| Western Theatre Command | |
|---|---|
| Country |  India |
| Branch |  Indian Armed Forces |
| Type | Integrated tri-services command |
| Headquarters | Jaipur,Rajasthan |
Western Theatre Command is a proposedintegrated command of theIndian Armed Forces. The command will be responsible for looking after theIndia–Pakistan border starting fromSiachen Glacier in north toGujarat in south.[1]
The Commander-in-Chief will be a four-star officer from the Indian Army (General) or the Indian Air Force (Air Chief Marshal) who will report to the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee headed by theChief of Defence Staff (CDS). The Commander will be appointed in rotation to the Army or the Air Force for a period of 18 months.[2][3]
The concept of Theatre Commands was first proposed by theKargil Review Committee after theKargil War, which promoted increasing jointness and integration.[4][5] The plan for establishment of three different commands was first revealed in June 2023. The commands will be — one for managing border with China (Northern Theatre Command), another for managing the border with Pakistan (Western Theatre Command) and the third as theMaritime Theatre Command.[6][7] There are currently 17 single service commands — 7 of the Army, 7 of the Air Force and 3 of the Navy. Each of these commands is located at a separate base.[8][9]
In July 2024, theDefence Ministry identifiedJaipur as the base for the Western Theatre Command.[10][11]
On 4 and 5 September 2024, the first Joint Commander's Conference (JCC) was held atLucknow (current headquarters ArmyCentral Command).Chief of Defence StaffAnil Chauhan inaugurated the first conference.[12][13] The other attendees of the meeting includedDefence MinisterRajnath Singh,Defence SecretaryGiridhar Aramane, the 3 Service Chiefs, the 17 Commander-in-Chiefs of current Commands of the Services, the 2 Commander-in-Chiefs of current Tri-service Commands,DRDO chairman and other senior personalities of theMinistry of Defence. During the conference, Defence Minister received the "detailed modalities" for the creation of Integrated Theatre Commands prepared from the Armed Forces Services. The Armed Forces will rollout the timeline of the introduction of the Theatre Commands. Here, it was also revealed that the Commander-in-Chief of the Theatre Commands andVice Chief of Defence Staff will be a four-star rank officer like the Chiefs of the Services (General,Air Chief Marshal andAdmiral).[1][14][15]
As of September 2024, the formal proposal for setting up three Integrated Theatre Commands (ITC) was submitted. This is expected to be approved by the Ministry of Defence soon. The concept of ITCs were developed under the leadership ofChief of Defence StaffGeneralAnil Chauhan for 20 months. He expects the military reform will take 2 years for full implementation.[1]
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