In what is being cited as an unpleasant and avoidable tinkering with the internal affairs of the armed forces the ministry of defence is considering a major overhaul in the promotion of top leadership -Major General and above in the Army, Navy and Air Force on the basis of merit instead of seniority.
The move would affect all promotions to the three-star rank of Lieutenant General in the Army, Admirals, Naval Commanders and Flag Officers Commanding Fleets in the Indian Navy as well as Air Marshals, and Air Commanders of Air Force including:
- Army Commanders (Commander-in-Chief Grade)
- Principal Staff Officers (PSO)
- General Officers of Armed Forces Commands
- Chiefs of Staff of Army Commands
- Heads of Combat and Combat Support Arms
- Heads of Services and Directorates
- Commandants of Training Institutions
- General Officers Commanding Corps
- General Officers Commanding Areas
The objective behind this move is to evolve a merit-based promotion policy for officers at the higher command – decision-making levels in the ranks in the Army, Navy and IAF. However, the general impression in the service headquarters is that the proposal is an avoidable mending with the time-tested policy and would lead to the politicization of top ranks in the armed forces.
As it is only a handful of officers reach three-star ranks after clearing the obstacles at each stage in their careers. Even in the prevailing system, all promotions above the rank of Colonel and equivalent in the Army, Navy and IAF are based on merit. Unlike the Civil Services where officers have assured promotions up to a reasonably high rank promotions in the armed forces are extremely competitive and follow a pyramidical structure.
Read: Who do ‘they think’ is fit for promotion?
Merit-based promotion system: much ado about nothing?
THE PROMOTION PYRAMID:
In the armed forces promotion of officers up to the rank of Lt Col is based on two systems – time-scale which ensures automatic promotion to anyone who has completed a certain length of service and selection grade taking into account the annual confidential reports, performance in training courses, various command and staff appointments, medical fitness and disciplinary actions if any.
Above the level of Colonel, all officers are screened by selection boards and empanelled before filling up vacancies as and when they come. Less than 25-30 per cent of officers make it to the rank of Colonel and above. Hence when it comes to promotions in the armed forces only those who have proved their ability can expect to rise upwards based on seniority. Seniority comes into play only when merit has been proven in a transparent and reliable selection process.
In the US army, an officer’s personal record and outstanding performance in the military play an important part in their promotion. It’s necessary for them to become outstanding in different training courses or command activities and get awarded, such as medals, army challenge coins, air force challenge coins, navy challenge coins, etc. These awards will help them well with the promotions.
SENIORITY v/s MERIT
In the Indian Army, the issue of seniority comes into play after the officers reach the rank of major general and above. This is when seniority and residual service play.
As per the existing policy an officer’s annual confidential reports (overall performance), seniority, date of birth, date of commissioning, and spoken reputation are the deciding factors for promotion to the C-in-C and above levels. Usually, an officer with at least 3 years of residual service from the date of his approval as Lt-General goes on to command one of the 14 corps. The Corps Commanders with 18 months of residual service are eligible for promotion as C-in-C of one of the Army’s six operational and one training command. Likewise, officers with at least 12 months of service go on to be Flag Officers Commanding Fleets in the Indian Navy, and Air Commanders in the Air Force depending on the vacancies. Appointments of all Lt Generals and Chiefs are approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). Normally, the senior-most officer is approved for the appointment unless there are strong reasons to change the order. It is entirely the prerogative of the ACC to appoint a person other than the senior-most, which is not a norm but an exception.
By the time officer reach the three-star rank, they have already successfully faced four selection boards for promotion from Lt Colonel to Colonel, Colonel to Brigadier, Brigadier to Major General and from Major General to Lt General which means continuous and steady performance.
Hence any fiddling or manipulation by an external agency may end up sabotaging the existing merit-based system. As it is the service headquarters, the Ministry of Defence and the government can drop the name of an officer with adverse inputs like integrity, conduct or medical condition.
