Army mulls ‘commander’ rank on merit

Promotion to the rank of Army Commander could be considered on merit rather than seniority if an Army proposal negotiates its way through the top brass of the force and the Government.

The issue is on the agenda of the five-day bi-annual Commanders’ Conference. The proposal is understood to have been formulated by the Army’s Adjutant General’s branch and is part of the restructuring of the Army Headquarters and selection procedures by Army Chief General N.C. Vij. According to the proposal, the views of the Army Chief and the six Army Commanders, including the Vice-Chief, will be considered before any Lt General is promoted to the rank of Army Commander. Currently, all Lt Generals who have two years of residual service and have commanded a Corps for at least a year are automatically considered for the job.

The new proposal places greater emphasis on merit while seniority remains a factor. Although the proposal may be shot down by those who want seniority as the sole criterion, the top brass wants to initiate a debate on the issue. The proposal may be coupled with the implementation of the Ajay Vikram Singh report which has proposed that all officers found eligible to be army commanders be given the rank, pay and perks even if there are no vacancies.