From Concept to Reality

The implications of moving from concept to reality to describe how the Army will operate on future battlefields, are tremendous, especially given the unpredictable, rapidly changing world environment, which by all calculations for us, is not 'the post cold war era' but in essence is factored to be called 'a New Cold War Era'. The most viable framework in which to address the implications of this future concept is in terms of their impact on: Doctrine, Training, Leader Development, Organisations, Material and Soldiers.

The Army will continue to be a doctrinally-based institution. Doctrine will remain the primary means of expressing the Army's philosophy on land operations. A hallmark of Military Doctrine is its ability for adaptability. Consequently, future doctrine will be increasingly influenced by a number of factors such as developments in human science and information technologies. Information age technology will profoundly impact both the doctrinal process and doctrine itself. For example, the doctrinal implications arising from the command system described in this concept are so great that it will take years for them to be fully understood, let alone developed. Doctrine will continue to provide a holistic basis for the Army to incorporate new ideas, technologies and organisational designs. It will also provide the philosophical under-pinnings for initiatives designed to help leaders become the adaptive, creative problem solvers required for future military operations. Simulations and experiments will serve as test-beds for emerging doctrine, helping military conduct the critical, doctrinally focused, front-end analysis required for new material and force design initiatives. As Army refines new ideas and concepts, their doctrinal relevance will be quickly captured in directives and instructions in order to communicate compact ready - reckoner for technology, throughout the Army. Key to this timeliness will be electronic staffing whereby Army learning and combat training centres, major commands, doctrine developers, operational planners and subject matters experts will form an intermitted system for the development of relevant doctrine.

Training in support of future full dimensional operations will cause Army to realign the three pillars (institutional, unit and self-development), of the Army training system. The integration of these three training strategies more fully will yield seamless future training strategy for every soldier and unit. The future training strategy will continue to be task-based and trained to a standard under varying conditions. All training executed in the institutions, in the unit or by the individual soldier will directly contribute to improve soldier, leader unit mission readiness. Major changes will occur on how Army trains. This will lead to the merging of the individual, unit and self-development parts into the seamless Army training system. For variety of reasons, the number of installations on which traditional institutional training takes place will decrease as will the number of installations on which major field exercises will occur. However, these installations will be internetted and interconnected to facilitate both individual and collective training at all levels. Individual training will be available to each soldier, including the refresher training. Data basis will be available to each soldier to address lessons learnt from previous operations, world-wide political and demographic information or expert individual specialty training requirements. It will be the proverbial class room without walls. The capability to interconnect virtual live and constructive simulations for unit training across the full range of military operations will be necessary and must be embedded in our equipment. The essence of land combat is to take and hold terrain - the essence of our combat training centres is 'doing it in the dirt' to experience a realistic tough battle scenario that requires synchronised execution at all levels. This must continue.

In the period of revolutionary change in the conduct of war different kinds of people - not simply the same people differently trained - rise to the top of Armed services. Does the technology changing nature demand a transformation in the characteristic styles of military leadership? The argument implies that if we are to fully exploit our new technologies, we must change our leadership style. The development of digital, remote sensoring and a commander's ability to sit invisibly or 'cybernetically' in an aircraft cockpit or tank turret necessitates a movement from decentralised to centralised authority. In short technological innovations have antiquated our old ideas about leadership nature. Our new technology demands a new type of leader! Many more arguments are forwarded for it. But it must be borne in mind, that as technology changes, so do the skills and competence of leaders and soldiers. The art of leadership, however, remains the same - timeless! Innovations such as the stirrup, breach-loading rifles artillery, wire and wireless communication, the tank helicopter all have changed the face of battle but the spirit of the soldier wielding these weapons have always been the deciding factor between victory and defeat. The current technological revolution will change the face of the battle again, but we must never allow the human spirit to fade in the fog of technology. Leadership's substance inspires this spirit, beginning on the inside through the leader's character and vision and then moving outside to the organisation in the form of healthy, winning culture. Not the one which despairs, rather than inspires, binding the nation into consequential compulsions caused due to unlimited corruption and even after declaring that we indeed are an atomic power, finds no way out except, undoing the immeasurable sacrifices that the nation has rendered during the last over twenty years, by signing the CWC and FMCT, which eliminate the need for our signing or not signing the CTBT. Now, lets please think over it and ask those who did it as to why did they render the country's economy so fragile that instead of withstanding the pressure for some reasonable time, we did not have stamina to resist even to allow time to diplomacy to create a suitable situation whereby the country could have become competent enough to deny the effects of sanctions, for atleast a few more months? Now, what we gained with one hand, have lost with the other, in one go. Who is responsible for this disgraceful economic devastation? It looks that someone is running with the hare and hunting with the hounds! What a shame? They didn't mind losing on the negotiation table what we had ever gained in the battlefield, or in the field of science and technology. If it is only due to South Asian phenomenon, it should have hurt India far more than us and also like Asia, heads should have rolled like South Korea, Japan or for that matter Indonesia. Everything is passed on to be sustained by the masses, with impunity, without delay! ' AAP HI APNI ADAON PEH ZARA GHAUR KAREN - HAM AGGAR ARZ KAREN GE TO SHIKAYAT HO GI.' The future Army leaders must be able to fully exploit the opportunities that command systems such as the one described herein provide. They can not use these systems to second-guess or interfere with the command prerogatives of subordinate commanders. They must have such intuitive skills as vision, innovation, adaptability and creativity and the ability to simplify complexities and clarify ambiguities - all while operating under stress. Leaders must be skilled in synchronising and harmonising all aspects of combat and non-combat operations. Future leaders will have a higher level of doctrine-based skills, knowledge, attitude and experience, to apply the battlefield operating systems to wider range of complex contingency missions. In fact, the complex nature of future operations may require leaders of greater experience and rank commanding at lower levels than ever before. Regardless of experience or rank, all future leaders will be called upon to make rapid, doctrinally sound decisions as they plan and execute missions in more diverse, high-pressure operational environment. Tactical-level leaders must be prepared to make decisions involving rules of engagement and actions that may have major strategic consequence, under the security of the international media. The works of goodwill by which those who lead the national military forces endeavour to win the unreserved trust of the nation, is one of the preservations of our military systems of freedoms. 'The character of the corps is in the most direct sense, a final safeguard of the character of the nation'. Webster's dictionary defines character as, 'the combination of emotional, intellectual and moral qualities distinguishing one person or group from another'. 'Any officer who is morally deserving of his commission ... will look beyond the letter of his obligations and will accept in his own heart the total implications of his new responsibility. So doing, he still might see fit to ask: 'But to what do I turn my thoughts? How do I hold myself so that while following the line of duty, I will also examplify those ideals which may inspire other men to make their best effort? '(Interview with Lt Gen Howard Graves, Army Times (November 20, 1995, P.16).

The future Army will be smaller, but with new, expanded and diverse missions and increased capabilities due to technological advances to meet the challenges of an unpredictable, rapidly changing world. Future organisational design will capitalise on the full range of mission's capabilities available in the total force structure, leading to the success that is essential for knowledge-based operations. Our planning must address likely new challenges from weapons' proliferation, the drug trade, terrorism, ethnic and population pressures, and the breakup of some existing states, like, for example Afghanistan, etc. To exist as nation state, we must realise that viceregalism can preserve Pakistan but can not sustain it. Government will remain intimidating but it will be a weak government. The Armed Forces are not the answer, as also the ever-growing culture of obtaining 'positive results' with every election conducted in the country so far, in its entire history. As such we hardly ever had the genuine representatives in assemblies, and with this culture/system can hardly ever hope for it either. If Pakistan is to flourish, it will be because the different worlds of Pakistan will draw closer together. It will have to conduct a civil society emerging from TRUE GENERAL ELECTIONS. Unfortunately the traditional rulers have already taken the country to the brink of precipice. Only as a lost resort, the depressed and dismayed masses will be cooperating with some kind of a revolution, and we are already fast running out of time! These realities ought to be kept upper most in the mind, during planning and training. Military force will still hold true to its ethos - fighting and winning our nation's wars, land warfare will remain tough, uncompromising and final. It requires soldiers and leaders who are versatile, agile and committed. (Booth K and Smith S eds polity press 1995). Pakistan in the 20th century, by Lawrence Ziring). Other 2 references are in the last lines.

Quality soldiers, trained and led by competent and caring leaders, will remain key to success in future battlefields. Soldiers in the 'New Cold War Era', will be faced with a wide variety of challenges in preparing for and executing missions in full-dimensional operations, which will require the most important need for the full-fledged security aspect too, as was taken the task of defence, a few years back. Security is the most vital and integral part of defence. No security, no defence!

Notes

1. Brig Gen Morris of US Army Deputy Chief of Staff Training and Doctrine.

2. Major Michael Deputy Chief of Staff TRADOC.