Ajay Banerjee
New Delhi, 31 December
Under a major administrative change in the armed forces, the Personal Staff Officer, also known as the Aide-de-Camp (ADC) of any force (land, water and air) chief, will no longer be from his own service. This means that the ADC of the Army Chief will be from the Indian Air Force or Navy. This formula will also apply to the Chief of the Navy and the Chief of the Air Force, as their ADCs will not be from their own forces. This new arrangement will come into effect from January 1. The three army chiefs have voluntarily accepted that their ADCs will be from different services. The reshuffle is part of the 200-point list prepared by Chief of Defense Staff General Anil Chauhan for the rejuvenation of the forces.
Hitherto the Chiefs of the three armies used to get ADCs not only from their own services but also from their own units, because that way they felt a special connection. Accepting ADCs from other services is a small but important step towards unifying the three forces. ADC has an important role for an army chief as he has day-to-day duties, he also has to be present at all official functions and meetings. The ADC is also responsible for scheduled meetings, correspondence and other administrative tasks of the Army Chief.
