1.Trg for war is the sacred duty of all cdrs in the chain of comd. With the advent of new tech, nature & concept of war fighting is undergoing rapid changes. Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) & nuclearisation of the region has added new dimensions to the type of warfare we are likely to engage in the future.
The current spectrum of warfare encompasses not only the conventional wars but also Mil Ops Other Than War (MOOTW). This book examines various facets of trg right from womb to tomb & suggests ways & means to improve further under the existing circumstances. The book ‘Paradigm Shift in Training in The Indian Army Including Joint Training’ by Brig Balbir Pama, raises vital questions of jt trg in the Indian Armed forces, particularly the Indian Army in the 21st century keeping in view their enhanced role in security & projecting the image of the nation. It traces the evolution of joint training & assesses, how well prepared the Indian Army is to face the challenges ahead.
The author reviews the trg & the trg sys in consonance with the shift in the mil doctrine from ‘Joined Operations’ to ‘Joint Operations’. This book is an attempt to give an insight into the need for paradigm shift in trg to incl war gaming & simulation in a jt force envt.2.It is one of the most authoritative & comprehensive book to be read on the subject of ‘Jt Trg’.About The Author3.
Credentials. Brig Balbir Pama (Retd) was the former Chief of Staff at HQ, Northern Comd. An alumnus of the Officers Training Academy, Chennai & a graduate from the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington he had held many prestigious comd, staff & instr appts. His staff exposure incl Bde Maj of a bde, Col Gen Staff of a Div & a stint at the MT Dte (MT-4) as the Dir where he successfully handled the portfolio dealing with the trg of all arms.
4.He was commissioned into 2/3 Gorkha Rifles & subsequently commanded 3/3 Gorkha Rifles. The author served as a Field Force Cdr on the LC with Pakistan. His vast experience incl having served in varied op envts within India as well as abroad. The officer has served in a UN msn (UNIIMOG) during ‘Op Desert Storm’ & had the rare experience of witnessing the first Iraq War.
He holds an M.Sc degree in def studies from Madras University & M.Phil from Devi Ahiliya Bai University, Indore. He was awarded the Professor Kothari DRDO Chair fellowship by the USI for the yr 2002-2003, for conducting research on the subject of ‘Paradigm Shift in Training in The Indian Army Including Joint Training’.5.
Other Wks. The author has been an active member of the USI & has written many articles & reports which have been published in the journal.Theme6.Genre. In gen, this book add the central issue of future trg needs of the Indian Army incl jt trg, in keeping with the rapidly developing RMA (both conventional ops as well as MOOTW) & evolving strategies for trg. The author is eminently suited to examine the trg challenges of the Indian Armed Forces incl jt trg in the changing security envt owing to his varied experience and exposure in the MT Dte.
The book portrays holistic views on the paradigm shift in trg incl the need for synergised trg to combat multi-lateral threats & enhanced resp. In his book, Brig Balbir Pama has made a successful attempt at fusing practical handling, front line experience & vast knowledge domain about trg & trg sys to meet the reqmts of arming the def forces to combat conventional & unconventional threats.7.Plausibility of Premise. An anthology of personal views & experience of the author on a variety of aspects pertaining to trg in the Indian Armed Forces in gen and Indian Army in particular, entails even greater amt of research than a single subject book. The book has made a sincere effort towards making the reader enlightened about the trg need of def forces of the country in a jt force envt.
This publication would hopefully, enhance the knowledge base of service offrs involved in jt trg of the armed forces & provide them a useful guide. Towards this end, the book has made an admirable effort. It deals with the issue related to integrated trg of def forces in a manner facilitating easy comprehension by even an avg reader.Content8.Layout. The book has been well written & is presented in a logical manner making it easy to comprehend.
Though, there is certain amt of disjointness about the book as a whole and repetitiveness of ideas; this is inevitable in any anthology. However, for those who seek continuity in all that they read, each chapter is thematically designed to contribute towards the core issue of addressing the need for a paradigm shift in the trg in the Indian Armed Forces. The book has been divided into fifteen chapters. Each chapter of the book provides a grasp of the subject.9.The book is structured in a simple & easy to understand layout.
It commences the study with a detl & succinct analysis of RMA & its impact on trg, followed by a chapter on trg in the armies of the USA & our imdt neighbours, China & Pakistan. This study could have been more avid & convincing to the readers had the study of trg in these armies been covered in more depth. The author has given acct of the sys of institutionalised trg within the armed forces & correctly concludes that the concept of trg everyone for everything, especially in the changing jt force envt needs a definite re-look. Instead, the concept of “once a specialist always a specialist” must become the guiding factor for trg a professional mil for the future. The suggestions espoused by the author in this regard are imaginative & illustrate his deep understanding & passion for the subject.
10.The author also highlights the sys of op trg in the def forces & takes cue from the remarks of the former COAS – “We are trg for previous wars”. He proceeds to provide a SWOT analysis for various issues in op trg (collective, indl, time mgt & jt combat trg centres). The chapters devoted to mgt of trg & jt trg are detl & well structured.
The author ack the need for synergy amongst the tri-services in strat plg & exec of ops (conventional & unconventional). He explicitly highlights the aspect of multi-dimensional & multi-disciplinary jt apch for combined response to mil sit at strat & tac levels. In order to achieve interoperability & synchronisation it is essential that the def forces are trained operationally, doctrinally & intellectually to be able to wk in a jt force envt. Brig Balbir Pama explains the impediments to jointmanship & the impotency of jt structures.
The author opines that the future of war is based on mastering the flow of info & conducting combat ops jointly. The focus, therefore should be on jt doctrine, jt trg, jt combat sp ops, intelligence & evolution of jt plans not only to tackle the conventional threat but also in the over arched domain of MOOTW.11.The author underscores the aspect of lack of formal trg imparted to the armed forces to combat disaster mgt & internal security sits & hence a complete absence of jt plg or trg for such sits. The inadequacies in our trg sys adversely affect the end result in MOOTW such as HADR, relief & rescue ops, counter-insurgency, counter-piracy, etc.
12.Having dwelled upon the current jt trg methodologies and their inaptness, the author highlights on the aspects of attitudinal changes, vision, clear strategy & common apch amongst the three services. The author advocates the reqmt of a paradigm shift in our op trg philosophy in view of the systematic & inevitable incr in jt ops.13.Language. The author uses a very simple & lucid language, one which an avg reader can understand.
The language used in the book is found suitable towards achieving its goal and conveying the essence of the subject.14.Style. The writing style used by the author is yet another strong point of the book.
Rather than delivering a theoretical monologue, the author has chosen to put fwd his views with examples, stating facts & figs. The author has made apt use of sits and examples to explain the topics. The author has made use of tables in order to facilitate better understanding & bringing out comparative data.15.The author intro each chapter with a suitable quote from some very famous literary wk.
The author has made use of italics text to emphasise the imp lessons that he wants to be driven into the readers mind.16.To sum up the aspects of layout, language & style, “The research wk is easy to read, comprehensive & written with common sense apch that helps a reader to understand the essence of the subject”.Production Value17.
The book is hard bound & the paper quality is of a very high std which enhances the overall appeal of the book. The font is Tahoma & font size 12 makes the book an easy reading. The print is very clear & of a very high quality.18.The book priced at Rs 590/- is economical & considered priceless for its educative value.
The book has 259 pages incl the end notes, the bibliography & the index. The book has been published by Knowledge World, New Delhi.19.The book has been published in the yr 2005, after which the jt structures of IDS & ANC have been effective & an enhanced degree of jointness has been achieved amongst the three services, thus making this book slightly outdated. The book does not incl any photographs or illustrations which could have been incl to break the monotinity of the layout.Verdict20.
Target Audience. The book is targeted towards the common reader who is interested in the Indian Def Forces. The book is a very tool for the service offrs who deal with jt trg. The book is shaped in a manner that it can be of great help to anyone, be it a sr offr or a young offr.
21.Final Verdict. The book should go a long way in giving an insight into the trg sys followed in the Indian Armed Forces. It is a recommended reading for offrs of the Indian Armed Forces & others who interested in the def forces of India.
Overall this well researched & imaginatively presented book on tackling the challenges of future trg in the armed forces is a worthwhile read for all service offrs both at the grass-root level as well as the level of policy makers. This book is certainly a must incl selection for all unit & institutional libraries.
