Indian Army strikes back: A rare cross-border surgical strike by Special Forces

 Reports here: http://www.oneindia.com/

#Plane Carnival: A night to remember! When OneIndia chased the Garuds!

 By Dr Anantha Krishnan M

https://twitter.com/writetake

Photos: A Veeramani

Bengaluru, Feb 27: The just-concluded Aero India 2015 saw one unusual reportage assignment being undertaken by OneIndia. The mission had all the elements of a covert operation in pitch darkness.

This was an exclusive interaction with the Garuds – the elite Special Forces wing of the Indian Air Force (IAF). (Read an earlier repot here: http://www.oneindia.com/india/oneindia-special-iaf-garuds-impress-visitors-with-their-mean-machines-1660980.html)

Under the watchful eyes of Wg Cdr Rochelle D’Silva, the active Additional PRO of IAF, the two-member OneIndia team (this writer and photographer A Veeramani), was summoned to the heavily-guarded Operations Control Centre (OCC) at the Air Force Station, Yelahanka. 

The OCC, a make-shift structure, housed the wings of all security agencies, who kept a hawk-eye on the conduct of the air show, movement of people inside the base, traffic among others.

This time for the Garuds, who are often barred from any form of media interaction, had the blessings of Air HQ, which relaxed the norms a bit, thanks to the Plane Carnival.

Lights off, camera, action! As a SOP (Standard Operating Procedure), the power supply to all temporary structures that have come up inside the AFS base would go off any time after 6.30 pm, when the battery of fire brigade personnel go back to their bases, after their gruelling duty hours. 

As we stepped into the OCC, the OneIndia team was given a briefing about the Garuds, its history, purpose and mission at Aero India.

Next we had a glimpse at the array of weapons they used during their missions. Tavors, Glocks and rocket launchers were all the cool toys, the boys always loved.

As expected, it was darkness, with the power supply ‘officially’ tripping off! Time: 7:15 pm.

“Come on boys. Let’s move out,” the commander screamed. “Let’s do some soul-searching in the darkness. You know, we salute the spirit of light, but darkness is what we fall in love with,” he adds.

Soon a pair of night-vision devices was out for us to get a feel of the night ops.

“Light is detrimental during special ops in night. But, the NVGs are God-sent devices for us to cut through the darkness,” explains a Garud.

As we shift out of the OCC, heavily armed men were waiting to demonstrate some of their operational skills. One could barely spot a blue open gypsy, parked next to them – the best friend of Garuds.

OneIndia sharpshooter Veermani was a worried man with no light in the offing. “If I use flash the photos will lose the charm,” he says. Probably he also knew that going by the ‘available light theory’ and without using the flash, the shooting mission would gift him only blank frames.

“Why not mobile phone lights,” someone came up with an idea. And, as they say an idea can change the world. Soon a handful of mobile phones flashed their lights aiding our mission.

Let there be light! Veermani was happy. He took his position and started firing on all cylinders, from all possible angles. He knew it was probably a lifetime opportunity to make the Garuds ‘follow’ his orders! It was one sight to watch the light flashing out of mobile phones from all corners.

The Garuds followed the ‘command’ of Veermani at will. At one point, the veteran photographer from Bengaluru, was lying on the ground, trying to capture may be some low-angle shots.

“Sir, one more please...” he was often heard requesting the Garuds.

It was 8.30 pm. Time to pack-up. “We have an early day tomorrow,” whispers a Garud, as one unit peels off for the night duty.

“Happy?” one of the Garuds ask Veermani. “Yes Sir. I will not forget this night,” he says.

Yes. It was a night to remember!

#PlaneCarnival | OneIndia Special | IAF Garuds impress visitors with their mean machines and killer looks

By Dr Anantha Krishnan M

https://twitter.com/writetake 

Bengaluru, Feb 21: Every visitor who steps into the Air Force Station Yelahanka is curious to know about a group of mighty men moving around in a blue open gypsy. Their camouflage attire, killer looks and mean weapons are being admired by every aviation aficionado flocking the show. 

If the Breitling Wingwalkers have stolen the hearts of plane people at Aero India with their mesmerising sky party skills, on ground, the Special Forces of the Indian Air Force – Garuds – have caught the imagination of thousands who stop by to take a closer look at these men who appears to be from a different planet! 

At Aero India 2015, the Garuds, which otherwise have an offensive charter like most Special Forces, play the role of contingency response specific to counter terror threats. 

Tough selection process: Sources tell OneIndia that around 15 per cent of the total strength who hit the selection line to become a Garud makes the final cut. Formed in 2003, under the Directorate of Offensive Operations, the Gaurds have become a formidable force with their wings spread all over India. 

Garud officers are drawn from the pool of personnel who voluntarily opt from all branches of the IAF, to tow this demanding career line. The airmen are a mix of volunteers and direct recruits. 

The selection process of volunteers is a grueling physical and mental ordeal spread over a period of a few days. 

Tactical training modules: On completing the selection process, a potential candidate is put through three months of probation where he is trained and checked on a variety of mental, physical and a host of specialized soldiering skills. 

The tactical phase of three months trains a candidate in SF skills, tactics, survival modules, heliborne training, martial arts and a variety of other special operations enablement. 

Those who successfully clear the probation phase (which are a very few in number) move on to undergo further training in the tactical module, paratrooping, combat swimming and driving. 

On completion of this basic training, a candidate earns his prized Commando Badge and Maroon Beret deeming him to be a qualified SF operative. Thus, a Garud is born. 

Those who were part of the formative years of the Garuds were trained for over two-and-a-half-years with stints abroad as well. Sources now disclose that the training is now spread over 74 weeks at the Garud School near New Delhi. 

Further specialized training in a variety of other fields is undertaken at the respective units. 

Every trooper qualifies in one SF skill which includes either the use of explosives, communication, battle-field medicine and weapons. Additional role-specific training is also given at various stages of a Garud’s career. 

Best of the best weapons: A family of Tavor rifles form the integral part of a Garud’s arsenal. These are complimented with additional weapons like snipers, rocket-launchers, heavy machine guns and grenade launchers. A pick of the pack is the baby Glock pistol concealed in the tactical vest. 

Sources said that a Garud also carries a variety of navigation, surveillance, communication gadgets and explosives to undertake missions. At Aero India, the Garuds have equipment sized up for their tasks for mission optimization. 

Roles specific to aviation environment: While not much of details are made public on Garuds, most roles are offensive operations specific to the aviation environment. 

Among the roles are combat search and rescue, laser designation of targets, recon, surveillance and destruction. Like most other SF the security concerns of the nation see them employed in various counter-terror roles also. 

At the unit level, training for roles includes long day and night speed marches, navigation, exhaustive weapon and skill training. 

Yoga, martial arts give them an edge: To preserve longevity, the Garuds also practice yoga and martial arts. They are also encouraged to enhance military qualifications through a variety of adventure activities and courses. 

The Garuds are the youngest of the SFs in the country. The IAF, realizing the potential of the Garuds, has ensured that this organisation has grown to a level of a formidable operational stature. 

There are many misconceptions about the role of the Gaurds. However, like many air force SFs across the globe, the Garuds are created to operate deep behind enemy lines. 

“Myths don’t matter, mission accomplishment does,” whispers a Garud. 

(Some of the above photos are shot exclusively for OneIndia and Tarmak007 by A Veeramani with clearances from the Indian Air Force. The above report first appeared on OneIndia on 21 Feb 2015.)

Predators | SF rock stars share their daredevilry tales

By Anantha Krishnan M 

Express News Service

Bangalore: Major Ajit Zala is 32 years old and he landed in Bangalore only a month back. The newly-married, soft-spoken soldier was wearing a black T-shirt with his unit’s insignia etched on the front. In the Army since 2003, Zala, hailing from Gujarat, is the only second officer of 2 PARA SF to have won the Kirti Chakra for his brave deed while undertaking a CI (Counter Insurgency) mission in Jammu and Kashmir. On the eve Republic Day, Zala was among the six bravehearts cleared by the 2 PARA SF (Special Forces), one of the elite units of Indian Army, for an exclusive interaction with Express. 

All the six, currently posted in Bangalore, are the recipients of Gallantry Awards and they recall the tales that fetched them all the glory. 

DARING MISSION: “April 2008. I was posted at Lolab Valley in North Kashmir. We came to know that militants belonging to LeT and Al Badar groups beheaded two J&K policemen on April 2. The security apparatus got activated and our first mission was to locate the bodies, which we did after two days and on April 6, two squads were formed to capture the militants. We extensively used thermal images to scan the area, which was nothing but thick forest,” Zala says of his valiant deed, sans any expression on his face. 

Heavy downpour did make the team’s job tougher, but Zala says nothing could ever stop a Special Forces man to take his eye out of the mission. “We soon spotted some movements and there were around five to six people. We had to first confirm that they were not civilians and decided to divert the squads in two directions. I was part of the squad that waited below the forest track. I could see a sense of emergency being shown by the suspect group. While they came closer, I spotted their hidden weapons. Three militants were killed on the spot and another body was recovered the next day morning. Since we were lying down and firing, one militant jumped over us and escaped,” says Zala. 

Zala says it was the fearlessness factor that made him join the SF. “Later I fell in love with the discipline and patience aspects of SF. What makes the journey in SF different is that everything gets down to micro level detailing. Killing the enemy is just the miniscule part of our mission,” Zala adds. He was awarded the Kirti Charkra in 2009. 

16 HOUR OPS: Naib Subedar Hari A R is 39 years old and has completed 20 years with 2PARA SF now. Hailing from Thiruvananthapuram, Hari was awarded the Sena Medal in 2008. “I was posted in Kashmir’s Tharal village in 2007 and there were 5 teams from 2PARA SF. We had information from the police that three terrorists were hiding in a house in a nearby village, which was 25 minutes from our location. The police had already cordoned off the house. All of a sudden one man came out of the house and we thought he was surrendering. Soon he threw a grenade and we shot him down,” says Hari. He states that they resisted from using further fire as the area was densely populated. 

With the night setting in, Hari and his team decided to detonate the house using IEDs. “I was tasked to clear the house with my buddy. I executed the mission and killed one militant in the process. There were 2 LeT militants and one local Kashmiri terrorist. It was a 16-hour long operation and there were no causalities from our side,” says Hari, who treats being in SF a very lucky assignment. 

WEDDED TO SF: Subedar B B Thapa is 49 years old and he is all set to complete three decades serving the Army and says he has the energy and will to serve for another 10 more years. “I can’t imagine that I will have to retire soon. I am with the SF right from day one and it has become a way of life for me,” says Thapa, hailing from Dehradun and a Sena Medal recipient in 2002. He undertook the valiant act in January 2002 at Cheri village of Anantnag district. 

“We were two squads undertaking an ADP (Area Dominating Patrol). Our informants confirmed the presence of two militants in the area. It was around 2 pm. After spotting us, we asked them to lift their pheran, under which the terrorists usually hide their weapons. They started running. When I was about 100 metres closer to them, I confirmed that they were carrying weapons and fired killing one on the spot. The second terrorist took out the arms and started firing at us. He was hiding behind a tree,” Thapa says with his eyes all lit up. 

Thapa’s team had some difficulty in spotting the hidden terrorist since the colour of his dress matched that of the tree skin. “To and fro firing went on for some time and finally we got him as well,” says Thapa, who terms the job with 2PARA SF as inspiring. “The causality rate is very minimal with us,” he adds. 

FIGHTING SNOW: A recipient of Sena Medal in 2003, 47-year-old Subedar N K Thakur from Rampatti village of Madhubani district in Bihar, joined the Army in 1988. He was on duty in Gadole in Anantnag district when his team got a tip-off that some militants were moving freely in the village. His team of five started their operation in the night which was experiencing heavy snowfall. “We took the riverbed route and took shelter at the first floor of a shop. We had constant inputs coming in from an informer. As the day broke, we kept a close watch on the road beneath. First a woman came to buy some items from the shop and we knew that she was doing a recce. Later, another man came out and he too was doing some kind of surveillance,” says Thakur, with a serious look on his face. 

As the SF team waited patiently, they spotted a five member team walking on the road. “They were calm and composed. At a distance of about 100 metres, we had a doubt that they were terrorists and it was confirmed when they came closer and we could make out that they were carrying weapons. The rest is history and we killed four of them on the spot and one managed to escape. I killed two of them - one at 10 metre distance and another at 15 metre,” says Thakur. He is all praise for the SF’s philosophy of executing difficult missions with the help of small teams. 

OUTSMARTING THE TERRORISTS: Thirty-six-year-old Hawaldar Meghraj Kolhe is a native of Ahmednagar in Maharashtra and has been with the Indian Army for the last 17 years. He picked up a Sena Medal in 2003 and feels that SAF’s silent nature work makes it an absolutely inspiring unit. 

Meghraj was on his daily rounds in Kokernag area of Anantnag district with their camp being set up at a nearby village. “We got firm information that two terrorists might step into the area. We put a plan in place. Two squads with one carrying the light machine guns and another rocket launchers were formed and we cordoned off the suspected area. The terrorists got a wind of our move and they came out with a ‘smart plan’ that eventually flopped. We saw a ‘couple’ walking on the road and we asked them to stop. They acted as if they didn’t hear us and started walking ahead. One had the face completely covered and we wanted to ensure that they were not civilians. We watched patiently and kept on asking them to stop. They refused to heed to our orders and started running. I could see a weapon hidden under the pheran of one guy while the other fired at us. We threw grenades at them but they didn’t explode due to ice. Finally, I got on to a position and fired from the RL and killed both of them. One was disguised as a woman. It was another execution of team work,” says Meghraj. He says the SF guys don’t make much noise and all the work is often done very silently. 

MOONLIGHT MISSION: Naik Dinesh Kumar Yadav is 33 years old and he is a native of Sikar in Rajasthan. Fourteen years in Army, Dinesh’s daredevil act came in May 2007 at Tharal village of J&K. The same year he was awarded the Sena Medal too. Acting on information late in the night, Dinesh and his team was woken up from their sleep for the mission. Dinesh had already packed his bags to proceed on leave the next day. “We were told that some militants were holed up in a house next to the Dal Lake. When we approached the house, they started firing from all sides. I was hiding behind a tree and started crawling towards the house. It was around 4 am in the morning and the moon was shining bright. I waited patiently and suddenly saw a man jumping out of the house firing indiscriminately in all directions. I fired at him and he was down immediately,” says Dinesh. The buddy pair concept is something that Dinesh likes most about SF. “The bonding is outstanding. In SF, we script new definition for team spirit,” he adds. 

As we wound up the interview, the six-member team assembled at the rock point inside 2PARA SF base in Hebbal for a photo shoot. A huge insignia of 2PARA SF is painted at the centre of the rock, with the unit motto Balidan (Sacrifice). The rock stars of 2PARA SF were shining as usual in their smart casuals. 

Copyright@The New Indian Express

Army wants LSVs for Special Forces

The Indian Army is likely to procure light strike vehicles (LSVs) specifically for its  Parachute Battalions (Special Forces). An recent RFI issued in this regard says that the LSVs will be used as a fast attack vehicle for the Special Forces. It will also enhance the mobility and reach of the Special Forces in different types of hostile terrains.

The Army is keen to have these LSVs fitted with integral fire power systems. The Army has sought for a stable vehicle which can carry four persons (including the driver) in a full-combat mode, including personal weapon. The LSV must be configured to have stowage space for carrying communication sets, spare ammunition, water and fuel. The specs: 4.7m (length) x 2.1m (width) x 1.65 (height).

The RFI further states that the LSV must have hard points for a suitable weapon mount capable of firing a 7.62mm GPMG from co-driver’s seat (frontal arc). “The rear hard point must enable to mount either a MILAN anti tank guided missile launcher or a .50/12.7 HMG or an Automatic Grenade Launcher. The Army has also sought information on whether the LSV can be air portable\para droppable (AN-32, IL-76, MI17).

Marine Commandos of INS Delhi neutralizes pirates in Gulf of Aden

Photo: Indian Navy