Pathankot AirForce base under attack

[Singha]

imo while NSG is being criticized for "not knowing how to fight in the forest", I have seen pix of them in maneswar practising among the trees. most of them are former army men and fighting in various terrain is part of basic trainings.

the move to send them would have been hailed as chankian brilliance if the rodents had taken some hostages in the living or office area and holed up in a building -- lack of quick NSG deployment was heavily criticized in 26/11, so this was a case of playing it safe. even in akshardham temple attack they combed the wooded grounds to hunt the rodents down. this is a base with 100s of women and children...soft targets to execute a beslan type incident.

what we probably need are sniffer dog units who can locate hidden humans in deep cover. most armies use them and even IA has some.

longer term the forest policy in bases has to be cancelled in favour of more khanish open bases amenable to technical means of monitoring. and israeli style 20 feet concrete walls

[Nitesh]

I think Doval sahab sent NSG to tackle any sudden attack, the chance of hitting any civilian target was as equally high as hitting any mil installation. What about a situation when NSG was not called and only Army SF was present nearby and a civilian target was hit. We would be hearing vice versa argument from suspected quarters by now.

[Singha]

indeed. there are dozens of targets within a 20km range in that region.....one cannot guess where the loose pack of rodents will strike.

[Picklu]

BTW why the f are we discussing robots again??

This report has already been posted multiple times.

DRDO's Daksh ROV.

http://sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx ... bot%20help
http://indianexpress.com/article/cities ... mechanism/

Long story short Army has Daksh. It has been used extensively and now a new variant is there.

Paramils are now trialing it to purchase it.

I have this common grouse not just for daksh but nvg, bpj, anti material rifle, namica, bfsr - you name it. We always do the token purchases for such items due to bean counters and those equipment promptly vanishes in some dark labyrinth within army storage. Then when the requirement comes, they are nowhere to be found.

A few robots like daksh, a few anti foliage radar, a few quad rotor UAV with thermal imaging payload should be present with the NSG and at least one set of them should travel with them for deployment all the time. The NSG should not even deploy without a set of them. We need to start using these equipment as part of SOP rather than on field improvisation.

26/11 is 7 years old, akshardham is 13 still hearing that nsg does not have adequate nvg, bpj and such is really really sickening.

[shaun]

An air base getting attacked by enemy a/c is an act of war but by enemy irregulars is called terror attack . we would have the same response if some air assets of the base were blown up by this pigs. Same media tamasha , after each major attack get reported . Media mismanagement, MHA poking its nose every where , no clear chain of command , chest thumping , corrupt police and to top it all sarkari baboon smirking at the time of press releases.In this whole episode , juggad and the chalta hain attitude of our "system" is in full display.

In the operational aspect , forces at ground zero did what they are trained to do , kill the pigs . wish they had some better basic equipments which in turn might have reduce the causalities.

[prahaar]

Frankly speaking, blaming NSA for sending NSG sounds like BS. If the people in charge of the ops had requested some other help, I do not believe they would have been denied the possibility. No one knows if the terrorists would get locked in the forest land or take hostages in some other parts of the city/base. Regarding 50/150 and not 1000, I believe these numbers may have been determined based on inputs from people on the ground (Dovalji personally cannot make such calculations). There does not seem to be any credible evidence of mismanagement due to micromanagement.

[prashanth]

Cannot blame the NSA here. He has done his job well. Stationing the NSG and Garuds immediately after receiving intelligence inputs and before attack began is itself a great improvement from what we have seen earlier. Undoubtedly, many lives were saved because of this decision. Its just that vermin that entered were trained very well, and they had the advantage of choosing their time and place of attack. Full marks to NSA, NSG and our armed forces.
What we really lack is a retaliation mechanism which will deter the enemy from attacking us in the first place.

[Karan M]

I have this common grouse not just for daksh but nvg, bpj, anti material rifle, namica, bfsr - you name it. We always do the token purchases for such items due to bean counters and those equipment promptly vanishes in some dark labyrinth within army storage. Then when the requirement comes, they are nowhere to be found.

A few robots like daksh, a few anti foliage radar, a few quad rotor UAV with thermal imaging payload should be present with the NSG and at least one set of them should travel with them for deployment all the time. The NSG should not even deploy without a set of them. We need to start using these equipment as part of SOP rather than on field improvisation.

26/11 is 7 years old, akshardham is 13 still hearing that nsg does not have adequate nvg, bpj and such is really really sickening.

Well BFSR was a mass purchase 1400+ units for entire IA.. but your overall point is right. Its a combination of babucracy and each alphabet soups broken procurement system that IA, NSG, SFF, CRPF/BSF etc all procure independently.. there is very little coordination at times.

IMO, much of this has to do with services and antiquated procedures but definitely also with complete absence of leadership and urgency at MOD level with people like do nothing Antony in charge and veshti wearing crooks who promptly made grandiloquent decisions of NSG hubs and put them in sh!tty infrastructure without basics of reequipment in many cases, all to play up their own image. At least that crooks son's hijinks are being explored.

Daksh btw has been successfully used by IA (details in prior link). 40+ IEDs in NE defused by it. Its a fairly large powerful robot. I get Vikram S's angst as to why NSG didn't have it and his dismay at the loss of Col Kumar, all I am pointing out is that a local solution is available and procurement needs to be sped up.

That blame squarely lies with red tapism both within prior MHA admin & MOD.

But bigger question is why is red tape so rampant. IMO, its to disguise .. preferred deals go fast.

This is how paramil procurement happened under UPA. Read the entire article. Direct reference to scion of the G family.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bill ... 21665.html

[Nitesh]

I am not sure that NSG does not have robots, some old news
http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 610_1.html

The commandos, from their base camp in Manesar and equipped with weapons, including bomb disposal robot, vehicles and dog squad, acted on the information that the attackers were holding some people hostage in KOD.

The counter-terrorism force "rescued" the "hostages" and "gunned down" a few "terrorists" after the mock exercise of more than an hour.

[Singha]

they also have a spherical portable bomb containment "godrej safe" on wheels ... saw it on tv once ... can be pulled or pushed by humans or towed probably. every airport also has a open water tank where explosives can be dumped for further study.

[Philip]

An air base where attack helos are stationed is under attack from terrorists who've penetrated the base.They are hiding in dense undergrowth we're told.Their locations on the ground are reasonably well known because of the firing from their hideouts.What prevents the helos from saturating the area with gunfire? We saw them in the air,what were they doing? Simple "pig spotting"?

Other reports say that some may have entered buildings. Do we not have dogs for security at bases,esp for night watch? The entire "blue book" whatever is used should be reduced to ashes and a new SOP manual devised for all mil bases.The chain of command and which forces will deal with such infiltrators/attackers should be clearly spelt out.Finally,the official media mouthopieces are so confused,they simply nod their heads,repeatedly talk about how well trained the Paki pigs are,.etc.etc.
There is no clarity and slick news conferences for the media.The DM/HM should drastically smarten up their media presentation and all media reportage should come from the capital well presented by the Min of I&B.
I've said for aeons,"winning the propaganda war is as important as the real war".Sadly in this attack,we appear to have lost both.A Goebbels is required to shake up the Inf. Min.

PS: To reduce casualties,why weren't ICVs used? Every base should have some armoured vehicles for just such an eventuality.They save lives.ICVs/AVs could've been sent into the "heavy growth".Astonishing as Pathankot is such a strat. location with such a heavy IA presence.An MBT or attack helo would've done the business.

[shaun]

+1 but Philip saab , both APC and MPVs were in action.

[chetak]

I think Doval sahab sent NSG to tackle any sudden attack, the chance of hitting any civilian target was as equally high as hitting any mil installation. What about a situation when NSG was not called and only Army SF was present nearby and a civilian target was hit. We would be hearing vice versa argument from suspected quarters by now.

when the IA can be called in, with unfailing regularity, to rescue little children who have fallen down bore wells, which law says that they cannot be used for defence against attack on civilian targets??

perennial effing turf wars and monumental departmental ego is the bane of our country and the result is there for all to see. Use a can opener to open the can, if you choose to use a hammer, sure you will get the can open eventually, but you will also make a mess while doing it.

this particular situation was tailor made for SF units which were ready and available locally just some kilometers away. local battle hardened Infantry could have been also used for perimeter control and indeed such help was actually offered from the BSF but the IAF refused it and continued to man the perimeter with the DSC.

available intelligence was mishandled and a unified C&C was totally absent.

[uddu]

India is the only country in the world that will let the terrorist to get trained for years in terror training camps in Pakistan fully knowing every activity, and then wait for them to come over to india and eliminate them in Indian territory. Everyone else is going on with the preemtive strikes, we the one waiting...I dont know when this waiting will end and we go places..

[chetak]

they also have a spherical portable bomb containment "godrej safe" on wheels ... saw it on tv once ... can be pulled or pushed by humans or towed probably. every airport also has a open water tank where explosives can be dumped for further study.

it's critical to follow SOP.

If you don't do so, the last post will sometimes sound in your "honor"

[member_29089]

Traitor Burkha Dutt Exclusive

I was preferring to give the benefit of doubt to the abducted SP. But if he gives "interview" to Traitor Gutkha Dutt then many red flags are being raised.

My CT is that Burkha Dutt is working for Pakistan. Salwinder Singh could be a Sidewinder Singh born in Pakistan and deeply embedded in Punjab Police by ISI. His (and his parents, uncles, aunties) birth certificate, school leaving certificate, etc should be verified to make sure he is a legit son of the soil.

(absolutely no disrespect meant for Sikhs)

Regarding the attack. Pakistan is (as BRFites know) ruled by 3 entities. The "Gobermund" whose job is the non-payment of dues to IMF, energy suppliers, and railway workers, and occasionally meet foreign leaders while holding their croutches. The "army" who loot the country, build mansions for terrorists, engage in drug smuggling, at the same time assign low-level infantry for "guarding the borders". The third entity being the "deep-state" which is the true islamic terrorist organization. As real as AQ and ISIS. This third entity has delusional dreams, extremest islamic views, it controls terror groups and organizes terror strikes. It also has control of the nukes therefore it brazenly goes about doing it's dirty work.

All the three entities know that each other exists and use each other for own survival. So when the Army and the "Gobermund" denies any knowledge of terrorism sponsorship, it is actually speaking 90% truth.

True three-headed serpent in our neighborhood which must be slain for world piss.

[A_Gupta]

I think one thing that is under-appreciated is that the Pakis are now sending in terrorists trained to the level of their special forces - the SSG - and the SSG are the Pakistani equivalent of the US Marines (of "Let's send in the marines" fame)

These men can navigate silently at night, crawl through narrow ravines, climb near vertical obstacles and are trained and equipped with means to cut through fencing; they can kill silently or lie in wait for days on end, These jihadis are not ordinary gun toting goons. they are the cream of the cream of motivated jihadis. Pakistan no doubt spends much effort on their training but are cheap (no maintenance) because they are sent as Fidayeen - Islam tells them that they are supposed to die (contrary to the dog-turd blabla info that suicide is not allowed in Islam.

Thanks, Shiv! So these guys are way, way above an Ajmal Kasab. In the question of relative costs to India and Pakistan, that I asked some pages ago, this increases the cost on the Pakistan side.

[chetak]

I think Doval sahab sent NSG to tackle any sudden attack, the chance of hitting any civilian target was as equally high as hitting any mil installation. What about a situation when NSG was not called and only Army SF was present nearby and a civilian target was hit. We would be hearing vice versa argument from suspected quarters by now.

Not to rain on anyone's parade but the NSG is not the last word on many such matters.

There are many IA units which are easily just as capable, if not more so.

[Aditya G]

So did NSA errored by sending NSG and not using Ghatak or other Army specialized forces...

Good question.

In India our CAPFs are structured by mission and not jurisdiction: BSF, ITBP, CRPF all have missions though they are used for other purposes due to demands of the time. It is the mandate of NSG to conduct precise counter terrorist (CT) missions - like Pathankot.

The situation is confusing for some, as the event occurred on an IAF base, which we think will be dealt with by the services 'internally'. Ideally, the Police, DSC, Garuds and Air Force personnel (AF police and even other officers and men) could have dealt with it. But as it developed they needed external help.

NSG is technically a CPO under Home Ministry, though the SAGs are staffed by Indian Army officers and men. SRGs are staffed by the CPOs. They are the right people - perhaps the best people for this job. Para (SF) and SG could have been pulled in - but why pull them off their own AOR? In Gurdaspur SF did come to the scene - look at the photo below - but were not required. Is it fair to keep pulling in SF guys for every strike and sending them back? What will the NSG do?



In short: Sending NSG was the right decision. Sending them in proactively, or at least preparation to send them in proactively was 5-star decision.

[Vikas]

How many Army men need to die to qualify any attack as act of war instead of just a terror attack which has lost meaning and depth anyways ?
Why blame mango Indian when GoI itself is more interested in sending dossiers and whatsapp'ing with Pakistan.
BTW did we capture any Pakistani armyman alive on the Pathankot AFB to feed him Biryani for next few years instead of putting few bullets in his head.

[Aditya G]

...

A few robots like daksh, a few anti foliage radar, a few quad rotor UAV with thermal imaging payload should be present with the NSG and at least one set of them should travel with them for deployment all the time. The NSG should not even deploy without a set of them. We need to start using these equipment as part of SOP rather than on field improvisation.

26/11 is 7 years old, akshardham is 13 still hearing that nsg does not have adequate nvg, bpj and such is really really sickening.

NSG has all of this and more.

Check out this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=135v3C6LjnE

They have dogs, BPJs, Parachutes, drones, specialist vehicles, clothing, robots, corner shot, snipers etc

They dont have AC-130s but in this op I argue that they had even that in the form of Akbars, Hips and C-130s!



Netra UAV. File pic

[VKumar]

Once again, thank God our enemies are more incompetent and corrupt than us.

[Karan M]

Before 26/11, HRT missions and CQB were primarily NSG. However, regular IA troops, Ghataks, let alone SF/SFF were also trained in CQB basics let alone advanced reflex shooting etc. However, if high risk ops which were completely around CQB were required, NSG was still brought in, if time permitted.
Having said that, many CQB missions were resolved entirely by regular IA, RR, Ghatak and IA SF units.

However, NSG has been deployed in non CQB ops as well. Eg the Veerappan ops by the primary SAG task force. This was a non optimal use of NSG.

It was the reserve unit which undertook Akshadham ops. In the Punjab terrorism era, NSG even deployed with IA units across search and destroy missions/patrols. In Black Thunder it was NSG which took down the terrorists.

In 26/11, NSG had issues working with Marcos as both had different drills. They had too few people in Mumbai as Mumbai police and Maha Gov and UPA GOI made a dogs mess of intel and did not provide any proper guidance. Reserve units had to be flown in to address three locations. Reserve units did not have proper body armor, guns and equipment. Still they got the job done. Esprit de corps and training.

After 26/11, the HRT/CQB missions were allocated across both NSG and IA SF. It was realized that the IA could not transfer men en masse to NSG to make up for round the city coverage. The logic was that cities with prominent IA presence would rely on IA SF and NSG nodes would cover their immediate areas.

In Pathankot, the NSA took a proactive decision, to quickly send NSG to Pathankot, since AFB itself could have HRT type situations but any area nearby as well.

Blaming him is pointless. His quick decision making made up for Punjab Police's bungling and delays.

Having first responders on the scene is vital. The troops who were there at AFB were DSC, IA regular troops (some reports note SF too), Garuds (who are trained for the job of base security and asset protection) and NSG.

Unlike 26/11, where a confused UPA did not even have troops in place for more than a dozen hours and people got slaughtered. Here NSA prepositioned resources well in time despite getting a very late headsup.

And even so, some media folks are attempting to target him to get to Modi.

[Karan M]

Google for Camp Bastion attack in Afghanistan as to what Pakistan trained attackers did.

8 USMC Harriers destroyed, some 12 troops killed.

Thanks to Dovals on the spot response, the base was reinforced and waiting for an attack and fully alert, hence recon picked up the attackers ingress. The attackers are being hunted down. No pencil pushing rubbish and committee decision.

The weak link are the state police forces. If their rampant corruption allows easy ingress, there is only so much the NSA can do.

[Avinash R]

6 terrorists who attacked Pathankot Air Force base neutralized, says Manohar Parrikar

TNN | Jan 5, 2016, 05.02 PM IST

NEW DELHI: Defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday confirmed that all the six terrorists who had attacked the Pathankot Air Force base have been neutralized by the security forces.

Addressing a press conference at Pathankot Air Force base after taking stock of the anti-terror operation, Parrikar complimented the security forces for ensuring that there was no loss to any vital asset at the Air Force base.

Stating that there were no suspected terrorists inside Pathankot Air Force base, the defence minister said combing operations will continue for a day or two.

"NIA investigations will reveal who were behind the terror attack," he said, refusing to point reponsibility on any one.

The defence minister announced that soldiers killed in Pathankot terror attack will get 'battle casualty status' and all its benefits.

How NSG commandos neutralized the terrorists at Pathankot Air Force base

PTI | Jan 5, 2016, 07.20 PM IST

NEW DELHI: About 300 'black cat' commandos of NSG, the elite counter-terror force, deployed an assortment of most sophisticated assault weapons and "buster" ammunition tools to neutralize the terrorists who had sneaked into the Air Force base in the border town of Pathankot.

In one of the longest running counter-terror operations in the country, the National Security Guard (NSG) suffered minor and major injuries to its 21 personnel, besides the death of its bomb squad commanding officer Lt Col E K Niranjan, since the first detachment of about 160 commandos flew out from the Palam military airbase on January 1 on an IAF transport aircraft.

Sources privy to the operation said two more similar special strike units, with a strength of about 80 'black cats' each, were airlifted to Pathankot from Delhi on January 2 and 3. They joined their 'buddies' thick in operations at the sprawling airbase, house to the fighter Squadrons of the IAF.

They said it was a "New Year call" to the 24x7 'on alert' counter-terrorist unit based at its garrison in Manesar sometime in the afternoon on January 1 and the commandos of the Special Action Group (SAG) were airborne by 3pm.

The call to air-dash to Pathankot was made by the Union home ministry to the NSG headquarters, which quickly asked its force commander in Manesar to prepare the commando team for assault.

The first team were led by NSG inspector general (Operations) Major General Dushyant Singh even as Director General R C Tayal camped in Pathankot from Sunday.

The sources said the NSG commandos made extensive use of their special weapons like MP-5 assault rifles, Glock pistols, corner-shot guns and a heavy cache of door and wall-busting explosive charges to corner and eliminate the holed-up terrorists.

They said the 'buster' tools, as they are called, were also used during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks when NSG used them to blow off locked rooms and passages of five-star hotels but some of them used this time were the enhanced variants which the force has procured post the Mumbai operation.

Two terrorists, the sources said, were killed by the NSG men when they were hiding and launching continuous fire and lobbing grenades from a room where the family quarters of the Defence Security Corps (DSC) is located in the airbase. The room was later demolished by the use of heavy fire.

They said the NSG commandos and other security forces, for the last few hours, have been undertaking the "render safe" procedure which entails sanitizing the area from hidden improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and booby traps, and hence the operation is taking time.

"Such thing is done after every operation. The area of the IAF base is large and complex hence it is taking time," one of the sources said.

Half-a-dozen sniffer dogs from the canine (K 9) squad along with their handlers have also been pressed into service by the NSG.
While the elite counter-terror and counter-hijack force has not given a name to the operation till now like 'Op Black Tornado' for the 26/11 Mumbai task, the force for the first time lost an officer from its bomb disposal squad.

Thirty-four-year-old Lt Col and Group Captain Niranjan was heading the unit, they said, and was trying to clear and sanitize the body of a terrorist and the surrounding area when a cleverly concealed grenade blew up fatally injuring the officer and five others.

The highly decorated officer was immediately taken to hospital where he breathed his last. He is the 19th martyr of the force which was raised in 1984 for special operations and as a federal contingency force for India.

"He was part of the first team that went to Pathankot on Friday as there were inputs that the terrorists are carrying huge explosives. Niranjan and his bomb disposal men were tasked to aid the fighting units.

"He joined NSG in May, 2014 on deputation from the Engineers Regiment of the Army which he joined in 2004. He was a dare-devil officer and had been part of a special training with the FBI in the US in combating IEDs and deadly explosives a few months ago," one of Niranjan's commando course colleague said, while refusing to be identified.

The NSG had called the officer's martyrdom as an act bearing "exemplary courage and utmost devotion to duty".
Seven security personnel and six terrorists have been killed in the attack.

Act against attackers if they are Pakistanis, says columnist

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan must cooperate with India in nabbing the masterminds of the terror attack on the IAF base in Punjab if they happen to be Pakistanis, a columnist said in remarks published on Tuesday.

"Pakistan must cooperate in nabbing the planners if they're proven to be in Pakistan," Islamabad-based Marvi Sirmed wrote in The Nation newspaper.

"Both the states should make sure that the dialogue must go on. Come what may," she added.

Terrorists believed to be from Pakistan attacked the Indian Air Force (IAF) base at Pathankot in Punjab before dawn on Saturday, leaving seven security personnel dead. Security forces killed five terrorists.

Calling the attack "dastardly", she noted that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condoled the deaths while strongly condemning the attack.

Sirmed said most Pakistan-India observers were anticipating such a terror attack, ever since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprised the world by flying into Lahore to meet Sharif on Christmas.

"Just like the method in madness, there has been a long sustaining pattern of things between Pakistan and India.

"Every advance in the peace process has followed an incidence like this. When the recent thaw happened, many suggested that both the countries must devise a contingency for the apprehended obstacles and obstructions."

She said Pakistan must stop being seen on the side of the alleged attackers.

"When we scream to the world that we are the biggest victims of terror, we must be seen doing something against the scourge.

"Not allowing these elements taking our image in their hands, as a starter."

[chetak]

X posted from the media watch thread

Media all over India has been hijacked, making the rounds on SM



Member of the above mentioned media Madhyamam daily posted insulting comment on Lt.col. Niranjan . He said "one menace is neutralised and now his wife will get money and job, rotten indian democracy "

they have arrested this b@stard's Anwar Sadhik arse from his house in Kodur, in Malappuram district, under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code at around 1.30 am on Tuesday.

that's the section for sedition, If convicted, Anwar may face a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.


On Sunday morning, a Anwar Sadhik posted an insulting comment in Malayalam on the Facebook page of an online Malayalam news portal.



The comment says..... "so, another trouble maker is also gone. Now government will give money and job to his wife and we commoners get nothing. Such a stinking Indian democracy".
In another comment, he said... "Why salute? Have you ever thought how terrorism originates? No one is born a terrorist. 10-50 should die (like Niranjan)"

[Aditya G]

Very few pics:





I think Navy has the best PR amongst all services in this country.

[chetak]

Very few pics:





I think Navy has the best PR amongst all services in this country.

the guy is bucking for ambassador / governor.

[shaun]

...

A few robots like daksh, a few anti foliage radar, a few quad rotor UAV with thermal imaging payload should be present with the NSG and at least one set of them should travel with them for deployment all the time. The NSG should not even deploy without a set of them. We need to start using these equipment as part of SOP rather than on field improvisation.

26/11 is 7 years old, akshardham is 13 still hearing that nsg does not have adequate nvg, bpj and such is really really sickening.

NSG has all of this and more.

Check out this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=135v3C6LjnE

They have dogs, BPJs, Parachutes, drones, specialist vehicles, clothing, robots, corner shot, snipers etc

They dont have AC-130s but in this op I argue that they had even that in the form of Akbars, Hips and C-130s!



Netra UAV. File pic

no disrespect but the robot you guys are talking about was some how missing from action. Along with the Lt Col , five members were too injured . 8 members were injured during the combing operation if reports from DDM are true. We don't know the degree of those injuries .

The common perception is ARMY SF with support of regular infantry units carry on the task of neutralizing the pigs when they try to enter any defense installations. Para /SF / ARMY QRT are properly trained and equipped to tackle any HRT/ CQB missions . We have such precedence before on multiple occasions at army camps and garrison , Ex URI 2014 , SAMBA 2015 etc

Equipment wise from the above article , as special weapons , corner-shot guns are the latest addition , no mention of NVGs , HHTI or ROV

[Hari Seldon]

Zee reporting that Parrikar is visiting the families of every martyr at their homes. All to be deemed battlefield casualities. Respectful gesture.

[ShauryaT]

The way I see it, without going into the nitty gritty is this was a well managed CT operation, always in control and deemed assets in place. The NSA, part of the PMO was in charge, ensuring ALL inter-departmental and inter-ministerial co-operation. We can quibble on not this, not that and surely learn a few more things but overall mission of the terrorists failed. Hats off to all who ensured the failure of the enemy's mission. Be proud on what was accomplished and a tear for the brave who have fallen.

The government and leadership should rightly take credit for this successful operation and move on to the prosecution of the perpetrators and other action steps required to build capabilities and prevent future attacks.

[ShauryaT]

longer term the forest policy in bases has to be cancelled in favour of more khanish open bases amenable to technical means of monitoring. and israeli style 20 feet concrete walls

Open bases not an option for India due to our population density. Concrete walls is the only way to go. Many of our bases and commands are vestiges of the colonial era and much of the infrastructure is from those days. While they are kept clean and maintained, there is a somewhat urgent need to modernize and invest in defense infrastructure. We do not see much of IED's and bomb trucks based forced entries but think we should prepare for such scenarios. A wall backed by cameras and other IR motion sensors can go a long way to supplement the basic protection needs and much of this is COTS. Will need the right budget outlays specifically tasked for purpose. The only problem - the bean counters in the finance division of MoD and MoF.

[rsingh]

Few days ago somebody posted pic of DM Parikar on train. oh how humble and down to earth personality he is. we should not forget that he is DM of India and thus a high value target. Now everybody can see how foolish that idea was.

[schinnas]

X-post from NGO and Media watch thread....

I am watching NewX now (NationAt9 program anchor @RShivshankar) and it was honey to jingo's ears.

The program is titled #MakePakPay and the discussion was on where is Pro-Pak Lobby. They quoted controversial statements of all our traitors (Mani Shankar Aiyar, Sudheendra Kulkarni, Salman Kurshid) and questionable characters such as Ved Pratap Vaidik who were berating (NewX terminology, not mine) PM Modi for taking tough stand against Pak and questioned why there is not a word from them now when Pak is bleeding India. Special attention was given to statements of MSA in Pak asking them to "remove" PM Modi and bring Cong to power. Similarly Salman Khurshid was berated for calling Pak PM as more brave then PM Modi.

It was as if watching a program anchored by a BRFite.

As BRFite Shiv pointed out, NewX has made a policy decision to not invite Puki rats to their talk shows. I have made a decision to watch NewsX exclusively instead of other English channels which would annoy any nationalistic person.

If NewsX keeps at this, they can easily evolve as a trusted and balanced channel (with slight nationalistic bent) as the bar is very low now. Good luck, NewsX! After observing it for few more days, I will recommend it to my friends and relatives if they are consistent.

Looking at their leadership and editorial team, I see V.S. Nalapat

[chetak]

So did NSA errored by sending NSG and not using Ghatak or other Army specialized forces...

The situation is confusing for some, as the event occurred on an IAF base, which we think will be dealt with by the services 'internally'. Ideally, the Police, DSC, Garuds and Air Force personnel (AF police and even other officers and men) could have dealt with it. But as it developed they needed external help.

ghatak is meant primarily for asset protection and rescue of downed pilots from behind enemy lines. There is some genuine confusion about their actual role. their numbers are limited and that puts a lot of constraints.

The IA units especially the SF are battle acclimatized specialized units trained and tasked for such action. The large area of the airbase was more suited to them rather than the NSG whose role is different in terms of terrain and tactics.

Ideally,the Police, DSC, Garuds and Air Force personnel (AF police and even other officers and men) could have dealt with it. But as it developed they needed external help.

is not correct.

this was far beyond their training or even mandate. the punjab police and their rambo like approach is not to be encouraged. During the previous attack, they insisted on handling it themselves as they were encouraged by the state political leadership which has elections coming up.

If anyone are first responders' with no option but to tackle the situation, then even school teachers would have pitched in but it does not mean that it is their job or even within their capability.

They had enough time to plan the response and use the correct tools but people without experience in strategy and tactics to handle such an emerging situation, especially when such expensive assets were at stake did not heed advice.

except for the ghatak who went down in the direct firing, did any of the poor DSC folks have BPJs on??
why was the cookhouse unguarded, why were the DSC even there?? These bravehearts should have been far away from the battle zone.

The IA would have routinely cleared out all these guys to a safe zone and sanitized all buildings in the area.

many baboo(n)s seem to think that time scaled and routine union mandated promotions bestow wisdom on them, just with the mere passage of time.

there is no wisdom by osmosis.

This is a fatally incorrect notion, especially for some poor b@stards looking at the business end of an AK 47 and also in the direct line of fire

[A Sharma]

Pics from Pathankot You can see NSG

[Karan M]

Is the guy to the left Punjab Police?

[Sid]

Pics from Pathankot You can see NSG

These chaps cannot be heavily armed then this. What all crap people have been discussing on BPJs and helmets and so on??

.............................................
GhatakGarud is meant primarily for asset protection and rescue of downed pilots from behind enemy lines. There is some genuine confusion about their actual role. their numbers are limited and that puts a lot of constraints.

The IA units especially the SF are battle acclimatized specialized units trained and tasked for such action. The large area of the airbase was more suited to them rather than the NSG whose role is different in terms of terrain and tactics....................................

IAF SF also have a QR team on base (4-5 team size) for events like this. There was a video of QR force mock drill posted on youtube.

[anandsgh]

Is the guy to the left Punjab Police?



Isn't it customary to have an upper paper/cover above the clipboard of other papers? The public Cameras might capture the text.

[Karan M]

Looks like they are AF. Its like the AF security military dress blues under cammo.



Regular IA



These are DSC judging by the age. Remember one of these 58 year old veterans knocked down Pak's so called elite SSG trained scumbag, took his gun and killed him



These are IAF base security