First, to field this force, our infrastructure along the border areas would need substantial improvements - construction and improvement of roads, revamping of forward airfields and helicopter bases, development of facilities for the deployment of rockets and missiles, upgraded communication facilities and the creation of logistic installations to sustain the force. We would do well to hurry and be timebound since, on these counts, China has already stolen a march on us in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Second, the existing mountain formations suffer from a number of shortfalls that have been debated within the army since long. The strike formations must not turn out to be "More of the Same". To be able to deliver a decisive punch, the proposed mountain strike corps must be augmented by an array of force multipliers such as special forces, long-range guns, rocket batteries, missiles, lift capability for heliborne operations, air defense resources, dedicated means for all-weather surveillance, wherewithal for electronic warfare and the like.
