Para (Special Forces) is a special forces unit of the Indian Army's Parachute Regiment and is tasked with missions such as special operations,direct action, hostage rescue, counter-terrorism, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, foreign internal defense, counter-proliferation,counter-insurgency, seek and destroy and personnel recovery. The unit's heritage stems from World War II, with the creation 50th Parachute Brigade. The unit's heritage stems from World War II, with the creation 50th Parachute Brigade in October 1941.The parachute units of the Indian Army are among the oldest airborne units in the world. The 50th Indian Parachute Brigade was formed on 27 October 1941, comprising the British 151st Parachute Battalion, and the British Indian Army 152nd Indian Parachute Battalion and 153rd Gurkha Parachute Battalion.The Parachute Regiment was formed from these and several other units in 1952. This brigade consisted of three distinguished battalions personally nominated by the then C-in-C, namely 1 PARA (Punjab), 2 PARA (Maratha) and 3 PARA (Kumaon). During J&K operations of 1947-48 these battalions had distinguished themselves with glory in the battles of Shelatang, Naushera, Jhangar and Poonch,wherein they were awarded the respective Battle Honours.On 15 April 1952, the three battalions serving with the Parachute Brigade were taken away from their respective Infantry Regiments to form the Parachute Regiment.Since then the Parachute Regiment has grown to comprise ten battalions including Parachute (Special Forces) battalions. In that while, 8 PARA became a Mechanised Infantry Battalion, 21 PARA (Special Force) joined us from Maratha LI. During their short but eventful existence so far, battalions of the regiment have had extensive operational experience and singular achievements to speak of their level of professionalism.During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, an ad hoc commando unit, named Meghdoot Force, consisting of volunteers from various infantry units was organized by then Major Megh Singh of the Brigade of the Guards. The unit performed well in combat and the Government authorized the formal raising of a commando unit.Lt Col Megh Singh was selected to raise the unit which was originally intended to be a part of the Brigade of the Guards. However, recognizing parachute qualification as an integral element of special operations, the unit was transferred to the Parachute Regiment and raised as its 9th Battalion (Commando) on 1 July 1966. The erstwhile members of the Meghdoot Force formed the nucleus and the new unit was based in Gwalior. In June 1967 the unit was split equally into two to form a second commando unit, designated as 10th Battalion, both with three Companies each. 10th Battalion was mandated to operate in the Western Desert and 9th Battalion in the northern mountains. In 1969, these battalions were redesignated as 9 and 10 Para (Commando) battalions.[In 1978, the 1 Para, as an experiment, was converted to become the first special forces unit of the Indian army and was kept as the tactical reserve. Already a recipient of the Chief of Army Staff Unit Citation twice and GOC-in-C Eastern Command Unit Citation once, the unit was originally 1 Punjab which was later re designated as 1 PARA (PUNJAB) and in 1978 was converted to 1 PARA (SF). The unit is well over 200 years old.On 15 January 1992, the Parachute Regiment Training Centre along with the Records and PAO(OR), the Para Regiment moved to Bangalore and occupied the erstwhile location of Pioneer Corps and Training Centre. Bangalore is the new Key Location Project of the Centre.1995 saw the formation of the fourth commando battalion when 21 Maratha Light Infantry was selected to convert to special forces and slated for the Eastern Command.After stringent selection and training process that spanned more than a year, on 1 February 1996, the unit under Col VB Shinde, was formally inducted as the 21st Battalion (Special Forces), The Parachute Regiment. The unit has done well in its short lifespan and is the proud recipient of the Chief of Army Staff Unit Citation twice (1992 and 2006) and GOC-in-C Eastern Command Unit Citation once (2008) among a host of individual gallantry awards. With the changing scenario in military operations and the need for more special forces units, 2 Para began the conversion process from parachute to special forces role, followed closely by the 3 Para and the 4 Para in the year 2004 and 2005 respectively. The attempt did see a little success the reason it failed to achieve its goal was due to the stringent selection process.
Weapons
Tavor
Weapons
Tavor
Vz 58
Operation Cactus 1988, Maldives
With the capture of Maldives, an island nation off the south western coast of India on 3 November 1988 by PLOTE mercenaries, the army turned to the 50 (Independent) Parachute Brigade to carry out an airborne/air. transported operation to liberate the country and return power to the legal government. Thisoperation had 6 PARA spearheading the mission. 6 Para flew in on 4 November 1988 in a fleet of IL-76, An-32 and An-12 transport aircraft. One team rescued the president, another took over the airfield and a third rescued Maldivian security personnel besieged in their NSS HQ. Later 7 Para & part of 17 Para Fd Regt were also deployed to the Maldives. When mercenaries tried to escape by sea along with hostages, they were intercepted by the Indian navy. Thus, 6 Para, 17 Para Fd Regt conducted the first ever international intervention by the Indian army without any loss of life The Parachute Regiment presently has seven Special Forces, six Airborne, two Territorial Army and one Counter-Insurgency (Rashtriya Rifles) battalions in its fold. The regiment has tried raising new battalions to augment the strength of the special forces however the task hasn't been completed due to the tough selection phase.In the mid-1980s, there were plans of taking away the three para commando battalions from the Parachute Regiment and bringing them together under an individual specialized organisation, the Special Forces Regiment. However, after several logistic and administrative obstacles, these plans were abandoned and they continue to be trained and recruited by the Parachute Regiment.Para (SF) operate in assault teams, which work individually behind enemy lines whereas the Paratroopers (Airborne) work in large teams and coordinate with other units as their role involves occupying large areas behind enemy lines. The total strength of the regiment stands about to 4500 with the majority being in the Paratroopers(Airborne), while the Para (SF) stands about 1200 operators. They have to hide their identity from general public.
Selection
All Indian paratroopers are volunteers. Some enter the Para regiments
fresh from recruitment, while others transfer in from regular army
units.
They are put through a probationary period / selection process of three
months for Paratroopers (Airborne) Battalions (5,6,7) and seven months
for Para (Special Forces) battalions (1,2,3,4,9,10,11,12,21 PARA), in
order to be a Para (Special Forces) all personnel are first required to
qualify as Paratroopers; once selected the candidates may choose to
advance to the SF selection, which takes place twice a year in the
spring and the autumn term. It is one of the longest and toughest phases
in world where the applicant is exposed to sleep deprivation,
humiliation, exhaustion, mental and physical torture. The selection has
reported deaths in the process itself.
Training
The initial training to be 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 advance training. They are taught specialised mode of infiltration and exfiltration, either by air (combat freefall) or sea (combat diving). Some trainees return to PTS to undergo the free-fall course, which requires at least 50 jumps from altitudes up to 33,500 feet to pass. Both HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) and HAHO (High Altitude High Opening) 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 km 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, airand water.Daily routine begins with a 20 km morning run. Infiltration, exfiltration, assault, room and building intervention,intelligence gathering, patrolling, ambush tactics,counter-ambush tactis,counter insurgency, counter-terrorism, unconventional warfare, guerilla warfare, asymmetric warfare, raids & sabotage, martial arts training, tactical shooting, stress firing, reflex shooting, buddy system drills, close quarter battle, tactical driving, advance weapon courses & 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 has also become a reason for fatal accidents at times leading to death.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. In addition to this in-house training, the commandos also attend a number of schools run by the Army that specialize in terrain and environment 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, Desert warfare school in Rajasthan, the High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) in Sonamarg, Kashmir and the Counterinsurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) in Vairengte, Mizoram, Indian special forces training school in Nahan, Himachal Pradesh. These schools are among the finest of their kind anywhere and routinely hoststudents from other countries.Members of USSOCOM (United States Special Operations Command) and UKSF (United Kingdom Special Forces) have conducted joint training exercises with the Indian Paras, and SOF members from the three nations routinely train at each other's facilities to improve military cooperation and tactical skills. This allows the SOF operators from each nation to see tactics and perspectives offered by other top-notch organizations.U.S. Army Special Forces have also conducted joint HAHO training with the Para (SF) in 1992, underwater training in 1995 and anti-terrorism training in 1997. It is thought that the French Foreign Legion also has approached CIJWS regarding the courses taught by them.[citation needed] Para (SF) can also undergo a complete CombatDivers course, in which they earn a combat diver badge.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
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"Men apart, every man an emperor"
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