Why is the Indian Army introducing common uniforms for officers of brigadier rank and above?

Brigadiers and officers ranked above them will now share a common uniform. The Indian Army made the decision during the Army Commanders Conference. The decision will take effect on 1 August. But what will change? And why has this decision been taken? Let’s take a closer look: What will change? The headgear, shoulder rank badges, gorget patches, belt and shoes of senior officers will be standardised as part of the decision. According to Indian Express, senior officers will no longer display regimental lanyards on their shoulders.

They will no longer wear regimental lanyards (cords) on their shoulders.

Shoulder flashes such as ‘Special Forces’, ‘Arunachal Scouts’, ‘Dogra Scouts’ will also not be worn. This is a departure from the current practice where senior officers of different ranks wear insignia of their respective arms and regiments on their uniform. Infantry and military intelligence officers currently sport green berets, while armoured corp officers wear black berets, as per Indian Express. The dark blue beret is worn by artillery, engineers, signals, air defence, and some minor corps officers, while army aviation corps officers don grey berets. Para officers and armoured officers will thus no longer sport their maroon beret and belt respectively once they are promoted to brigadier, as per The Print. There will be no change to the uniform worn by Colonels and below-rank officers. Why has this decision been taken? Sources told The Print that the distinct identity is vital strengthen camaraderie, esprit de corps and regimental ethos for junior leadership. The identity fosters a strong bond in the same regiment, sources added. However, brigadiers and above officers are those who have already commanded units, battalions and are mostly posted at headquarters or establishments, a source told PTI.

Here, officers from all arms and services work and function together.

The source added that a standard uniform will ensure a common identity for all senior-rank officers while reflecting the true ethos of the Indian Army. “This will also reinforce the Indian Army’s character to be a fair and equitable organisation,” the source added. According to Indian Express, most officers promoted to the rank of Colonel no longer engage in regimental service. Therefore, affiliations with a particular regiment or corps must also end at that rank – in order to avoid regimental parochialism in the higher ranks. The newspaper noted that those at higher ranks often command troops from across regiments, thus it is only appropriate that these officers present themselves in a ‘neutral’ uniform. Interestingly, the army is reverting to a practice that was followed about four decades ago when changes towards wearing regimental affiliations began in the army. Till the mid-1980s, the regimental service was till the rank of Lt Colonel. Officers rank Colonel and above had common uniform patterns and insignia, as per the newspaper. The army previously introduced a new digital print combat uniform for all soldiers, as per The Print. Unlike the previous uniform, shirts are no longer tucked in and trousers have been given additional pockets. Trousers have additional pockets and the material is supposed to be lighter but sturdier and suitable for all weather. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.