Indian Defence Review

Command of a unit is the last stage wherein a commander is directly dealing with and handling human resources and material. As he climbs up the professional ladder, his responsibilities increase and his focus should shift to managing the environment and troops/units under his command. Since the first escalation in rank is in command of a brigade, the commander is well advised to remember that he too was commanding a unit some years back, in perhaps a more comfortable environment. In fact, no professional senior officer must forget his time as a Commanding Officer and consequently, must empathise with those under his command. We all like to serve under commanders who are non-parochial, value fair play, create a level playing field under their command and guide their subordinate units in the right direction.

Leadership and officer management are perhaps the most trite and hackneyed subjects for an article. Yet these form a very important aspect of military life and how one handles these delicate subjects can ultimately lead to defeat or victory in battle. There is enough material available in our libraries, in our teachings in Schools of Instruction and at the practical level of conducting matters military in our daily lives. However, in the present social milieu, I feel there is a need to go back to basics and revisit our best practices so as to ensure we retain the cohesiveness in the organisation.

Today, the issues relating to sound leadership are far more complex than what they were in earlier years. From the days when sons or kith and kin of royalty took to the profession of arms, the social milieu in today’s environment has altered the equation between the leader and the led to a very large extent, throwing up challenges which in times gone by, were more or less unheard of. The social structure and the representation in the intake into the Indian Army has considerably changed with the social gap between officers and men being visibly narrowed. The selection, training, development of the officer and his ability to gain the confidence and respect of his command assumes great importance. The leader must, therefore, accept that there a change in the environment and sound leadership needs to recognise and suitably adapt to this change.

Challenges of Leadership

The demands of leadership vary at various stages of an officer’s career. While the tenets and basic parameters by and large remain constant, certain attributes of leadership are more pronounced and applicable as one rises in rank. Take the case of an officer joining his unit after commission. He has fire in his belly and is highly motivated to earn a good name for himself and establish his credentials amongst his men, his peers and superiors. His first two to three years of unit life by and large, lay the foundation of his military career. So, how best can this young officer be trained and nurtured to become one worthy of his rank and status in uniform?

Though a lot depends on the attitude of the fresher, a great deal also depends on the commitment and capability of his seniors and mentors to undertake this onerous responsibility. Regrettably, shortage of officers in units, operational and peace time commitments, have deprived the young officer the opportunity of being put through the paces. However, where dynamic individuals are in command, they do find innovative methods and commitment to groom the young officers. In my experience, a young officer must be made to undergo all tasks expected of a soldier. He must rub shoulders with the men while at the same time adhering to the maxim of being friendly, but not familiar.

A good method is to put him through the basic training programme with the men including full-time attendance in various promotion cadres. I am tempted to go back in time of my early years in the battalion. Over five decades ago, my unit was stationed at Jaswant Garh in the erstwhile NEFA, presently Arunachal Pradesh. Incidentally, this place on the main Se La-Tawang axis has been developed into a beautiful memorial site in honour and memory of Jaswant Singh of 4 Garhwal Rifles who laid down his life fighting gallantly against the Chinese in 1962. Within a week of my reporting, I was put through the regimental history, a broad functioning of the branches of the unit offices and the ‘do’s and don’ts’ of regimental life followed by full-time attendance in a promotion cadre. This involved participation in all activities with the men, including physical training, games and social interaction at the end of the day. The result was that I learnt basic characteristics of the men and picked up their language to adequately converse with them.

After a couple of months, I was given independent charge of a platoon deployed at Bum La which in those days took a better part of two days to reach from the battalion headquarters. It was here that I picked up the nuances of junior leadership. It was an experience which held me in good stead throughout my career. I learnt the necessity of knowing every bit of information related to the men, including their family, details of their kith and kin as also their personal problems which all of us face at some point of time in our lives. I was not being intrusive, but merely trying to establish a rapport with the men. I learnt to share their privations when out on long range patrols or on other difficult chores in the inhospitable snowy terrain of the area.

I continued this practice as a sub-unit commander while also introducing a weekly interview of 15 to 20 men to update their documentation and conduct a frank interaction with them on a one-to-one basis. This gave me an excellent feedback on the administration and training of the sub-unit and helped me establish a good working relationship with the men. I feel every man must be made to feel to be an important part of the team and a stakeholder in the smooth functioning of the organisation. I am aware that today, the operational commitments and the shortage of officers in units may not give the Commanding Officer the luxury of training his officers, but several good practices can still be implemented in motivated units who have a mix of dedicated senior officers and a professional Commanding Officer. Remember, the best training a young officer gets is when his unit is deployed in an operational area.

In Command of a Unit

Command of a unit is perhaps a singular honour which every officer aspires for. It should be the culmination of ambition of an officer’s career and all that follows in promotions thereafter should be a bonus. This was the thumb rule passed on to us by our predecessors by deeds and word-of-mouth. However, human aspirations are insatiable and many a time we forget the golden rule of command. Commanding a unit is the most challenging, demanding and yet most enjoyable period of an officer’s service in uniform. No other command can give you the close interaction, responsibility and satisfaction which you are privileged to have in command of a unit.

The buck stops at the doorstep of the Commanding Officer and the good, bad and the ugly is rightly attributed to him. So what does it take to be a good Commanding Officer? I have deliberately avoided using the word ‘successful’, as it carries a tinge of ambition which relegates the importance of command of a unit. I am not going to labour into the qualities a Commanding Officer must possess as I assume and rightly so, that basic and essential requisites are there in a potential Commanding Officer, otherwise he has no business to be placed in command of troops. To my mind, a Commanding Officer upon assuming command, must evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of his command. If he is an indigenous product, the better it is. If not, then initial efforts have to be made to be accepted as a leader by the officers and men. He must be passionate and caring of his command and be fully committed and involved in the affairs of the unit.

Officers and men are very perceptive and genuineness displayed by the commanding officer will go a long way in enhancing the operational and administrative performance of a unit. What are the qualities subordinate officers look for in their Commanding Officer? From my experience, officers look up to a commander who is humane, accessible, stands up for what he feels is right, allows freedom of thought within laid down parameters of decency, accepts responsibility, is impartial and is totally committed to the operational and administrative aspects of the unit. While it is natural to have dependency on high performers, the Commanding Officer is well advised not to display any partiality towards such officers and men. Building up ‘favourites’ is a sure-shot prescription for ‘groupism’ and it can be disastrous for a unit.

Professional Qualities

The reader would notice that I have not touched upon professional qualities, as I believe that a majority of Commanding Officers have it in them and those who don’t are in a minority and their selection is perhaps attributable to aberrations in the system. During the Kargil War, I have seen how committed Commanding Officers were to lead from the front to achieve their objectives. Fortunately, except in one case, all Commanding Officers displayed remarkable leadership qualities to pave the way for victory in the war. The odd Commanding Officer who did not, was relieved of command and the second in command, who was empanelled for the next rank, was given command of the unit prior to attack and to his and his unit’s credit, performed remarkably well to win laurels for the battalion. The bottomline, therefore, lies in the age-old adage, that there are no good or bad units, there are only good and bad officers and it is up to the Commanding Officer to train and mould his team of officers into a well-oiled battle machine.

On relinquishing command, a period of eight to nine years is spent in staff appointments, attending courses or on study leave, before one picks up his next rank. This period should be used by professionals for introspection on their command tenure, its successes and failures and take stock of the shortcomings for self improvement. This period also gives one a wide exposure of the functioning of the Indian Army at various levels of command and perhaps gives one an insight into the minds of higher commanders with whom one comes into contact, the pressures they face and how astute commanders handle such pressures without compromising on basic values.

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Command of a unit is the last stage wherein a commander is directly dealing and handling human resources and material. As he climbs up the professional ladder, his responsibilities increase and his focus should shift to managing the environment and troops/units under his command. Since the first escalation in rank is in command of a brigade, the commander is well-advised to remember that he too was commanding a unit some years back, in perhaps a more comfortable environment. In fact, no professional senior officer must forget his time as a Commanding Officer and consequently, must empathise with those under his command.

We all like to serve under commanders who are non-parochial, value fair play, create a level playing field under their command and guide their subordinate units in the right direction. Any commander can walk into a unit and find a thousand faults with their administration, training or operational standards, but a good commander should be able to identify the strengths and shortcomings of units and in the latter case, make all efforts to bring the unit up to the desired standard. Command of a brigade is more or less an extension of a unit command and is the first step for higher command.

In the opening pages of his book “Defeat Into Victory”, Field Marshal Slim has commented that command of a unit, a Division and an Army are perhaps the most delightful and invigorating experiences in a professional career. Here, I would like to share my experiences of command of a Division during the Kargil War in 1999. When I took over the responsibility of the Dras-Mushkoh Sector on June 01, 1999, initially, the fog of war did cloud my vision, emotions and sentiments, but I endeavoured to keep such apprehensions in check and generate an air of confidence which would percolate to the rank and file. You cannot operate in a ‘zero error syndrome’. Mistakes will be made due to judgement errors, which at times, may result in upsetting your schedule of operations. But these mistakes must be speedily analysed and corrections made to ensure smooth conduct of future operations.

Wars are a rare occurrence and thank God for that. But when war is thrust upon us, the effort of every unit should be to give a good account of itself, lest it is condemned till the next war to redeem its name and honour. A unit basically fights to uphold the age-old tradition of naam, namak and nishan. Any failure in an operation must not be condemned and the unit must be given a fair opportunity to redeem its name and honour. A unit can fail for many reasons and all may not be the fault of the unit. I can recall of three such units who were given a second chance and without exception, all three came out with flying colours, winning the coveted Unit Citation and many gallantry awards. Commanders must have a large heart with its size growing with every rank earned. Pettiness and vindictiveness are traits of a poor leader and such commanders must be identified and weaned out at the appropriate stage of their careers.

In higher command appointments, it always pays to listen to the point of view of your staff and subordinate commanders as they may have fresh and imaginative ideas to offer. I think in today’s environment, it is better to informally interact with subordinate commanders to thrash out and war game future plans rather than follow the stage-managed dramatics of issuing orders as taught in schools of instruction or during exercises. The style of a commander does make a difference but I found that an informal discussion of operational plans in a war scenario to be a conducive platform where subordinate commanders sense the atmosphere wherein they can without inhibition, express their views and offer comments on a plan.

Ground Rules for Commanders

The fact, that we were surprised by the Pakistan Army occupying winter vacated posts and areas, is well known. The situation was bad and with every passing day, the gravity of the intrusion was becoming apparent. The task of restoring the sanctity of the Line of Control to status quo ante was going to be an onerous one. In such situations, commanders at all levels are subjected to various pressures, which are inevitable. It, therefore, becomes incumbent on them to manage the environment right from the battlefield and up to the national level. Under such intense circumstances, subordinates must never feel the pressures and must be allowed to operate in a tension-free environment. The buck must stop at your door step. I had laid down two ground rules for myself which I think I did follow to the best of my ability. Firstly, I would not breathe down the neck of subordinate commanders and secondly I will give them adequate time for recce, preparation and planning for their respective tasks up to the upper limit of a time frame I had set for myself.

How much of details should a commander get involved with? It is difficult to lay down a yardstick and much depends on the personality of a commander. Some commanders like to micro-manage every event and some like to keep themselves adequately informed to be in a position to take sensible decisions. I feel commanders must keep themselves sufficiently away from minor details while getting involved with those details which are going to affect ongoing and future operations. This also gives the staff adequate space to function with freedom and decisiveness within the laid down parameters.

Today, with the widespread influence of social and electronic media, command at all levels has become very challenging. While social media has its advantages of speedily disseminating information, negative and fake news on the media has a far greater impact on the rank and file. Negative news is far more and readily acceptable. Military policy makers need to factor in this aspect. A transparent, fair organisation with good inter-personal relations between the leaders and the led would to a great extent, negate the adverse trends which today are a common occurrence. Keeping the men informed of major policy issues which can be otherwise twisted by the social media, is a command responsibility and contentious issues proliferating on the media sites must be expeditiously addressed. Defence spokespersons in various headquarters must keep track of untruthful information and take corrective action.

Like I have said and reiterate that it depends on the personality of a commander and his style of command. This is not to relegate other equally important aspects of command, such as decisiveness, assertiveness, compassion, determination related to the mission and other such qualities. They all must come as a package to help in paving the way to victory.

Lastly, it needs emphasis that success must always be accredited to your subordinates and their command and failures must rest squarely on your shoulders.