Indian Armed Forces Introduces Joint Theatre Commands Led By Four-Star Officers, Equivalent In Rank To Service Chiefs: Report

The three joint theatre commands — two adversary specific and one maritime command — of the Indian Armed Forces will be commanded by four-star rank officers, reported Hindustan Times.

This will make the theatre commanders equivalent in rank to the Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force, with the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) commanding all six.

The CDS also is the Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC). The theatre commanders will report to the CDS.

According to various reports, two theatre commands will be adversary specific, each centered around China and Pakistan, while the third theatre command will be maritime specific, primarily handling the Indian Ocean Region.

Moreover, the government has decided to create more commands like cyber, space, intelligence, missiles, drones and additional logistics commands, which will ensure that there are no loss of jobs for three-star (Lt. Generals), two-star (Maj. Generals) and one-star (Brigadiers) officers, after the theatre commands are created.

Earlier, it was thought that the theatre commanders will be three-star officers (Lt Generals, Vice Admirals and Air Marshals), raising seniority concerns between the service chiefs and theatre commanders.

“How will the Army, Navy and Air Force chiefs listen to the theatre commanders in times of war if they are of a lower rank," one officer asked.

"Since the theatre commanders are operationally responsible, they have to hold the same ranks as the tri-service chiefs," the officer added.

According to the report, the three service chiefs are believed to be on board with the new theatre command plan of the CDS.