China — and a third command to tackle threats in the maritime domain, from the 17 service-specific military commands currently operating under the three services.

The move also comes close on the heels of the recent decision of the Indian military to go for common annual confidential reports for two and three-star officers. Common ACRs for senior military officers are aimed at aiding cross-services postings, essential to create jointness and integration among the three services.

Officials in the know said the issues governing these cross-service postings of senior officers will be inter-service batch parity.

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“At times, officers junior to their colleagues during commissioning get promoted faster and hold higher appointments, while their senior colleagues await their promotions,” an official said.

The aim, the official said, is to achieve commonality for greater synergy among the three services, while also recommending officers for higher tri-service command and staff appointments.

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Officials said currently, the appraisal system in the three services varies with the tendency of a higher grading in the Army as compared to the other two services.

A second official said the confidential reports are balanced out due to boards being service-specific. The officers are considered for promotion boards with colleagues carrying out similar responsibilities.

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“Once the cross-staffing move is implemented and institutionalised, the ACRs of officers in such appointments would need to be standardised and the decision to have a common ACRs for the senior officers is a step in this direction,” the official said.

All these new decisions — from cross-staffing of officers and creating common ACRs for senior officers of the Army, Navy and Indian Air Force — are aimed at enhancing jointness and integration within the three services. This is particularly essential as the Indian military inches towards the creation of integrated theatre commands which would integrate the three services and their resources into specific theatre commands.

Amrita Nayak Dutta

Amrita Nayak Dutta writes on defence and national security as part of the national bureau of The Indian Express. In the past, Amrita has extensively reported on the media industry and broadcasting matters, urban affairs, bureaucracy and government policies. In the last 14 years of her career, she has worked in newspapers as well as in the online media space and is well versed with the functioning of both newsrooms. Amrita has worked in the northeast, Mumbai and Delhi. She has travelled extensively across the country, including in far-flung border areas, to bring detailed reports from the ground and has written investigative reports on media and defence. She has been working for The Indian Express since January 2023. ... Read More

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