Integration of armed forces is inevitable, says Army Chief MM Naravane

According to the statement, he called the government’s decision to appoint the CDS and create the DMA “momentous” and said the services needed to “demonstrate great wisdom and statesmanship in enabling the CDS, a long-standing demand of the Armed Forces”.

Naravane said the next logical step in the process of defence reforms was the “formation of Integrated Theatre Commands to synergise the capabilities and combat potential of the three services during war and peace” and advised that this process will be “deliberate, thoughtful and well considered” and its fruition will take a “number of years”.

The statement mentioned that he said there was a need for everyone to work in a spirit of togetherness and trust with the national security interests being paramount, and cautioned that there might be a requirement for “mid-course corrections”.

Sounding an optimistic note about the future of integration of the armed forces, the statement said, he called it an “inevitability” as it would lead to “tri-services synergy” and optimisation of resources. The Army Chief also spoke about the current security scenario and focused on the geo-strategic implications on capability development and force utilisation of the Army in pursuit of national interests, the statement said.

The Army Chief visited the Bison Division in Secunderabad and was briefed by Major General Alok Joshi, General Officer Commanding, Bison Division on security and operational preparedness of the formation.

He “commended the formation for their high level of operational preparedness and exhorted all ranks to continue training hard…”.