The first group of female officers enrolled in the senior command course will report to the Army War College at the end of March, marking another step the Army has taken toward preparing its female officers to assume command responsibilities.
The Senior Level Tactical Orientation Course, which is comparable to the Senior Command Course, will start on March 23 at Mhow, Indore, according to reliable sources. 97 out of 108 empanelled officers have been detailed for the course, according to a source, and the course will last six weeks.
Individuals attending the course are the ones medically cleared and it is a particularly customized course therefore will be of a condensed duration. The typical Senior Command Course lasts for ten weeks.
All officers who are expected to be promoted to the rank of Colonel for taking on duties as the Commanding Officer of an army unit must complete this course (battalion or regiment of his arm or service). They are prepared for their unit command responsibilities through the course.
The command of a unit is an important and decisive stage of training since performance at this stage is the most important criteria for selecting officers for promotion thereafter as senior leaders of the Army. This year, from January 9 to January 21, a Special Number 3 Selection Board for Women Officers was held in order to promote women from the rank of Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel.
Officers for the rank of Colonel and above are selected by a board of officers. An officer ranked as Colonel will command independent functional units of the Indian Army. Beyond this come the formations, and collections of such Units, like Brigades, Divisions and Corps commanded by the Brigadiers, Major Generals and Lieutenant Generals, respectively. The task on the ground is executed by the units. In the normal course of service selection for command is done at around 17 years of service.
