Indian SOCOM in the offing

[TPFscopes]

A centralised Special Operations Command (SOCOM) dedicated to surgical strikes is in the offing. Its members will be drawn from all three arms of the Indian Forces. SOCOM’s creation is based on the government’s belief that full-scale wars will be rare and all future battles will be fought with clinical precision in swift, targeted attacks against the enemy.

The Army has been given a free hand to retaliate with cross-border strikes and special ops whenever necessary. South Block has fast-tracked approvals for acquiring assault rifles, light machine guns, night vision equipment and other such specialised equipment. SOCOM envisages the integration of all Special Forces in the Army, Navy and Air Force by synergising training facilities, weaponry, equipment and dedicated transport aircraft.

SOCOM will be on the lines of the unified United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) charged with overseeing various special operations commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the US Armed Forces. Currently, India’s Special Forces report to different ministries and department heads. They have a combined strength of nearly 5,000 men.

India’s Special Forces have a combined strength of nearly 5,000 men: Para SF of the Army, Marcos of the Navy and Garud Commandoes of the Air Force. 10,000 soldiers of the National Security Guard, Special Frontier Force and R&AW augment this force. But they work in separate silos. Proposed in 2003, SOCOM will be headed by a Lieutenant General directly reporting to the Chairman Chief of Staff Committee, the highest ranking military officer in the country.

But A K Antony, the then Defence Minister, turned it down citing budgetary constraints. SOCOM is an extension of the new NDA doctrine of unequivocally supporting the Army in combat ops—be the ‘hot pursuit’ in the jungles of Myanmar or supporting Major Leetul Gogoi’s human shield strategy.

The Prime Minister’s Office has asked Integrated Defence Staff, the coordination arm of all three services, to take feedback from all stakeholders. According to a highly placed South Block source, the proposal will then be submitted to the Cabinet Committee on Security for the final nod.

Apart from clearing administrative hurdles, ministry officials are charged with smoothing out inter-service rivalry. “Squabbles over who will be in control of SOCOM was a reason why the proposal was put on the back burner. With the decision to go ahead having been taken at the highest level, this issue needs to be sorted out at the earliest,” a top official told The Sunday Standard.

 

[Innocent]

Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is an urgent need, but probably not on priority list.
So we are unlikely to see it soon.

 

[Mikesingh]

We are comparing ourselves with the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), but this command is geared for ops by expeditionary forces. We do not have the capability of force projection anywhere in the world as yet like the US. Just aping them without having a doctrine for employment of expeditionary forces (which we do not have) across the globe is unnecessary at the present juncture until we have a global reach for conduct of such operations.

Also, do we have the political will and capabilities to conduct ops in far away lands like the US did in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria etc? In 2016, the number of countries with USSOCOM presence was 120 with joint training exercises being carried out in most or all of those countries during that year.

So the question is: Do we need such a force now? We neither have the capability nor the geopolitical requirement for an expeditionary force and therefore I think there is no need for a SOC at present.

 

[AnantS]

India could not create on CDS all these decades, SOCOM still looks a pie in the sky.

 

[Adioz]

We are comparing ourselves with the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), but this command is geared for ops by expeditionary forces. We do not have the capability of force projection anywhere in the world as yet like the US. Just aping them without having a doctrine for employment of expeditionary forces (which we do not have) across the globe is unnecessary at the present juncture until we have a global reach for conduct of such operations.

Also, do we have the political will and capabilities to conduct ops in far away lands like the US did in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria etc? In 2016, the number of countries with USSOCOM presence was 120 with joint training exercises being carried out in most or all of those countries during that year.

So the question is: Do we need such a force now? We neither have the capability nor the geopolitical requirement for an expeditionary force and therefore I think there is no need for a SOC at present.

Even South Korea has a SOCOM. Why we should not pool our resources and create a joint force capable of special missions is beyond me. Given that we have yet to produce a theater command format, its clear that SOCOM is not a priority, but that does not mean SOCOM is something unnecessary. Lets not wait for turf wars to start before we move to resolve them.