We may soon get a permanent chairman of the chiefs of staff committee (CoSC). It remains to be seen how much of his duties would be advisory and how much operational. The right moment to have a chief of defence staff was after the Bangladesh war when Sam Manekshaw was made a field marshal. By now the entire structure would have matured in time for modern battles. Organisational structures at headquarters do not win battles. It is the structure of the armed forces that needs to be recast. Do we need a separate "Army", "Navy" or "Air Force"? What is so striking about a strike corps that differentiates itself from the others? Can just one armoured division and mechanised infantry change a status?
T R Ramaswami, Mumbai
Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:
The Editor, Business Standard
Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110 002
Fax: (011) 23720201 · E-mail: letters@bsmail.in
All letters must have a postal address and telephone number
