Discussion on Indian Special Forces

[ArmenT]

^^^^^
and the SEALs and Army SF use Glocks for sidearms and will continue to use them for the forseeable future.

[Aditya G]

Nice to see maroon beret drill instructor amongst the sea of black

You need to advertise your capability for deterrence effect. Jehadis should know (i.e. be afraid off) what they are up against in case.

NSG to take part for first time in Republic Day parade
https://twitter.com/DDNewsHindi/status/ ... 3592987648

Why???

Some things are better left off behind the veil. Special forces units should never be advertised.

[Gyan]

[url=IAF's Garud commandos to be equipped with new arms and bullet proof jackets]http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/iafs-garud-commandos-to-be-equipped-with-new-arms-and-bullet-proof-jackets/1/862847.html[/url]

DRDO should still be the primary point to develop or collaborate to make in India for anything and everything

Those gloves are for auto mechanics - keep hands clean. They provide some grip, but not sure they are good for combat purposes. Cheap tho' and available at any WalMart.

Go through any rough, broken, overgrown terrain with a heavy backpack (ie anything except your bedroom) and within ten minutes you will realise importance of gloves, knee & elbow protection, goggles, monkey caps etc. Efficiency of a soldier is decreased by lots of small things like bruise knee, twisted ankle, broken nail, grit in eye, scratched face etc. We don't have to continue with British policy of using our soldiers as cannon fodder or decreasing their combat efficiency for a kit worth less than ₹ 5000.

[Nick_S]

Ashutosh Bhatia ‏@ashutitikshu 49m49 minutes ago
The commandos of National Security Guards will make a debut this year in #RepublicDay parade.

[nits]

Ashutosh Bhatia ‏@ashutitikshu 49m49 minutes ago
The commandos of National Security Guards will make a debut this year in #RepublicDay parade.

Gurus - Correct me if wrong but is the device mounted on NSG Commando head is NVG ?

Quick comparison with what UK forces wear

[Manish_P]

^ Short answer - Yes, one of the types.

The mount may be adaptable to attach the Ground Panoramic Night Vision Goggle of Operation Neptune Spear fame and considered to be one of the best currently.

Rohitvats might be able to confirm

[nits]

NSG practising for 26/1 on Rajpath

[Aditya G]

^ well earned spot for NSG on the republic day parade.

Any news of awards for surgical strike? Want to see the citations

[Singha]

the yellow tinted glasses cuts the blue haze significantly - used in driving glasses.

[Rakesh]

Have been asked what weapons Para SF uses apart from AK.
They use what suits operations. But main weapons are Tavor TAR 21 and M4.
https://twitter.com/majorgauravarya/status/823178885755846656

[abhishek_sharma]

Manu Pubby ‏@manupubby_ET · 7m7 minutes ago

The list of gallantry awards on occasion of Republic Day. Check 4 and 9 Para officers and men for those awarded for surgical strikes.

[abhishek_sharma]

Sandeep ‏@SandeepUnnithan · 6m6 minutes ago

1 Kirti Chakra, 5 Shaurya Chakras for commandos from 4 Para-SF 9 Para-SF who led Sept 29 surgical strikes into PoK.

[Rakesh]

The highest award given out this Republic Day is to Army Commando - Major Rohit Suri - from 4 Para (Special Forces).
https://twitter.com/ShivAroor/status/824294203861499904

[vaibhav.n]

One SM (Gallantry) for Special Group also....

[Kashi]

To my untrained eye, it seems a few Ghataks from Dogra and Bihar regiments have been commended as well.

For the uninformed what is PTR (No. 10 Shaurya Chakra)? Is it a porter?

[Bishwa]

PTR = Paratrooper perhaps?

[Kashi]

^^ I think you are right, a sepoy in 9 PARA would be designated as a Paratrooper just like a Grenadier or Rifleman

[arun]

The highest award given out this Republic Day is to Army Commando - Major Rohit Suri - from 4 Para (Special Forces).
https://twitter.com/ShivAroor/status/824294203861499904

^^^ For Surgical Strikes .

X Posted from the “Army strikes terror camps in PoK” thread.

This Republic Day gallantry awards will be given to Special Force members involved in the cross LoC boots on the ground surgical strikes on Mohammadden Terrorist launch-pads setup by the uniformed Jihadi’s of the Punjabi dominated military of the Mohammadden Terrorist Fomenting Islamic Republic of Pakistan in Mohammadden Terrorist Fomenting Islamic Republic of Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Here it may be noted that while the citations say nothing about cross Loc Boots on the Ground Surgical Strikes to maintain secrecy of operational details, “official sources confirmed that the bulk of the awards to 4 Para SF and 9 Para SF in the list are for the surgical strikes” :

On gallantry list: Army men who carried out LoC surgical strikes

Departing from practice, the Army did not release the citations for the acts that got the honours — the operation has remained classified till date.

Written by Sushant Singh | New Delhi | Published:January 26, 2017 4:21 am

Nineteen personnel of two Special Forces (SF) battalions which carried out surgical strikes along the Line of Control (LoC) last September were decorated Wednesday with gallantry awards, including a Kirti Chakra and five Shaurya Chakra, on the eve of the Republic Day.

Departing from practice, the Army did not release the citations for the acts that got the honours — the operation has remained classified till date.

Major Rohit Suri of 4 Para SF was awarded the Kirti Chakra while Colonel Kapil Yadav, Commanding Officer of 9 Para SF, and Colonel Harpreet Sandhu, Commanding Officer of 4 Para SF, were awarded the Yudh Seva Medal for the operation.

The list of awards for these two units includes a Kirti Chakra, India’s second highest peacetime gallantry award after the Ashok Chakra, five Shaurya Chakra, the third highest peacetime gallantry award, and 13 Sena Medal for gallantry.

Besides these awards, 12 men from these units have been given Mention in Despatches which is meant to recognise distinguished and meritorious service in operational areas and acts of gallantry.

The Army did not release the citations of the awarded personnel. An official source said: “Every citation contains the description of the qualifying act, and putting that out will let everything be known about the operation, including tactics. Special Forces operations have to be kept secret. We also did not release citations for gallantry awards after the operations in Myanmar in 2015.”

The two SF battalions are also deployed for counter-insurgency duties in Jammu and Kashmir and some of the awards to the personnel could possibly be for operations against terrorists. But official sources confirmed that the bulk of the awards to 4 Para SF and 9 Para SF in the list are for the surgical strikes.

The two units struck at terror launch pads along the LoC on September 29 last year, in response to a terror attack on the Uri Army camp on September 18, which led to the death of 19 Army soldiers. ……………….

From Indian Express here:

On gallantry list: Army men who carried out LoC surgical strikes

[ranjan.rao]

Should have kept the names secret too

[suryag]

discovery showing an amazing documentary on the para sf

[suryag]

whoa1!!! this confidence firing test where these heroes are firing live ammo at targets 45cm away from your buddy got me goosebumps
whoa2!!! so the heroes are blind folded and 5 disassembled weapons are put in front of them all mixed up and they have to assemble the guns blindfolded
whoa3!!! they learn to read/write urdu in nastaleeq script
whoa4!!! 30KG backpack 10 KM uphill trek, two heroes got 10KG extra as punishment
whoa5!!! this is insane this 1.18KM circuit with additional 40-60 Kg loads apart from their back pack(30 Kg) and weapons
whoa6!!! these heroes are put through so much mental stress now
whoa7!!! 100Km endurance run with 10Kg + 7Kg weapon

This one seems to be a rerun, title is - India's paratroopers - Earning the badge - recommended watch for everyone

[Singha]

^^^^^
and the SEALs and Army SF use Glocks for sidearms and will continue to use them for the forseeable future.

Most of police there also use glocks iirc

[Singha]

The bihar / dogra unit i think smashed a few posts which were right on the border per reports at the time.


Hindustan Times
3 soldiers part of team that gunned down Burhan Wani awarded gallantry medals
Hindustan Times - ‎53 minutes ago‎
Three Rashtriya Rifles unit soldiers who were part of the team that gunned down militant commander Burhan Wani were awarded the Sena Medal.

[Raja Bose]

discovery showing an amazing documentary on the para sf

Go back a few pages on this thread. There was a discussion on this after Singha posted the videos.

[Ankit Desai]

Surgical strike a copybook execution of precise planning

"You don't get a maroon beret, you have to earn it," this is said about all those men who aspire to join Parachute Regiment, the Army's premier airborne strike force. The September 29 surgical strike on terror launch pads across LoC was the latest feat of daredevilry by the men from this elite force. But the government had refused to divulge the details of the operation in which 19 Para soldiers took part.
It was only while bestowing medals to these bravehearts on the 68th Republic Day, the Army gave an account of the combat operation and the raw courage displayed by them in the citations of the gallantry awards, accessed by TOI. While scores of Army personnel might have been involved in the planning and execution of the cross-LoC operation, the 19 para soldiers were integral part of the surgical strike, the citations say.
One Colonel, five Majors, two Captains, one Subedar, two Naib Subedars, three Havildars, one Lance Naik and four Paratroopers of the 4th and 9th battalions of the Para Regiment took part in the surgical strike.
While Major Rohit Suri from the 4th Para was awarded a Kirti Chakra, Col Harpreet Sandhu, commanding officer of 4 Para, was honoured with a Yudh Seva Medal. The team also won four Shaurya Chakras and 13 Seva Medals. Colonel Harpreet Sandhu, who was tasked to undertake two simultaneous strikes on launch pads, was awarded a Yudh Seva Medal for formulating the strike plan and ensuring its execution flawlessly.
The Army started planning to execute the surgical strike on the terror infrastructure in PoK soon after the Uri terror attack in J&K in which 17 soldiers were killed, but it was awaiting an 'amavasya' (moon-less) night to execute the operation. Finally on the intervening night of September 28-29, Major Rohit Suri, heading an eight-member strike team, was tasked to carry out strikes on the terror infrastructure.
After carrying out a recce, Major Suri directed his team to engage the terrorists in the open at a launchpad. Suri and his buddy came within just 50m of the target and neutralised two terrorists. Once the terrorists in the open were killed, Major Suri noticed movement of two suspected jihadis in the nearby jungle. The movement of two terrorists was also being tracked with an UAV. Major Suri ignoring his safety intercepted the terrorists and engaged them in close fight, eliminating both of them.
Another Major was tasked to undertake close-target surveillance of the launchpads on September 27.
The officer, along with his assault group, crossed the LoC 48 hours prior to the strike and kept the target under close surveillance till the day of the strike. His team mapped the target zone, location of automatic weapons and different firing positions the strike team could use. The officer destroyed a weapon shelter, killing two terrorists. During the attack, his squad came under fire from a nearby weapon shelter. Sensing danger to his squad, the Major, who was honoured with Shaurya Chakra, crawled near the shelter and eliminated one more terrorist, silencing the gun fire.
The third Major along with his buddy closed in on a terror shelter and destroyed it, killing all jihadis sleeping inside. Thereafter, he guided other members of the strike group to safety. Major, who too was awarded Shaurya Chakra, kept his superiors posted about the progress of the operation during the strike.
The fourth Major was awarded a Sena medal for destroying an automatic weapon fortification with his grenade attack and killing two terrorists at close range.
The surgical strike was not an easy operation. The strike team came under heavy fire from terrorists. The fifth Major spotted three terrorists carrying RPG (rocket-propelled grenades), who were about to target the squad led by the fourth Major. But before the terrorists could attack, the fifth Major, unmindful of his safety, engaged the terrorists in a gunfight and neutralised the two. His buddy eliminated the third terrorist.
Not only officers, even JCOs and paratroopers showed exemplary courage. A Naib Subedar, who was awarded Shaurya Chakra, fired grenades at a terrorists' fortification, killing two terrorists and destroying the launch pad. When he saw a terrorist firing at his team, he pushed his buddy to safety and charged at the terrorist and eliminated him.
Though no soldier was killed in the operation, a paratrooper, who was part of the surveillance team, suffered injuries during the operation.
Top Comment

After spotting two terrorists who were moving dangerously towards a strike squad, the paratrooper chased them but accidentally stepped on a mine, which blew up his right foot. Unmindful of his injuries, the paratrooper engaged the terrorists and killed one of them.
(Names have been withheld to maintain secrecy of the identities of the defence personnel)

-Ankit

[A Sharma]

NSG gets shot in arm with grenade dropping drones, dog robot

[Gagan]

Dogo Robot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYMtX3E-Lgs

[vasu raya]

the grenade dropping drones have to be disbursed in J&K soon, its not the NSG always on the scene.

[Rakesh]

Here's an inspiring pic from a SF training mission
https://twitter.com/writetake/status/836030474455756800

[Nick_S]

Army on shopping spree, commandos to get deadlier
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... s?from=mdr

Defence ministry sources on Tuesday said "restricted" tenders have been issued to select foreign arms companies for acquisition of new assault rifles, sniper rifles, general purpose machine guns, light-weight rocket launchers, tactical shotguns, pistols, night-vision devices and ammunition. "Seven tenders or RFPs (request for proposals) were issued last week to American, Israeli, Swedish and other companies for acquisition of the specialised weaponry on a fast-track basis. Separately in a different capital acquisition project, trials are in progress to acquire over 120 light strike vehicles, which can be carried by helicopters, for the Special Forces," said a source.

[rkhanna]

^^ assuming small arms include optic.. but no comm upgrade?

[Rakesh]

Jump Indicator Wings - A brass badge with stars at the bottom of the parachute,
with 1 star denoting 25 jumps, 2 stars 50 and 3 stars 100....
https://twitter.com/IndianParaSF/status ... 2590261249

[vikassh]

Now we can see some of the faces as well from the list below.

Manu Pubby ‏@manupubby_ET · 7m7 minutes ago

The list of gallantry awards on occasion of Republic Day. Check 4 and 9 Para officers and men for those awarded for surgical strikes.

[nam]

If we read the citation for the awards, this was no fire a rocket at some houses and come back, as was described in the media.

It was proper firefight. 2-3 of the guys knocked off 4 Pakis each.Advance Recon team clearing the path and snipers covering the assault team .

Tells me IA knows whom they were killing & also the Paki body count.

This was precise attack. Rambo would be proud

[rkhanna]

NSG

[Aditya G]

MARCOS dett from INS Sharada in Action on 16th May 2017 in Gulf of Aden

[tsarkar]

NSG

First & third are good photo ops but bunched up without cover is asking for trouble, unless its a very momentary pause during sprint that the camera happened to capture.

Ofcourse, their fingers are on the trigger and I'm sure their CQB marksmanship standards are high, but the risk of a hand or UBGL grenade or RPG is too high.

Hemant Karkhare, Ashok Kamte, Vijay Salaskar were all killed together by Kasab's partner because they were bunched up in the police Qualis.

[rohitvats]

NSG

First & third are good photo ops but bunched up without cover is asking for trouble, unless its a very momentary pause during sprint that the camera happened to capture. <SNIP>

IMO, this bunching up of men (single file formation) is part of CQB drill and not exactly to be followed when you're exposed in open terrain. The pics have been taken in an open area for optics purpose. Again, IMO, it serves no purpose in open area.

[Karan M]

Yes, its CQB drill to minimize number of people visible and exposed to someone putting a weapon outside and firing blindly, they are usually in single file, bunched beside the wall. para sf does the same here (https://i.redd.it/a89vm8zo0tiy.jpg)
NSG here, single file http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/thum ... 637012.jpg

[Gagan]

NSG can be expected to be the best in CQB, because that is their primary line of work.