Consensus evolving on Chief of Defence Staff

Ten years after its need was felt in the aftermath of the Kargil war,the concept of appointing a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)....

Ten years after its need was felt in the aftermath of the Kargil war,the concept of appointing a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) a five-star general level officer who will be the point of authority giving military advice to the Government has received a fresh impetus with the matter being taken up in the recently concluded Unified Commanders Conference in the Capital.

The appointment of a CDS,who would be the head of the three Armed Forces,has been stalled for years after the Kargil review committee took it up as a few reform suggestions with the Government unable to get a political consensus on the issue.

However,the matter was discussed in detail at the recent conference the only time when top commanders of the three services sit together for consultations with even Defence Minister A K Antony agreeing that the Armed Forces are ready for a CDS.

Story continues below this ad

While details have to be worked out,the concept says that the post would be rotated amongst the three forces with the senior-most officer taking up the job first.

The Army is of the view that it should be given a longer tenure given the size of its force.

A proposal by the Army says that the post should be given in rotation once each to the Air Force and Navy and twice to the Army as it is the pre-dominant force in the country. The Army has over 13 lakh soldiers while the Navy and Air Force combined have close to 3 lakh troops.

The Governments delay in appointing a CDS has also been criticised by the parliamentary standing committee on defence that has recommended that the post be created at the earliest.

Story continues below this ad

The present concept of a Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC),who is the senior-most of the three services,also came under flak from the committee that said the COSC chairman is little more than a figurehead.