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NT WA JOI RFA R R O E F S T E U R T D I N E E S C ISSUE BRIEF VOL - XII NO-1 / ARP 2018 R Chandrashekhar, India’s Armed Forces erstwhile member of the Armed Forces Headquarters Civil in the National Military Service (1978-2013) is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Joint Security Matrix– Need Warfare Studies, New Delhi where his areas of interest are Civil Military Relations for ‘Comprehensive’ and India’s interests in its neighbourhood. Integration 1. The two terms ‘Jointness’ and as a “cross-service combination wherein the ‘Integration’ are acclaimed by some to bethe capability of the joint force is understood to “soul’ and ‘‘body’ of the emergent ‘purple be synergistic, with the sum greater than its force’. At times used interchangeably, both parts”, adding further that “joint forces require need to be specifically understood in their high levels of interoperability and systems application to the Indian Defence and Defence that are conceptualised and designed with apparatus in the present day context. joint architectures and acquisition strategies. This level of interoperability reduces 2. Significantly, the Armed Forces of technical, doctrinal and cultural barriers that the US and China have both undergone limit the ability of joint force commanders to major structural reforms that seek to usher achieve objectives. The goal is to employ in ‘Jointness’ and ‘Integration’ both into the joint forces effectively across the range of functional efficacy as also organisation military operations”. structures. A brief recap on the reforms in both these countries makes a useful backdrop to 4. Though there had been a continuum a discussion on these aspects in the Indian of efforts to bring jointness in the US Armed context. Forces, it is the Goldwater–Nichols Act of 1986 (GNA) that brought about sweeping changes Reforms in the US Armed Forces and is basis of the present organisational 3. The American Doctrine for its Armed structure. The restructuring brought about Forces describes the essence of Jointness unity of command and obviated inter-service 2 CENJOWS CENJOWS 3 rivalry. The major features of the Command Commanders of the geographic (a) Setting up of a Joint operation integrated set up. Emphasis therefore and control and decision-making structures region of the globe (Northern, Central, command authority under the Central on Joint training. of the US Armed Forces brought about by the European, Pacific, Southern, and Military Commission and Theatre joint 6. Importantly, the rebalance is meant GNA are:- Africa Commands) or of a Special operation command system” with to correct the domination of the PLA Army, Operation. the aim to “accelerate the building of (a) Military advice centralized in which with the Second Artillery had 73 new combat powers, and deepen the the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs who (h) The role of the Combatant percent of the PLA’s total troops, followed reform of military colleges” is the ‘Principal Military Adviser’ to the Commanders is to field a force capable by 17 percent for the Air Force (PLAAF) and President of the United States, National of employing all assets available to (b) Transition from military regions 10 percent for the Navy (PLAN). the PLA, Security Council and Secretary of the integrated unified action plan, to battle zones towards development shed 300,000 troops and its dominance was Defense (not the Service Chiefs). including the military, inter-agency of joint operations capability. Five downgraded by being placed at the same There is also a Vice Chairman of the organizations of the US Government theatre commands were set up based rank as the air force, navy, and rocket forces Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Chairman such as USAID and the Department of on geographical locations : Eastern thereby transforming military operations from and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs State, and intelligence agencies. theatre command, Southern theatre a Russian-style, army-centric system to a of Staff cannot be be from the same command, Western theatre command, joint command. (j) Officers selected for and Service. Northern theatre command and assigned to Joint Duty positions are Jointness and Integration in the Indian Central theatre command replacing (b) The Chairman Joint Chiefs educated in Department of Defence Context the erstwhile Military Regions named does not exercise military command Joint Professional Military Education after the cities of location of their 7. Jointness is an aspiration of the Indian over the Joint Chiefs of Staff or any of (JPME) schools as part of their career headquarters - Beijing, Shenyang, Armed Forces as well. A ‘Joint Doctrine for the Armed Forces. development. Jinan, Lanzhou, Nanjing, Chengdu India’s Armed Forces’ was released by the (c) Command authority rests (k) Improved interoperability and Guangzhou. Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee in April with “unified” and “specified” field brought about through shared 2017, which states (Chapter V, Page 39) that (c) Four general departments commanders. procurement, sharing of technological “Jointness implies or denotes possessing of the CMC replaced with 15 new advances such as stealth and smart an optimised capability to engage in Joint (d) As per Section 162(b) of the departments bringing about a weapons, common use equipment War-Fighting and is not limited to just GNA, “unless otherwise directed by complete transfer of functions. (The such as for communications. It is for Joint War Fighting (Joint Operations). The the President, the chain of command hitherto powerful General Staff this reason that GNA is widely seen as attention to detail is in the placing of the to a unified or specified combatant Department (GSD) became the CMC the first step towards the Revolution in hyphen. It needs to be clearly understood command runs— Joint General Staff Department, Military Affairs. and discerned that Jointness is a ‘Concept’, with its original intelligence units “from the President to the whereas Joint operations are evolutions, PLA Reforms and functions integrated into the Secretary of Defense,” and of both, Joint operations as well as single- new Strategic Support Force (SSF). 5. In November 2013, the Third Plenum Service operations are sub-sets of the larger “from the Secretary of Defense These new bodies comprise of six of the 18th Central Committee of the CCP whole of ‘conceptual Jointness’. Cooperative to the Commander of the new departments: joint staff, political announced the decision to “optimise the centralised planning enables appropriate combatant command”. work, logistical support, equipment size and structure of the army, adjust and concentration of forces, with the right mix at development, training and national (e) The role of the Services is to improve the balance between the services the right time and place. With Jointness, a high defence mobilization. “organize, train and equip” forces for and branches, and reduce non-combat level of cross-domain synergy is attained and use by the combatant commanders institutions and personnel”. Beginning in (d) The Second Artillery Corps has vastly enhances success potential, resulting (CCDRs)”. They are responsible for September 2015, elements of the reform been renamed as Rocket Force. in maintenance of high morale, camaraderie acquisition, modernization, force- programme had been made public and the and spirit. Jointness needs active investment; (e) Aerospace development development, and ensuring readiness process is expected to last until 2020. The Commanders need to invest in people, time allotted to the SSF, not to the Rocket of their components of integrated Chinese Armed Forces have introduced and resources to develop Jointness amongst Force, which would Air Force to take forces. major restructuring of their command and personnel of the Armed Forces”. lead in bringing about an “integrated control structures to meet modern joint (f) The Services Chiefs do not air and space” strategy. 8. India’s Joint Doctrine also describes warfare requirements. The philosophy for exercise any operational control over “the more common use of the term operations shifted from ‘Joint Operations (f) Recognises that for effective their forces. ‘Integration’ in contemporary Military (JO)’ to ‘Integrated Joint Operations (IJO)’ functioning of integrated commands, matters is in reference to the integration of (g) Services component of the and the major restructuring includes:- both Commander and Staff must ‘processes’ across all operational domains field forces support the respective understand the functioning in an 4 CENJOWS CENJOWS 5 of land, air, maritime, cyberspace and 12. The coordinating role to be played by (c) The Chiefs of Staff Committee 15. In 1955, with the passing of aerospace, towards optimisation of costs the fledgling Ministry, in the words of HM (COSC) consisting of the three Service the Commanders-in-Chief (Change of and enhancing readiness”, adding that Patel, one of its earliest Secretaries is that Chiefs. Significantly, there was no Designation) Act the Cs-in-C of the three “Integration is embodied across all functions; “ …while the Government was convinced of separate Chairman for the COSC and Armed Forces were re-designated as ‘Chief Operations, Intelligence, Technology the undoubted importance of allowing the the mantle of Chairmanship came of Staff’ of their respective Forces. Management, Perspective Plans, Logistics, three services to developing its own way in upon the Chief who had been longest 16. The non-inclusion of role of Services Human Resources Development