NEW DELHI: Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane on Saturday affirmed the force’s allegiance to the core values of the Constitution. “As the Army, we swear allegiance to the Constitution of India... Justice, liberty, equality and fraternity as enshrined in the Constitution should guide us,” he said at the annual press conference of Army on the eve of the Army Day.
General Naravane reminded that be it a jawan or an officer, “we take oath on the Constitution and that is what we need to keep in our mind at all time, and that is what we are fighting for”.
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Naravane said the focus on training the forces would henceforth be on future war, “which will be network-centric and complex”. “In a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment, we must train for the future. That is where the emphasis of our training will be,” he said.
General Naravane said the Army is prepared to deal with challenges along the northern border. “We are initiating rebalancing of preparedness along the northern border, including moving advanced weapon systems,” he said.
Naravane also termed the creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) a “very big step” towards the integration of the three forces and said the Army will ensure its success. General Bipin Rawat took over as the first CDS on New Year’s Day.
He said, “Integration will also be within the Army and the integrated battle group is just one example of that. But I also want to assure everyone that in this process of integration we will take everyone along.”
On the ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC), General Naravane said, “The Indian Army is a professional force, conducts itself in a most professional, ethical manner in peace, on LoC, and in combat.”