Vivek Chadha

Col Vivek Chadha (Retd), served in the Indian Army for 22 years prior to taking premature retirement to pursue research. He joined the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and… Continue reading Even If It Ain’t Broke Yet, Do Fix It: Enhancing Effectiveness Through Military Change read more

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About the Book

Bringing about change in any setup, especially major shifts, is a challenge. This challenge is accentuated further in a strictly hierarchical organisation like the army, presenting an unenviable contradiction to both senior military practitioner and the governing elite, wherein, change is inevitable, yet, it is most likely to be resisted.

Military change is a relatively nascent area of study, especially in the Indian scenario. This book attempts to analyse this subject through an examination of existing literature, thereby co-relating some of its primary conclusion in the context of the Indian Army. This is done in relation to both conventional and sub-conventional threats and challenges, with a number of case studies as illustrative examples.

The book concludes that given the wide spectrum of threats faced by the Indian Army, as also most major armies across the world, attempts at understanding military change only through the prism of conventional wars could be misleading. It suggests that change need not only be revolutionary to enhance effectiveness. It could be both revolutionary and evolutionary, top-down and bottom-up. While effective change is primarily major in conventional conditions, it could well be tactical and yet make a substantial impact in sub-conventional scenarios. The book reinforces the importance of operational changes in the sub-conventional domain, even as an assessment of strategic and organisational changes is undertaken. It attempts to answer important questions related to the drivers, shapers, facilitating conditions and limitations related to effective change. It also relates military change with organisational change in the corporate world to provide an interesting comparative analysis. Finally, the book reinforces its conclusions through a survey of officers from the Indian Army, to highlight existing limitations that need to be corrected in order to better innovate and adapt in pursuit of effective military change.

About the Author

Colonel Vivek Chadha (Retd) served in the army for over 22 years before joining IDSA in 2011, as a Research Fellow, His areas of research include defence studies, counter insurgency and terrorism finance. His published books include, Lifeblood of Terrorism: Countering Terrorism Finance, Low Intensity conflicts in India: An Analysis and Indo-US Relations: Divergence to Convergence. He has also edited, Armed Forces Special Powers Act: the Debate. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Defence Studies

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

List of Tables and Charts

Introduction

1. 1. Existing Theoretical Frameworks
      What is Military Change?
      Why Do Militaries Change?

PART I
CONVENTIONAL THREATS

Military Change in the Indian Army: Case of External Threats

1. 1. An Assessment of Organisational Change
      Changes Post 1962 Sino-Indian War
      Reforms Post K.V. Krishna Rao Report
   2. Strategic Military Change
      Changes after the 1962 Sino-Indian War
      Changes Post 1975 Krishna Rao Recommendations
      Cold Start or Limited Pre-emptive Offensive
   3. Assessment of Military Change in a Conventional Environment
      Drivers of Military Change Pathways of Military Change
      Desirables for Successful Change
      Long-term Strategic Assessment
      Support from Political Establishment
      Visionary and Committed Military Leadership
      Strong Institutional Structures
      Follow-up Action

PART II
MILITARY CHANGE IN COUNTERINSURGENCY

Adaptation to Change

1. 1. Change in Military Strategy
      Frontier Warfare
      CI Operations in the Mid-fifties and Early Sixties
      CI Operations from Mid-sixties till the Seventies
      Iron Fist and Velvet Glove Strategy
      Major Increase in Force Levels
      Change in Legal Provisions
      LoC Obstacle System
      Use of Local Militia
      Use of Offensive Air Support
      Change in Goals
   2. Organisational Change
      Creation of Ad Hoc Rifle Company
      Rashtriya Rifle Battalions
      Army Commander Special Financial Powers
      Commando Platoon
   3. Change in Conduct of Operations
      Changes in Conduct of Operations
      Training
      Readjustment of Battalions
      Strengthening and Buffering Vehicles
      Use of Captured Equipment
      Modification of SLR
      Technology-driven Changes
      Night-vision and Surveillance Devices
      Creation and Deployment of Ashi Pillai
   4. Army’s Ability to Cope with Change
      Type of Change
      Approach to Change and Its Manifestation
      Drivers of Change
      Impact of Military Change
      Source of Influence
      Quality of Change
      Speed of Implementation
      Constraints of Military Change
      Applicability of Military Change to Specific Regions
      Conclusion

PART III
ANALYSING MILITARY CHANGE

1. Contextualising Military Change
   Relating Lessons from the Corporate World
   Does Existing Theory Explain Military Change?
   Drivers of Military Change
   Who Drives Military Change?
   Pathways to Military Change
   Direction of Military Change
   Scale of Change
   Level of Change
   Type of Change
2. Concluding ObservationsAnnexures
   1. Illustration of Military Change in Counterinsurgency (CI) Operations
   2. Region-wise Assessment of Military Change

Index

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