All 3 Service chiefs ask for more say in security decisions, MoD
Pitching strongly for a greater say for the armed forces in national security decisions, the three service chiefs have separately told the high-level task force on national security that they would like military officers with domain knowledge to be posted as joint secretaries and directors in the defence ministry.
The chiefs have also demanded the creation of separate departments of army, navy and air force in the ministry for greater clarity in the rules of business, it is learnt. As of now, the four departments under the ministry are defence, defence production, defence research and ex-servicemen welfare.
Also, under the current rules, the defence secretary’s office is responsible for the defence of India — not the armed forces. The chiefs, who made separate presentations before the task force headed by former cabinet secretary Naresh Chandra, asked for the rules to be changed. They also said that the government should move forward on creating the office of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) only after its specific role has been decided.
The renewed pitch for “genuine integration” before the task force flows from a letter that Air Chief Marshal P V Naik had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before his retirement in July.
Writing in his capacity as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Air Chief Marshal Naik had told the PM that the armed forces did not feel part of the decision-making process. He had pointed out that the three services had been reduced to merely sending proposals to the defence ministry, where a fresh file would be created after discussions among bureaucrats. The file would rarely return to the armed forces for comments or inputs.
Ultimately, the inputs that reached the defence minister and the political leadership did not reflect the views of the services or the service chiefs, Naik had said, according to sources.
Taking the argument further, the service chiefs have said that certain offices, like the one dealing with international military cooperation, must be handled by military officers. The proposal for a military hospital in Tajikistan continues to be caught in red tape because, sources said, the ministry bureaucracy is demanding “financial justifications” for what is a strategic move cleared by the national security adviser.
Similarly, sources said, the proposal for the second phase of military expansion along the China border had been stuck at the defence ministry for a year until the army conveyed it directly to the PM during a routine security presentation.
The chiefs also feel that departments like ex-servicemen welfare would be better served by military officers than by bureaucrats who have little experience of dealing with soldiers, the sources said.
The services have taken the view that having military officers in the bureaucracy would have a positive impact on the armed forces, and expose their officials to other views and compulsions within the government.
These suggestions, sources said, are in line with the Kargil Review Committee’s recommendations for greater integration of the armed forces with the defence ministry and the overall decision-making process. While technically the nomenclature for the defence ministry was changed to Integrated Headquarters of Defence, the armed forces feel that on the ground, not much has changed.
In his letter, Naik had asked the PM to implement the Kargil Review Committee report in its entire spirit, and allow military officers to take up positions in the defence ministry so that military viewpoints are available, especially on technical issues.
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