Forces to plan out projection for year 2015

Papers will be presented by Army Commanders and Corps Commanders as well as their equivalents in the other services. Representatives from DRDO, ISRO and some other agencies related to defence will also be present.

Though the military is tight-lipped about the scheduled proceedings and the recommendations to be put forward, sources inform that future planning is expected to be focused on the changing geo-political situation, keeping in mind the nuclearisation of the sub-continent, the turmoil in central Asia and the modernisation of Chinese forces.

quot;The idea is to keep up with the fast-changing concepts of warfare worldwide and the dissemination of high technology down to the individual soldier in the battlefield, and envision a force structure for the year 2015,quot; a senior officer commented.

Sources say that one of the major restructuring changes to be mooted is integration of the three services on the lines of the US and the erstwhile Soviet Armies. This would call for the appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff, who would head all the three services. Similar to the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, this appointment would be held on a rotational basis among the three services.

The integration of the three wings is considered vital by strategists for any force in today8217;s battlefield environment to have a cutting edge, especially where neutralisation of enemy defences preluding a lightning thrust is concerned.

Sources also say that the seminar quot;will be missing somethingquot; if the evolution of an inter-services strategic command with the possibility of a command and control structure for nuclear weapons is not debated.

Integration and restructuring would also include the Army to reduce the teeth to tail ratio8217;. This is the ratio of troops on combat duties as compared to troops on non-combat duties. Among the major armies, this ratio is the highest in the world. This would entail more men on combat duty. Present force levels are also to be discussed and orientation will be towards better equipped formations with added punch and support.

Ultra hi-tech communications and electronic warfare capabilities, a decisive battlefield factor as brought out during the 1991 Operation Desert Storm, is likely to get a new impetus, with the services already evolving concepts of automated quot;C4I2quot; System Command Control, Communication, Coordination, Intelligence and Inter-operable.

Information Warfare IW, which is the new buzzword in military circles and one of the vulnerable areas in the Indian defence planning as brought out recently, is also to be conceptualised and IW theories, techniques and funding will be deliberated upon.

A recommendation for integrating certain Army commands under a single GOC-in-C is also believed to be on the agenda. The Army presently has five operational and one training command.

The Army8217;s involvement in internal security is also expected to be taken up in a big way. Of primary concern here is the heavy casualties and hampering of regular training. Sources say that the seminar is expected to propose a long-term quot;hard solutionquot; to the issue. The critical issue towards modernisation continues to be availability of resources. quot;We cannot ask for the moon. Our approach must be pragmatic and define our needs and requirements for the year 2015 realistically, keeping in mind certain parameters and compulsive restrictions,quot; a senior officer commented.