SPECIAL OPS FORCES OF INDIA

With the advent of modernization in defense technology, the military warfare has stepped up in a new era of sophisticated weaponry and advanced tactics. Almost each and every prominent nation today has its own special forces. You must have heard about the professionalism and specialization of US Navy SEAL, Russian Spetsnaz and British SAS in the modern battlefield. You might also have watched movies based on special operations like Tears of sun, Zero dark thirty & Act of valor. These movies always fill our mind with loads of enthusiasm. Apart from these, do you know that our country also have some state of the art Special Forces which are rated equal among the best special ops in the world. Okay, let me introduce you with the special forces of India. I will throw light on the training, weapons, tactics and operational records of these forces. So let us have a look of these veterans. 

#Para Commandos

Para Commandos are a special forces unit of the Indian Army mandated with special operating missions such as special operations, Direct action, Hostage rescue, Counter-terrorism, Unconventional warfare, Special reconnaissance, Foreign internal Defense, Personnel recovery, Asymmetric warfare, Counter-proliferation, Counter Insurgency, Seek and Destroy special heliborne operations are its primary tasks. Para Commando personnel wear a maroon beret and they wear a 'Special Forces' tab on each shoulder. Personnel who serve in the Para (SF) are allowed to wear the 'Balidaan' (Sacrifice) badge after having served a period of one year in a hostile zone. They are the only one in the Indian Armed Forces to have the privilege to get tattoos on their body. The initial training to be a special forces operator is 3.5 years but the training is an ongoing process, in the special forces, the members are imparted both basic and advance training. They are taught specialized mode of infiltration and exhilaration, either by air (combat freefall) or sea (combat diving). For combat diving training, the commandos are sent to the Naval Diving School, Kochi. Night and weapons training and field craft involving 20 km treks with 60 kg (132 lb) loads and live ammunition are conducted. Weekly forced marches with 65 kg combat loads with distances over 50 to 80 miles and quarterly night drops with full combat loads are also conducted. They are also experienced in conducting SHBO (special heliborne operations) and typically employ Cheetahs, MI-8/MI-17 or HAL (Dhruv) helicopters for this purpose. They are trained for operating almost 21 different weapons including assault rifle, anti-material rifle, handguns and rocket launchers. Their operations have been sought during 1971 Indo-Pak war, 1984 operation Blue Star, 1999 Kargil war, operation cactus Maldives and many others. They have also done operations in foreign nations also.

#  MARCOS

MARCOS, previously named as Marine Commando Force (MCF), is the special operations unit of the Indian Navy, created for conducting special operations such as amphibious warfare, Counter-terrorism, Direct action, Special reconnaissance, Unconventional warfare, hostage rescue, Personnel recovery, Asymmetric warfare, Counter proliferation. All MARCOS personnel are males selected from the Indian Navy. The selection standards are extremely high. The training is a continuous process. The total duration of training of MARCOS is between two and half to three years. All MARCOS personnel are freefall qualified (HALO/HAHO). A few also qualify to operate the Cosmos CE-2F/X100 two-man subs. MARCOS train along with the Special Forces officers of the Indian Army like the Para Commandos. They are skilled combat divers and parachutists and most of the training deals with counter-terrorist, anti-hijacking and anti-piracy operations.  This includes firing while lying down, standing, running full-sprint, even backwards and looking into a mirror – with a reaction time of 0.27 seconds. This is followed by a year of training of specialized skills. Marcos practice Krav Maga for hand-to-hand combat a tactical martial system developed in Israel, to add a cutting edge to their combative skills.  A notably rigorous training program is the "death crawl" – an 800-metre struggle through thigh-high mud, loaded with 25 kg of gear and after a 2.5 km obstacle course that most soldiers would fail. After that, when the trainee is exhausted and sleep-deprived, he has to undergo the final test – shooting a target 25 meters away, with a partner standing next to it. The MARCOS are trained in every kind of weapon and instruments, from knives and crossbows to sniper rifles, handguns, assault rifles, submachine guns and bare hands. Being divers, they can reach hostile shores swimming underwater. Their operations have been sought during 1987 Operation Pawan, 1988 Operation Cactus, 1999 Kargil war and also the most recent 2008 Operation Black Tornado. They have also foiled many piracy attempts by Somali pirates. MARCOS has also been known to carry out wide variety of operations in foreign soil. MARCOS is widely feared among the terrorists, who call them "Dadhiwala fauj", meaning the "Bearded army" because of their bearded disguise in civil areas!!

#Garud Commando Force

The Garud Commando Force is the Special Forces unit of the Indian Air Force. Garud is tasked with the protection of critical Air Force bases and installations; search and rescue during peace and hostilities and disaster relief during calamities. Recruitment to the Garuds is done directly through airmen selection centers via advertisements. Candidates found eligible for the force are put through a process of rigorous physical training. Garud trainees undergo a 72 week Basic Training course, which is the longest among all the Indian Special Forces but it also includes basic training. The total duration of training before a trainee can qualify as a fully operational Garud is around 3 years. The subsequent phase of special operations training is imparted by the Special Group of the Special Frontier Force, the army, NSG and the paramilitary forces. Those who qualify, proceed to the Parachute Training School (PTS) at Agra to complete the basic airborne phase. Trainees are trained along with paratroopers of the Indian Army.  Garuds also train at the diving school of the Indian Navy and the Army's Counterinsurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS). After induction, the commandos also undergo advanced training, including anti-hijack and counter insurgency training, jungle and snow survival techniques, specialized weapon handling and advanced driving skills. Garuds usually carry small arms ranging from handguns to assault rifles. Garuds have been deployed to Congo as a part of the UN peacekeeping contingent. They also operate alongside Army Special Forces in Jammu and Kashmir to gain operational exposure. Garud Commandos were tasked to provide security at the Yelahanka AFS during Aero India-2005, 2007, 2011 and 2013. As in the case of the failed attack on Awantipur AFS in October 2001, Garuds act as an emergency terror-response team!! 

# National Security Guards.

The National Security Guard (NSG) is an elite high-profile counter-terrorism and special operations tactical unit in India. It works completely within the Central Armed Police Forces structure. The NSG is an elite force providing a second line of defense to the nation. The NSG members are also known as Black Cats because of the black drill cotton coveralls and balaclavas or helmets they wear. The NSG's specific goals include Neutralization of terrorist threats, Handling hijacking situations in air and on land, Bomb disposal (search, detection and neutralization of IEDs), PBI (Post Blast Investigation), Engaging and neutralizing terrorists in specific situations and Hostage Rescue. It is a task-oriented force and has two complementary elements in the form of the Special Action Group (SAG) and the Special Ranger Groups (SRG). The Special Action Group is the strike force in anti-terrorist and anti-hijack operations, supported by the SRG. The SAG is the offensive wing drawn from units of the Indian Army whereas the SRG consists of members from Central Paramilitary Forces (CPFs) and Central Police Organizations (CPOs) such as the Border Security Force (BSF), the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and State Police forces. Three of their 14 months of training in Manesar, Haryana, are devoted to the basics. The basic training period lasts 90 days. Physical fitness training has 26 elements, ranging from a cross-country obstacle course to jumping from heights and across divides and scaling different kinds of terrain. One endurance test involves target shooting at the end of an obstacle-ridden cross-country run. This is meant to gauge the candidate’s performance under conditions of stress and exhaustion. Those who successfully complete the tests are sent for nine months of advanced training. Only those who complete the entire course successfully are inducted into the NSG and given further specialized training, thus making them at par with the best forces around. At the training, the commandos are trained to handle sophisticated communication equipment, combat gadgets and different kinds of arms specialized weapons such as AK-47/74s, Browning hi-power 9mm pistol, 9mm Uzi sub-machine gun, 5.56mm M-16 A2, 9mm H&K MP5-A2/A3 and locally manufactured 7.62mm SLR and 5.56mm INSAS rifles. Sniper rifles such as the semi-automatic H&K 7.62mm PSG-1 and MSG-90, the SIG7.62mm, SSG-2000 and the bolt-action Mauser SP66/86SR are also used to train members of the Special Action Group, which is specifically deployed for anti-terror/anti-hijacking operations. The NSG commandos were first used to combat the insurgency movement in the Indian state of Punjab in 1986. They are now primarily utilized for counter-terrorist activities and have seen combat operations in Jammu and Kashmir, though sparingly. They have also been used in Operation Black Thunder 1,   Operation Ashwamedh and most recently in 26 November 2008 Mumbai attacks — Operation Black Tornado and Operation Cyclone.

#COBRA Commandos

COBRA (backronym for Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) is a specialized unit of the CRPF created to counter the Naxalite problem in India. This specialized CRPF unit is one of the few units of the Central Armed Police Forces in the country who are specifically trained in guerilla warfare. Their role is to carry out reconnaissance and long range patrols, gather intelligence on the whereabouts of the insurgents, and also carry out ambushes and precision strikes when required. Their sniper teams can also be used to headshot key targets. Cobras are trained in the Army’s elite Counterinsurgency and Jungle Warfare School in Mizoram and CRPF's anti terrorist school in Silchar. They are adept in the art of camouflage and jungle warfare. Some regiments of COBRA are given halo jump training like the parachute regiment. Cobra is the best-equipped Central Armed Police unit in the country that uses state of the art weapons including INSAS rifles, AK rifles, X-95, Browning Hi-Power and Glock pistols, Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns and Carl Gustav recoilless rifle.  Cobras also have hi-tech electronic surveillance equipment and well-trained sniper teams, armed with Dragunov SVD, Mauser SP66 and Heckler & Koch MSG-90 sniper rifles. These commandos conducted in Singam Dgu Dantewada district on 17 September 2009, On 9 January 2010 under PS Jagargunda in district and many others and have cleared a number of naxalites. In a special operation launched in Saranda forest area of Jharkhand Cobra teams were able to penetrate deep in forest and kill one Maoist, apprehend 4 Maoists cadres, bust 12 Maoist camps and recover of arms and explosives!!

So these were some of the class warriors of India insuring it’s both internal and external security. Out of these MARCOS & Para Commandos are rated among the top 10 Special Forces round the globe. These forces are assets of a nation which are vital for its sovereignty. From my side there is a warm SALUTE for these war veterans!!!

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