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Indian Army - News Folder - August 2004
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vipul_karia
- BRFite -Trainee
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Army’s counter-insurgency battalions to have new kind of COs
[Hindustan Times, 22 August 2004]
Chandigarh: The officers of Armoured Corps, Mechanised Infantry and Artillery arms of the Army, newly promoted to rank of Colonel, will soon find themselves in a different role to play. These officers will be commanding Rashtriya Rifles and Assam Rifles battalions in Jammu and Kashmir and North East just like their infantry counterparts do. The Army Headquarters has decided that preference for the command of Rashtriya Rifles battalions serving in insurgency infested areas will be given to those armoured, mechanised and artillery officers who have already served as Company Commanders in the rank of Major. These selected officers will first be posted as second-in-command of the battalion in Jammu & Kashmir for a period ranging from six to nine months before they are finally handed over the command of the battalion. According to the policy letter issued by the Military Secretary’s (MS) Branch in Army Headquarters, the limited tenure as second-in-command is "to ensure that the officer has established his credential with the unit." This might well be necessary, say senior officers, because it will be difficult for an armoured corps, mechanised infantry or artillery officer to tune himself to an entirely different role then what he has trained for all his life.
Sources in HQs Western Command inform that for officers slated to command Assam Rifles battalions in the North East, no such tenure as second-in-command is required. However, the officer should have commanded an Assam Rifles or Rashtriya Rifles company earlier. The officers of armoured corps, mechanised infantry and artillery have already been serving in Rashtriya Rifles and Assam Rifles battalions in the ranks of Major and Captain. However, this new order means that some of them will miss out on commanding an armoured regiment, mechanised infantry battalion of an artillery regiment, something which they would have trained for all their career. Instead these officers will be performing the job of infantry commanders and would also be eating into the vacancies of infantry Colonels in the process though the vacancies of their on services would correspondingly increase. The MS Branch clarifies in the same policy letter that "there is a feeling in the environment that officers should generally rise to the senior ranks only if they have experience in proxy war which we have been fighting for over 20 years." It goes on to say that the view point has merit and that it has been decided to give officers of armoured corps, mechanised infantry and artillery exposures in these areas to gain requisite experience.
[Hindustan Times, 22 August 2004]
Chandigarh: The officers of Armoured Corps, Mechanised Infantry and Artillery arms of the Army, newly promoted to rank of Colonel, will soon find themselves in a different role to play. These officers will be commanding Rashtriya Rifles and Assam Rifles battalions in Jammu and Kashmir and North East just like their infantry counterparts do. The Army Headquarters has decided that preference for the command of Rashtriya Rifles battalions serving in insurgency infested areas will be given to those armoured, mechanised and artillery officers who have already served as Company Commanders in the rank of Major. These selected officers will first be posted as second-in-command of the battalion in Jammu & Kashmir for a period ranging from six to nine months before they are finally handed over the command of the battalion. According to the policy letter issued by the Military Secretary’s (MS) Branch in Army Headquarters, the limited tenure as second-in-command is "to ensure that the officer has established his credential with the unit." This might well be necessary, say senior officers, because it will be difficult for an armoured corps, mechanised infantry or artillery officer to tune himself to an entirely different role then what he has trained for all his life.
Sources in HQs Western Command inform that for officers slated to command Assam Rifles battalions in the North East, no such tenure as second-in-command is required. However, the officer should have commanded an Assam Rifles or Rashtriya Rifles company earlier. The officers of armoured corps, mechanised infantry and artillery have already been serving in Rashtriya Rifles and Assam Rifles battalions in the ranks of Major and Captain. However, this new order means that some of them will miss out on commanding an armoured regiment, mechanised infantry battalion of an artillery regiment, something which they would have trained for all their career. Instead these officers will be performing the job of infantry commanders and would also be eating into the vacancies of infantry Colonels in the process though the vacancies of their on services would correspondingly increase. The MS Branch clarifies in the same policy letter that "there is a feeling in the environment that officers should generally rise to the senior ranks only if they have experience in proxy war which we have been fighting for over 20 years." It goes on to say that the view point has merit and that it has been decided to give officers of armoured corps, mechanised infantry and artillery exposures in these areas to gain requisite experience.