‘Common identity’. Army Brigadier & Generals to don common uniform from August 1

Brigadiers and above rank officers of the Indian Army will don a common uniform from August 1, irrespective of their regiments and services, to promote a common identity of the senior leadership.

The headgear, shoulder rank badges, gorget patches, belt and shoes of senior officers of flag rank — Brigadier and Generals — will now be standardised, said Army sources. The flag-rank officers will not wear any lanyard, which is a cord or strap worn around the neck, shoulder or wrist from August 1, when the entire changes will be implemented.

Giving a sense into the changes that are supposed to happen, sources said there will be common headgear in respective categories. For instance, now the top leadership will only wear a green-coloured beret cap. It’s learnt that the hats that Gorkhas and other regiments wear will be done away with.

The belt buckle will have Indian Army crest, instead of carrying individual unit insignia, said army sources.

Similarly, Brigadiers and Generals will only sport black brogue shoes that has to carry single approved patterns in front, said sources. There is no change, however, to the uniform worn by Colonels and below-rank officers.

Whty the change?

The decision, meant to reinforce the Armed force’s character — which is to be a fair and equitable organisation — was taken after detailed deliberations during the recently held Army Commanders Conference and extensive consultations with all stakeholders, said sources.

Different types of uniform and accoutrements have specific association to respective arms, regiments and services in the Army. “This recognition with distinct identity within the arms or regiment or services is essential for junior leadership and the rank and file to further strengthen camaraderie, esprit de corps and regimental ethos, which is the bedrock of soldiering,” said sources explaining logic behind the previous distinct outfits. At the unit and battalion level, a distinct sense of identity reflects a strong bond among officers and men in the same regiment.

In the Indian Army, Brigadier and above officers are those who have already commanded units, battalions and are mostly posted at headquarters and establishments, where officers from all arms and services work and function together, said sources. A standard uniform will ensure a common identity for all senior-rank officers, while reflecting the true ethos of the Indian Army, they commented.

The Indian Army’s uniform has evolved over the years, the first major shift was adoption of Olive Green colour post Independence to differentiate from Khakhi outfit which the armed force would wear during the Bristish regime. Post 1971 war with Pakistan, camouflage uniform patterns were introduced essentially as the combat attire to be in tune with global armies trend.

And the latest morphosis was acceptance for the new ‘Digital Pattern Combat Uniform’, introduced during the Army Day in 2022 to check unauthorised proliferation of the outfit that posed security threat to the armed force and nation as a whole. Later, the Army had also obtained Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) for design and camouflage pattern.