In 2016, in one of the most daring attacks carried out by the Indian security forces carried out a surgical strike inside Pakistan Occupied Kashmir targeting terrorist launch pads.

Now, another neighbour, fed up with Pakistan’s support to terrorist groups have threatened to carry out another surgical strike on the country.

This comes after fourteen Iranian security personnel, including Revolutionary Guards intelligence officers, were abducted on the volatile southeastern border with Pakistan on Tuesday.

According to the official IRNA news agency, the border guards were “abducted between 4 am and 5 am in the Lulakdan area of the border by a terrorist group”.

The IAF chief said all the three services will have to adopt a coherent approach to effectively deal with all possible security threats facing the country, asserting that his force strongly stands for “jointness”.

New Delhi: Chief of Air Staff B S Dhanoa has strongly pitched for institutionalised structure for joint planning among the Indian Air Force, Navy and Army so that the country wins any war in future in the “shortest possible” time.

The IAF chief said all the three services will have to adopt a coherent approach to effectively deal with all possible security threats facing the country, asserting that his force strongly stands for “jointness”.
“No single service can win the war solely on its own inherent organic capabilities given the variety of threats which nations are capable of inflicting upon each other,” he said.
“Thus it is imperative that the three services promote joint planning and exploit the strengths of sister services to help win a war in the shortest possible time. India by itself is one theatre,” he told PTI.

There have been deliberations within the government and the three forces on whether India should go for integrated theatre commands where all the manpower and assets of the three services will be under the command of one officer. The US as well as several western countries follow this model.

There were voices within the defence establishment who were in favour of setting up at least two theatre commands — one in western sector for dealing with Pakistan and other in eastern sector for dealing with any eventuality along the frontier with China.

Though there is no clear indication of whether the government was serious about setting up theatre commands, in April, it formed a Defence Planning Committee (DPC) headed by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval to prepare a national security strategy with a focus on ensuring convergence among the three forces.

“What we require is an institutionalised structure for joint planning. Incidentally, IAF is the only service that deputes senior officers who serve alongside principal fighting formations of the other two services so as to improve and enhance their combat potential in achieving desired outcomes,” said Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa.

He said the IAF enables the Army and the Navy to achieve laid down objectives set by the political leadership.
At present, India has 17 single-service commands. The country’s only tri-services command was set up in 2001 in the strategically located Andaman and Nicobar.

Nearly two years back, China reorganised its military into five theatre commands to enhance the overall capabilities of the forces.

Asked about the IAF’s long-pending modernisation initiative, Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa said his force has a capability-driven modernisation plan with an aim to achieve full spectrum capabilities.

“It is the IAF’s endeavour to achieve self-sufficiency through a focused, sustained and evolved indigenisation programmes by supporting the Make in India’ initiative. Rest assured, IAF is prepared to respond to future challenges and safeguard the Indian skies,” he said.

The IAF chief said the government was pursuing multiple initiatives to achieve higher levels of indigenisation and self-reliance in the defence sector.

This, he said, was sought to be achieved by harnessing the capabilities of both the public and the private sector industries, thus increasing the defence industrial base in the country.

“Self-reliance is a major cornerstone on which the military capability of any nation must rest. Our country has immense potential to leverage the manpower and engineering capability within the country for attaining self-reliance in design, development & manufacturing in defence sector,” he said

NEW DELHI: Ahead of their induction, Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots have started training to operate the CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters, an official said on Tuesday.

Currently, four pilots and four flight engineers have been training on Chinook choppers at Delaware in the US since Monday.

The chopper is set to be inducted into the IAF soon and is expected to give a boost to IAF operations as the heavy-lift chopper can carry arms and ammunition as well as close to 300 troo ..

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Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 17

Brig Kuldip Singh Chandpuri, decorated with the Maha Vir Chakra for gallantry in the 1971 Indo-Pak war and a well-known city resident, passed away at a local hospital on Saturday morning after battling cancer.

Survived by wife and three sons, the war hero would have turned 78 on November 22. His mortal remains will be consigned to the flames with full military honours on Monday after close family members return from abroad.

Brig Chandpuri was awarded the nation’s second highest gallantry award for his role at Laungewala, a remote outpost in the deserts of Jaisalmer, where a relatively small group of Indian soldiers held off a massive Pakistani attack through the night in the early days of the 1971 war.

A huge picture of Indian soldiers dancing atop a captured Pakistani tank to celebrate their victory dominates the living room of his residence here.

“We were given a choice to stay put and defend the position or go in for a tactical retreat. We chose to stay put and fight,” Brig Chandpuri, once told this reporter.

The first attack by Pakistani troops at night was stalled through anti-tank weapons. Reserve fuel drums kept atop tanks were exploded, throwing enough light for our gunners positioned on high ground, while their own smoke blinded their troops.

“Though we were outnumbered and surrounded, Pakistani infantry was unable to advance. We held them till dawn when the IAF came in,” he added.

When the operation ended, 22 Pakistani tanks had been destroyed.

The citation for his award reads: “Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri was commanding a company battalion of the Punjab Regiment occupying a defended locality in the Rajasthan Sector. On December 5, 1971, in the early hours of the morning the enemy launched a massive attack on this locality with infantry and tanks. Major Chandpuri exhibited dynamic leadership in holding his command intact and steadfast. Showing exceptional courage and determination, he inspired his men moving from bunker to bunker, encouraging them in beating back the enemy till reinforcements arrived. In this heroic defence, he inflicted heavy casualities on the enemy and forced them to retreat leaving behind 12 tanks. In this action, Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri displayed conspicuous gallantry, inspiring leadership and exceptional devotion to duty in keeping with the highest traditions of the Indian Army.”

Chandpuri passed out from the Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai, in 1963 and was commissioned into the 23rd Battalion of the Punjab Regiment. He took part in the 1965 war in the western sector and, thereafter, served in the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) at Gaza in Egypt for about a year. He also served twice as an instructor at the Infantry School, Mhow.

The Battle of Laungewala, one of the Army’s most celebrated campaigns that was considered a turning point in the 1971 war, was later immortalised by the award winning Bollywood film ‘Border’, produced by JP Dutta in 1997, with Sunny Deol playing the character of Chandpuri.

A third-generation soldier, Brig Chandpuri was born in 1940 at Montgomery in the Punjab region of undivided India. His family then moved to their native village, Chandpur Rurki in Balachaur, and he passed out from Government College, Hoshiarpur, in 1962 before joining the Army.

A teetotaller and a vegetarian with an amiable personality, he was highly active in social life, pursuing the cause of soldiers and dealing with welfare and civic issues of the locals. Besides actively participating in regimental affairs, he was also on the board of The War Decorated India, an association of gallantry awardees.

Brig Chandpuri was also nominated as a councillor in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation.

Lt General Asim Munir has also served as the commander of the Force Command Northern Areas. He was conferred Hilal-i-Imtiaz in March 2018.

Lt General Mukhtar assumed the office of the ISI director general in December, 2016.

Jammu, November 13

The Army has procured special anti-mine boots for troops deployed along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir with the twin aims of facilitating domination of the landmine-infested forward areas and hot pursuit of terrorists if necessary, a top Army officer said.

As part of the counter-infiltration grid, the soldiers have to get into forward areas for domination and at times even undertake hot pursuit of the terrorists and subversive elements, General Officer Commanding of Jammu-based, 16 Corps, Lt Gen Paramjit Singh said in an interview.

“We have purchased equipment such as anti-mine boots and deep search metal detectors out of the special funds to facilitate these operations and at the same time ensure the safety of our soldiers,” he said. He said the forward areas along the LoC under 16 Corps — a length of nearly 250 km of rugged terrain and dense bushes — had inherent landmine dangers but all preparations, including safety precautions, had been taken for carrying out the operations. He was replying to a question about activation of landmines near the anti-infiltration obstacle system and subsequent casualties in which a Lt Colonel and a jawan were injured on October 28. Referring to recent incidents of two soldiers, including an officer, getting injured in anti-personnel mine blasts, the General said in both cases they had stepped on drifted mines. “Fortunately, they were wearing anti-mine boots, which limited the damage to their feet and the limbs were saved,” he added. — PTI

The Indian Army HQ claimed in a paper that the reforms proposed by Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat would usher in a ‘revolution in military affairs’.

New Delhi: Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat’s proposals for radical reforms that restructure the soldiery are facing opposition from within the force, sources at the Army headquarters have told ThePrint.

At least two of seven Indian Army commanders have “expressed reservations” on cadre and force restructuring that aim to bring down manpower and eliminate structures such as a division in peace stations.

An Army commanders’ conference that began here Tuesday will be discussing the issues. General Rawat has scheduled Sunday, 14 October, the concluding day of the meeting, to brainstorm four studies on the reforms.

Also read: Indian Army reforms: Cutting administrative flab or needless downsizing?

“As part of the conclave, commanders and directorates at the Army headquarters will in a collegiate deliberate on important studies that have been ordered to meet future challenges,” said an official statement from the Army.

“There are four studies examining operational and optimisational issues of the Army and the headquarters as also human resources management aspects,” said the official statement.

“We are in the middle of a churn,” said one officer involved in the studies, “There is an academic debate that is on. It is okay to differ so long as you don’t throw a spanner in the works.”

Equivalent in rank to the vice-chief, Army commanders have full authority over their areas of responsibility. Any reform proposal, or any command from the headquarters, must have their full participation to be executed.

The seven Army commanders now are Lt General Manoj Mukund Naravane (East), Lt General Ranbir Singh (North), Lt General Surinder Singh (West), Lt General Cherish Mathson (South West), Lt General Satinder Kumar Saini (South), Lt General Pattacheruvanda C. Thimayya (Army Training Command) and Lt General Abhay Krishna (Central). The vice-chief is Lt General Devraj Anbu.

‘Less tail, more teeth’ 

In August, the Army headquarters circulated papers summarising the proposed reforms, saying they aimed to cut the ‘teeth-to-tail ratio’. In the statement on the conference, it added that the studies to be discussed “aim to improve the teeth-to-tail ratio, with the purpose of strengthening the structures within the Army to make it combat ready for the future”.

The teeth-to-tail ratio is the number of support personnel required to sustain units of combat soldiers. The lower the number of support personnel — the “tail” — the more the resources available to make the combat soldiers – the “teeth” – more efficient.

The Army headquarters claimed in a paper that the proposed reforms, which included an effort to restructure the cadre for the first time in 35 years, would usher in a “revolution in Indian military affairs”.

Among the most debated issues within the force that is also expected to dominate discussions at the commanders’ conference is the proposal to eliminate divisions and create “integrated brigades” or battle groups that report directly to corps headquarters.

A corps is the largest field formation in the Indian Army. Usually, a corps has about three divisions, a division has three brigades, and a brigade has three battalions. The numbers vary depending on the operational area.

Also read: Indian Army chief wants to revolutionise the military — by cutting manpower

Currently, a corps is commanded by a Lt General, a division by a Major General, a brigade by a Brigadier. This hierarchy could change if the proposal for integrated battle groups (IBG) is implemented. An IBG would be headed by a Major General, according to one proposal. This could make the rank of Brigadier redundant. Each IBG would have four to five battalions.

The Army commanders’ conference is held twice a year. The October conference also includes promotion boards that select officers for the senior ranks of Brigadier, Major General and Lt General.

Pathankot, November 12

Army chief Bipin Rawat on Monday said while the government’s policy was that those triggering terrorism in Kashmir should be neutralised, the Army’s focus was to ensure that the Kashmiri youths do not join militancy.

The Army chief said infiltration was going on from across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

“The government has a clear cut policy that it will not allow terrorists to create violence. Anybody who creates violence will be neutralised,” he told reporters here.

Rawat, who was on a two-day visit to Pathankot, presided over a conclave of disabled soldiers here.

“Our focus is terrorists in the valley. The basic aim of the Army is to ensure that young boys do not join militancy,” he said.

Rawat said the Army’s aim was that it approached the youth’s family and told them that they could ask the youth to surrender as it was still giving them a chance.

“Then if the people still do not behave and continue with violence, then the alternative left (with us) is to neutralise them,” the Army chief said.

Asked whether India is following a tit-for-tat policy towards Pakistan, which was resulting in many casualties, Rawat said the policy keeps on changing.

“See we have to keep changing the policy…We have keep doing something different. It has to be reviewed so that we keep ahead of adversary,” he said, adding that it had to be more than a tit-for-tat policy.

He said what the Indian Army was doing along the LoC was not being put into public domain and they were doing more than Pakistan.

“We do not want blow our trumpet unnecessarily. Whenever they do something, it is given a befitting reply. Whenever they are doing something, it is a reaction. They don’t take initiative. They know we are strong and we can take strong action,” he said.

The Army chief said Pakistan kept sending terrorists to cause damage and ultimately it led to violence against the people.

“Kashmiris are our people. We have to look after them,” he said, adding Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions were part of the country and violence would not be allowed there.

On sniping, Rawat said it was a regular affair and there was nothing new in it.

“Pakistan have got snipers and India also has snipers. It is subject to exposure of any soldier. Our drills should be good and we have to ensure that we do not give them any opportunity to snipe at us,” he said.

On former chief minister Omar Abdullah and Kashmiri politicians advocating for dialogue instead of muscular policy, Rawat said the government had a clear policy that it would not allow terrorist to create violence. He said it had already initiated dialogue through an interlocutor with the people.

“The government has tasked an interlocutor to speak to the people in valley. Dineshwar Sharma is saying that he is open to everybody and those interested in talking to him can come up and speak to him,” he added.

“I don’t understand who is saying talks are not going on. Sharma is the government’s interlocutor. If the people are not listening to him, what can he do,” he asked.

He said they were holding indirect talks to see if they could approach stakeholders.

“What makes us think that necessary action by the government is not being taken to bring people into mainstream”, Rawat questioned. He said infiltration attempts were being made from across the border but the Army was out to foil them. – PTI