CDS General Anil Chauhan asks forces to prepare for new theatre command

India's newly appointed Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan has asked the three armed forces to prepare for a new theatre command.

In his first official communication with the Army, Navy and Air Force, India’s newly appointed Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Anil Chauhan, asked the forces to make a move towards creating new theatre commands for warfighting.

According to the sources, more meetings are likely between the top defence brass to finalise the structure of theatre command.

The idea behind the ‘Theatre Command System’ is to bring synergistic coordination between the three branches of the armed forces. Further, it aims to develop separate commands for the Army, Navy, and Air force under a unified command headed by a single commander.

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The integration process would lead toward unified military assets under one operational head who would be responsible for directing and controlling their activities in a given situation.

Besides the operational synergies, the theatre command system would contribute to more streamlined costs and a leaner fighting force. Further, the idea of theatre command aims to bring greater focus to allocating resources and help reduce redundancies.

Meanwhile, General Chauhan will be visiting Jodhpur on September 30. The visit would be General Chauhan’s first visit outside Delhi as CDS. During his visit, he would be witnessing the induction of a Light Combat Helicopter into the Air Force.