Indian Special Forces | PARA SF | Paratroopers

 PARA Special Forces

PARA SF Hell March at Rajpath

The Para Special Forces also known as th Para SF, is the special operations unit of the Indian Army which is attached to the Parachute Regiment. The Headquarters are located in Bengaluru Cantonment, Bengaluru. The nickname of Para SF is Shatrujeet ( The Conqueror) and the motto is "Men Apart, Every Men An Emperor"

The parachute units of the Indian Army are one of the oldest airborne units in the world. The 50th Indian Parachute Brigade was formed on 27th Oct 1941, which a combination of the British 151st Parachute Battalion, the British Indian Army 152nd Indian Parachute Battalion , and the 153rd Gurkha Parachute Battalion. The Parachute Regiment was formed from these and several other units in 1952.

                                                                                                

After the origin of Republic India , India retained only one parachute brigade - the 50th. This brigade then consisted of three distinguished battalions namely, 1 PARA (Punjab), 2 PARA (Maratha), 3 PARA (Kumaon). In 1947-48 , during the Jammu and Kashmir operations these battalions distinguished with glory in the battle of Shelatang, Naushera, Jhangar and Ponch after which these were awarded the respective Battle Honours.

Insignia

Para (SF) personnel, like other parachute troops in the Indian military, wear a maroon beret. In addition, they wear a "Special Forces" tab on each shoulder. Personnel who serve in the Para (SF) are allowed to wear the "Balidan" (Sacrifice) patch on their right pocket below the name plate, which is similar to the SAS beret insignia; only para commandos are allowed to wear the patch. Para (SF) personnel may grow beards, as this allows them to blend in with the civilian population, especially in Jammu and Kashmir. The insignia on their beret is drawn from the near identical insignia of the British Special Air Service.

Organization    

The Parachute Regiment presently consists of nine Special Froces, two Territorial Army, Five Airborne and one Counter-Insurgency (Rashtriya Rifles) battalions in its fold. The selection procedure in PARA SF vary from battalion to battalion. Meaning there are different standards to get enrolled into different Para (SF) battalions.

The year was mid-80s , there were plans going on to take three para commando battalions from the Parachute Regiment and bring them together under an individual specialized organisation, which was supposed to be named as the Special Forces Regiment. However, after several administrative and logistic obstacle, this plan was abandoned, and they continue to be trained and recruited by the Parachute Regiment.

Paratroopers (Airborne) works in large teams and also coordinate with other units as their role involves occupying large areas behind the enemy lines, whereas the Para (SF) operate in assault teams, which works individually behind the enemy lines. The total strength of the  Paratroopers regiment is about 10,000 , which includes five airborne battalions, one Rashtriya rifles and two Territorial Army battalion personnel, while the Para (SF) includes 5,000 and 6,000 personnel. Though being just like another army personnel, the para commandos have to hide their identity from the general public for the security purposes. The Special Group, a confidential special forces unit of the Research and Analysis Wing, recruits soldiers from the Para SF. 

Functions

•  Intelligence collection, special reconnaissance
• sabotage of vital enemy infrastructure and communications through deep penetration and surgical strikes behind enemy lines.
• Covert and overt/direct action special operations as part of the Indian Army's counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations.
• Hostage rescue operations within and beyond Indian territory.

The unit is tasked with missions such as special operations, direct action, hostage rescue, counter-terrorism, special reconnaissance, foreign internal defense, counter-proliferation, counter-insurgency, seek and destroy and personnel recovery. 

Selection

All the paratroopers are voluntarily recruited. Some of them enter the Para Regiment direct from the recruitment, while others are transferred from their parent units. They are put through the selection process of 3 months which is also called the probation period for Paratroopers (Airborne) Battalions (5,6,7,23,29) and a six months for Para (Special Forces) battalions (1,2,3,4,9,10,1,12,21 PARA), in order to be a para (Special Forces)  all personnel are firstly required to qualify as Paratroopers; once selected the candidates may choose to advance to SF selection. This selection takes place twice a year in the spring and the autumn term. It is the longest and the toughest training in the world in which the candidates are exposed to sleep deprivation, humiliation, exhaustion, mental and physical torture. Even if a candidate may have cleared the selection, he is not directely inducted into the regiment until the completion on the Balidan Padh. After training, the candidates are involved in active operations in hostile zone for a year or more. Provided if the candidate survives the Balidan Padh, they shall earn the Balidan Badge which marks their entry into the regiment.

Soldiers of the Indian Army can volunteer for the course irrespective of the ranks. the probation period depends on the battalions and varies from three months, six months or nine months with an additional time for specialized skills selection. During the probation period all the soldiers are stripped of their ranks and are called probationers or probies. During any day of the course, a probie can opt to leave the course. 

Each Special Forces operative specialises in various skills such as weapons, demolition, navigation, communication, medical. PARA (SF) work in small teams, five to eight men, and are also focused on strategic reconnaissance, surveillance, target designation (RSTAD) Hostage rescue and direct action (DA) tasks and are selected and trained accordingly.[42] Those who complete the probation period and are inducted into the Para (SF) undergo further selection and training, but to earn the Balidan (sacrifice) badge, they have to further survive being deployed in active operations in hostile zones, known as the Balidan Padh. 

 Training centers and courses

• Commando Training Camp, Belgaum, Karnataka
• 4-week High-Altitude Commando Course, Parvat Ghatak School in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh
• Indian Special Forces Training School, Nahan, Himachal Pradesh;
• Combat free-fall training (HAHO and HALO) at the Parachute Training School, Agra
• Counter insurgency, at the Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) in Vairengte, Mizoram
• Desert Warfare School, Rajasthan
• Basic Combat Divers course, Indian Navy's Dive School, Kochi
• High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS), Sonamarg, Kashmir

Training

The initial training to become a special forces operator is 3.5 years, the longest anywhere, but the training is also a continuous process. In the special forces, the members are imparted both basic and advanced training. They are taught specialised modes of infiltration and exfiltration, either by air (combat freefall) or sea (combat diving). Some trainees return to PTS (Parachute Training School) to undergo the free-fall course, which requires at least 50 jumps from altitudes up to 33,500 feet (10,200 metres) to pass. Both High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) and High Altitude High Opening (HAHO) techniques are learned. The ability to use the HAHO method and specially designed maneuverable parachutes called HAPPS (High Altitude Parachute Penetration System)/AMX-310 to conduct stealth insertions over distances up to 50 kilometres (31 mi) is also perfected. 

For combat diving training, the commandos are sent to the Naval Diving School, Kochi. Like other special forces, these para commandos are trained for land, air and water.

The daily routine begins with a 20 km (12 mi) morning run. Infiltration, exfiltration, assault, room and building intervention, intelligence gathering, patrolling, ambush tactics, counter-ambush tactics, counter insurgency, counter-terrorism, unconventional warfare, guerilla warfare, asymmetric warfare, raids and sabotage, martial arts training, tactical shooting, stress firing, reflex shooting, buddy system drills, close quarter battle, tactical driving, advance weapon courses and handling, sniping, demolition training, survival skills, linguistic training, logistic training, trade-craft training is imparted by the intelligence agencies. The training drills involve live ammunition at all times which is a reason for fatal accidents at times leading to death.

Night and weapons training and field craft involving 20 km (12 mi) treks with 60 kg (130 lb) loads and live ammunition are conducted. Weekly forced marches with 65 kg (143 lb) combat loads with distances over 80 km (50 mi) to 130 km (81 mi) and quarterly night drops with full combat loads are also conducted.

In addition to this in-house training, the commandos also attend a number of schools run by the Army that specialise in terrain and environmental warfare. These include the Junior Leaders' Commando Training Camp in Belgaum, Karnataka, the Parvat Ghatak School (for high altitude mountain warfare) in Tawang Arunachal Pradesh, the desert warfare school in Rajasthan, the High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) in Sonamarg, Kashmir, the Counterinsurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) in Vairengte, Mizoram, and the Indian special forces training school in Nahan, Himachal Pradesh. These schools are among the finest of their kind anywhere, and routinely host students from other countries.

They are also experienced in conducting SHBO (special heli-borne operations) and typically employ Cheetahs, MI-8/MI-17 or HAL (Dhruv) helicopters for this purpose.

Joint Exercises With Other Nations

Indian special forces conducts series of joint exercises with forces of the following 16 friendly countries: the United States, France, the UK, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Maldives, Seychelles, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. Some of the majorly renowned are, named Vajra Prahar, with the United States Army every year, in which about 100 personal from the US and Indian special forces participate. INDRA is a series of joint exercise with Russian special forces, and operation Sampriti is the name for joint exercises with Bangladeshi special forces. Para (SF) also conducts exercises and training with the special forces of Israel. The Ajeya Warrior is a series of exercises with regular infantry units of the UK (as the UK's special forces are highly classified).