ghost
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Indian Special Forces (archived)
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From Kargil War, Arty gunners and 9th PARA SF ..
==========
Lt Gen Mohinder Puri's account as he elaborated on 9 Para (SF) ops in Sando
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Para SF veteran on his first firefight. What a read!
Lolab
Bindair Dundat·Saturday, 24 October 2015
Take me down to Paradise city,
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Lolab valley, Kupwara, Kashmir, November 1998
It always has amazed me how such a bewitchingly beautiful, idyllic narrow valley floor in the north western edge of Kashmir evokes the kind of contrasting responses from either end of the spectrum of men who were sworn to achieve dominance. One set, bound by both the written and unwritten rules of combat that a typical, professional Army respects. The other, bound if at all, only by the religious and ideological fanaticism that defines their existence.
I am not sure about the militants, but within our circuit, LOLAB was an acronym. It stood for Land Of Love And Beauty. The sweetest apples grew here, the prettiest girls lived here, the fiercest militants operate here. Frankly, I think it was as much a matter of ego at the functional level both for the Special Forces teams and the militants as it was a matter of operational and strategic criticality for the brass on either side to retain control over the Lolab valley. After all, this was the staging area of choice for the freshly inducted militants infiltrated from Pakistan, before they are moved down into the Kashmir bowl.
We had commenced climbing up the hill feature between Sogam and Chandigam villages in the Lolab valley in Kashmir at about 3 AM that morning. I was eager to be well within the depths of the forest above the middle track that typically runs along all the hill features in the area before the first rays of the morning sun started to find its way to the valley floor. Team Bravo had commenced their climb around midnight, up three clicks to the north. Their brief was to secure the top of the feature before first light, by the time we were in line with the middle track.
We had been climbing steadily for the last 4 hours. Laxman was in the lead, with Satte Singh backing him up as scout 2. Between the two of them, they had built up a fearsome, awe inspiring reputation of being the best in the business. And when you consider that their business was being the lead scouts for Special Forces teams in combat, that reputation is something that the uniformed fraternity revers. Together, they had refined the practice of their skill into an art form. It was nowhere more evident to me as a young Captain, as they led the way for the squad I was entrusted command with. Not a twig broke, nor was the crunch of a single dried leaf audible as they effortlessly negotiated the steep incline of the forest floor in North West Kashmir, that early autumn morning. Laxman and Satte going about their business with clinical perfection, pausing here to pick up the slightest sound wafting in through the forest, crouching there at the first hint of the possibility of ‘company’.
The rest of the 5 man squad were also combat hardened veterans. The folding stock of their VZ-58, the standard issue, Checkoslovakian origin weapon bore rough, crude hand made notches – indicative of the number of ‘kills’ claimed by each of them. Notches, that periodically and much to their anguish would be forcibly painted over by the unit armourer, in preparation for the annual weapon inspection. The inspection done, the guys would carve those notches right back on. There never was a requirement for supervision of this activity by their mates. They zealously live by their code of honour – never claim a kill that is not yours.
It happened in a flash. The transition from God’s paradise to Satan’s hell was as rapid as planned ambushes get; furious and violent. Only, it sucks to be at the receiving end of that metaphoric transition. BIG time! The first burst of fire opened up from the left flank, about 75 mtrs uphill from the middle track. Laxman Singh was the first to react, swinging his VZ-58 effortlessly to the left and up, in a controlled sweep and letting loose a long but controlled burst, in classic ‘first response’ fashion. The rest of us did what is almost second nature to us; drop, down, crawl – executing the twin functions of identifying the best cover possible and watching out to identify the source of our pain, the unmistakable angry flash of the barrel of the AK-47, the weapon of choice with the militants.
hadn’t quite heard it (or if I did, it hadn’t registered) but I was confident Mukesh, right behind me had radioed the crisp three words that would indicate to our Company Operating Base that we were in business - “Contact, Standby, Out”. In seconds, the air was thick with the familiar smell of gunpowder, or so they claimed, much later when we were back in the company operating base. For me however, the peripheral senses weren’t quite working at their most efficient that morning. It usually doesn’t, I later realized, when one is a ‘live-combat virgin’. The first exposure to live combat, has a nasty practice of inevitably dulling up the senses, no matter how many hours of live firing one has actually carried out earlier at the practice ranges. This was the real thing. What every Special Forces man worth his salt hoped, prayed and lived for. A taste of the action. The metamorphosis from boy to man.
What I did remember however, is the rather dull, low whine that effectively degraded my sense of hearing. The low frequency, dull irritable whine, caused by the bullet that had quite evidently passed within inches of my right ear before it thudded into the thick, fallen deodhar tree trunk on the forest floor, behind me.
Irritating as the whine was, it didn’t stop me from focusing on returning fire. I was therefore, surprised when Satte gruffly caught hold of the collar of my camouflage dungarees and part dragged, part flipped me over and behind the tree trunk. It took me 30 seconds to figure out why. My body, in prone position was exposed to fire from the flank. To execute that maneuver, Satte had to expose himself from cover, briefly. Looking back, I wonder if it even struck him that he was putting himself in grave danger by executing that maneuver. I suspect he didn’t. This was purely reflex action. When you see your buddy in danger, you pull him in. Screw everything else.
- Bindair Dundat, 24 Oct 15.
==============
Source :
Lolab
Bindair Dundat·Saturday, 24 October 2015
Take me down to Paradise city,
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Lolab valley, Kupwara, Kashmir, November 1998
It always has amazed me how such a bewitchingly beautiful, idyllic narrow valley floor in the north western edge of Kashmir evokes the kind of contrasting responses from either end of the spectrum of men who were sworn to achieve dominance. One set, bound by both the written and unwritten rules of combat that a typical, professional Army respects. The other, bound if at all, only by the religious and ideological fanaticism that defines their existence.
I am not sure about the militants, but within our circuit, LOLAB was an acronym. It stood for Land Of Love And Beauty. The sweetest apples grew here, the prettiest girls lived here, the fiercest militants operate here. Frankly, I think it was as much a matter of ego at the functional level both for the Special Forces teams and the militants as it was a matter of operational and strategic criticality for the brass on either side to retain control over the Lolab valley. After all, this was the staging area of choice for the freshly inducted militants infiltrated from Pakistan, before they are moved down into the Kashmir bowl.
We had commenced climbing up the hill feature between Sogam and Chandigam villages in the Lolab valley in Kashmir at about 3 AM that morning. I was eager to be well within the depths of the forest above the middle track that typically runs along all the hill features in the area before the first rays of the morning sun started to find its way to the valley floor. Team Bravo had commenced their climb around midnight, up three clicks to the north. Their brief was to secure the top of the feature before first light, by the time we were in line with the middle track.
We had been climbing steadily for the last 4 hours. Laxman was in the lead, with Satte Singh backing him up as scout 2. Between the two of them, they had built up a fearsome, awe inspiring reputation of being the best in the business. And when you consider that their business was being the lead scouts for Special Forces teams in combat, that reputation is something that the uniformed fraternity revers. Together, they had refined the practice of their skill into an art form. It was nowhere more evident to me as a young Captain, as they led the way for the squad I was entrusted command with. Not a twig broke, nor was the crunch of a single dried leaf audible as they effortlessly negotiated the steep incline of the forest floor in North West Kashmir, that early autumn morning. Laxman and Satte going about their business with clinical perfection, pausing here to pick up the slightest sound wafting in through the forest, crouching there at the first hint of the possibility of ‘company’.
The rest of the 5 man squad were also combat hardened veterans. The folding stock of their VZ-58, the standard issue, Checkoslovakian origin weapon bore rough, crude hand made notches – indicative of the number of ‘kills’ claimed by each of them. Notches, that periodically and much to their anguish would be forcibly painted over by the unit armourer, in preparation for the annual weapon inspection. The inspection done, the guys would carve those notches right back on. There never was a requirement for supervision of this activity by their mates. They zealously live by their code of honour – never claim a kill that is not yours.
It happened in a flash. The transition from God’s paradise to Satan’s hell was as rapid as planned ambushes get; furious and violent. Only, it sucks to be at the receiving end of that metaphoric transition. BIG time! The first burst of fire opened up from the left flank, about 75 mtrs uphill from the middle track. Laxman Singh was the first to react, swinging his VZ-58 effortlessly to the left and up, in a controlled sweep and letting loose a long but controlled burst, in classic ‘first response’ fashion. The rest of us did what is almost second nature to us; drop, down, crawl – executing the twin functions of identifying the best cover possible and watching out to identify the source of our pain, the unmistakable angry flash of the barrel of the AK-47, the weapon of choice with the militants.
hadn’t quite heard it (or if I did, it hadn’t registered) but I was confident Mukesh, right behind me had radioed the crisp three words that would indicate to our Company Operating Base that we were in business - “Contact, Standby, Out”. In seconds, the air was thick with the familiar smell of gunpowder, or so they claimed, much later when we were back in the company operating base. For me however, the peripheral senses weren’t quite working at their most efficient that morning. It usually doesn’t, I later realized, when one is a ‘live-combat virgin’. The first exposure to live combat, has a nasty practice of inevitably dulling up the senses, no matter how many hours of live firing one has actually carried out earlier at the practice ranges. This was the real thing. What every Special Forces man worth his salt hoped, prayed and lived for. A taste of the action. The metamorphosis from boy to man.
What I did remember however, is the rather dull, low whine that effectively degraded my sense of hearing. The low frequency, dull irritable whine, caused by the bullet that had quite evidently passed within inches of my right ear before it thudded into the thick, fallen deodhar tree trunk on the forest floor, behind me.
Irritating as the whine was, it didn’t stop me from focusing on returning fire. I was therefore, surprised when Satte gruffly caught hold of the collar of my camouflage dungarees and part dragged, part flipped me over and behind the tree trunk. It took me 30 seconds to figure out why. My body, in prone position was exposed to fire from the flank. To execute that maneuver, Satte had to expose himself from cover, briefly. Looking back, I wonder if it even struck him that he was putting himself in grave danger by executing that maneuver. I suspect he didn’t. This was purely reflex action. When you see your buddy in danger, you pull him in. Screw everything else.
- Bindair Dundat, 24 Oct 15.
==============
Source :
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Capt. Manish Singh (9 PARA (SF))
25th September 2012.
His facebook timeline says “GOT HIT”.
Any guess what hit, how hit, how badly hit and what happened after that hit? Here comes the story of our rising star.
Lieutenant Manish Singh was a troop commander with 9th Battalion the Parachute Regiment since 01 Apr, 2011.
As part of search and destroy operation of 30 RR at general area of Kupwara District in Jammu and Kashmir on 25 September 2012, exactly two years back, his squad was tasked to track escaping terrorists through terraced maize fields. During the search, a terrorist suddenly opened indiscriminate fire injuring Lieutenant Manish Singh and pinning down his squad. In a display of extreme courage and utter disregard for his own safety, despite his severe injuries due to a bullet hit in his spinal cord, Lt Manish crawled forward and kept the terrorist pinned down. During the encounter, the officer displayed leadership of the highest order in refusing to be evacuated and notwithstanding his grievous injuries and blood loss, held on to his position. Finally as the terrorist charged upon him, he shot him dead at near point blank range. His courageous action ensured the safety of his men and ruled out collateral damage to civilian houses.
For his act of showing courage of exemplary order, conspicuous gallantry and outstanding leadership in the highest traditions of the Indian Army, Lieutenant Manish Singh was conferred the award of “SHAURYA CHAKRA” during the republic day celebrations 2013.
Two years after he was shot at by an Afghan militant in Kashmir, Captain Manish Singh, who was left paraplegic by the injury, can walk again, thanks to 18-month stem cell treatment. Coupled with rehabilitation, Capt Singh, who could not even sit, is now mobile with the help of calipers. Buoyed by the improvement, he is now determined to return to the Special Forces he was assigned to.
After an AK47 bullet ripped through his stomach on September 25, 2012, Singh was injured in the D12 vertebra; he became paraplegic and lost control over bowel and bladder functions. “I was taken to a hospital in Sringar and then to the army hospital in Delhi where I was operated upon. Though my upper body functions were normal, I had no sensation or motor control below my navel,” said Singh, who is originally from Ludhiana. While rehabilitating at the army hospital at Kirkee in Pune, a colleague from the army suggested to Singh about stem cell therapy and rehabilitation.
“Capt Singh arrived at our centre in an ambulance, incapable of any movement,” said Dr Alok Sharma, director, Neuro Gen Brain and Spine Institute, Nerul. “There are a number of reasons why I was confident of great results from our treatment: First, he was provided with precise medical care for the first four months. Secondly, he is young, thirdly, him being an army man, he is determined and extremely focused,” said Dr Sharma, who is also the head of neurosurgery department at Sion Hospital.
The series of four stem therapy at the clinic was interspersed by bed mobility techniques that included rolling and shifting from bed to wheelchair and vice versa, gait training, ambulation lessons and physiotherapy, which comprised push-knee splints and balance training to improve trunk balance.
Now almost back on his feet, Capt Singh will return to Kirkee in September and after a week, he will travel to Mhow, an army cantonment in Madhya Pradesh where he will go to infantry school.
“I feel better, stronger and more determined to return to my life as it was. I want to get back into shooting, to represent India at the next Commonwealth Games,” said Singh.
“What makes this case special is that Singh never gave up hope. He doesn’t even encourage his parents to visit as it is emotional for him,” said Dr Sharma.
In earlier years, people tried to show sympathy, motivate him, used him, misused him, but also loved him, respected him, prayed for him. But his aim was fixed. On 25.09.2012 his battle didn’t end. It just started. He fought it with equal bravery. Now Capt. Manish Singh is going to start his new innings.
When he fought the battle in the Hafurda jungle, we were unaware of the situation. We didn’t know him. But today when we know him, his bravery and his future dream, we, his very own Deshwasi wish to express our love, respect and best wishes to the young and brave hero of our motherland.
May God bless Captain Manish Singh with all the success and happiness of life. May all his dreams come true. Desh wishes him all the luck for his future life and health, happiness and success for him.
25th September 2012.
His facebook timeline says “GOT HIT”.
Any guess what hit, how hit, how badly hit and what happened after that hit? Here comes the story of our rising star.
Lieutenant Manish Singh was a troop commander with 9th Battalion the Parachute Regiment since 01 Apr, 2011.
As part of search and destroy operation of 30 RR at general area of Kupwara District in Jammu and Kashmir on 25 September 2012, exactly two years back, his squad was tasked to track escaping terrorists through terraced maize fields. During the search, a terrorist suddenly opened indiscriminate fire injuring Lieutenant Manish Singh and pinning down his squad. In a display of extreme courage and utter disregard for his own safety, despite his severe injuries due to a bullet hit in his spinal cord, Lt Manish crawled forward and kept the terrorist pinned down. During the encounter, the officer displayed leadership of the highest order in refusing to be evacuated and notwithstanding his grievous injuries and blood loss, held on to his position. Finally as the terrorist charged upon him, he shot him dead at near point blank range. His courageous action ensured the safety of his men and ruled out collateral damage to civilian houses.
For his act of showing courage of exemplary order, conspicuous gallantry and outstanding leadership in the highest traditions of the Indian Army, Lieutenant Manish Singh was conferred the award of “SHAURYA CHAKRA” during the republic day celebrations 2013.
Two years after he was shot at by an Afghan militant in Kashmir, Captain Manish Singh, who was left paraplegic by the injury, can walk again, thanks to 18-month stem cell treatment. Coupled with rehabilitation, Capt Singh, who could not even sit, is now mobile with the help of calipers. Buoyed by the improvement, he is now determined to return to the Special Forces he was assigned to.
After an AK47 bullet ripped through his stomach on September 25, 2012, Singh was injured in the D12 vertebra; he became paraplegic and lost control over bowel and bladder functions. “I was taken to a hospital in Sringar and then to the army hospital in Delhi where I was operated upon. Though my upper body functions were normal, I had no sensation or motor control below my navel,” said Singh, who is originally from Ludhiana. While rehabilitating at the army hospital at Kirkee in Pune, a colleague from the army suggested to Singh about stem cell therapy and rehabilitation.
“Capt Singh arrived at our centre in an ambulance, incapable of any movement,” said Dr Alok Sharma, director, Neuro Gen Brain and Spine Institute, Nerul. “There are a number of reasons why I was confident of great results from our treatment: First, he was provided with precise medical care for the first four months. Secondly, he is young, thirdly, him being an army man, he is determined and extremely focused,” said Dr Sharma, who is also the head of neurosurgery department at Sion Hospital.
The series of four stem therapy at the clinic was interspersed by bed mobility techniques that included rolling and shifting from bed to wheelchair and vice versa, gait training, ambulation lessons and physiotherapy, which comprised push-knee splints and balance training to improve trunk balance.
Now almost back on his feet, Capt Singh will return to Kirkee in September and after a week, he will travel to Mhow, an army cantonment in Madhya Pradesh where he will go to infantry school.
“I feel better, stronger and more determined to return to my life as it was. I want to get back into shooting, to represent India at the next Commonwealth Games,” said Singh.
“What makes this case special is that Singh never gave up hope. He doesn’t even encourage his parents to visit as it is emotional for him,” said Dr Sharma.
In earlier years, people tried to show sympathy, motivate him, used him, misused him, but also loved him, respected him, prayed for him. But his aim was fixed. On 25.09.2012 his battle didn’t end. It just started. He fought it with equal bravery. Now Capt. Manish Singh is going to start his new innings.
When he fought the battle in the Hafurda jungle, we were unaware of the situation. We didn’t know him. But today when we know him, his bravery and his future dream, we, his very own Deshwasi wish to express our love, respect and best wishes to the young and brave hero of our motherland.
May God bless Captain Manish Singh with all the success and happiness of life. May all his dreams come true. Desh wishes him all the luck for his future life and health, happiness and success for him.
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true
SG is the sub unit of SFF .. And temporary
CITJ, CITX were made of them ..
during Op bluestar they were there and this is as per info on public forum rest no idea.
https://elitepredators.wordpress.com/2016/08/24/special-group-or-22-sf-or-the-mavericks-2/
COLDHEARTED AVIATOR
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In that case the pilots too would be from the IAF or it doesnt make sense.
Apart from this they are deployed in Congo.
i have a few questions on the fast roping techniques employed by the forces. they are all centered around the time it takes for the entire activity to complete.
you may have seen in a number of pics and videos it's usually one soldier at a time. what's the reason behind this? (i am guessing safety).
if the above is standard practice, wouldn't it make more sense to have multiple ropes so that more soldiers can slither down, like shown in the pic?
also, why is the chopper sometimes quite high up? in a combat scenario you'd typically like to insert ASAP and get the hell out of there before anyone shoots you down.
i had asked a similar question earlier during iron fist, and a video of garuds' hostage rescue practice was shown. mostly the answers centered around how that is all for show, and the same fast-roping actually is much quicker during a real op. but even in a case like 26/11 Chabad House, there was still one rope, and one commando at a time. the terrorists had plenty of time to speak to each other and shoot at the chopper, and were only pinned down by the accurate fire of the sniper and support teams.
long story short, the fast roping activity seems to take a lot of time. in a combat zone, it presents risks to the helicopter and the guys inside, as well as to the troops on the ground. anyone who has a different opinion please enlighten.
abingdonboy
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NSG drills (VIT campus and Kolkata Mint), multiple ropes:
Even during 26/11 where they only used 1 rope they were out very quickly:
in drills a margin of error will always be factored in and thus they will be more conservative with their timings and hence may appear to be going "slow".
Brahmaputra Mail
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I took the liberty of posting it here as it was already on social media.
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20 kms in 30 minutes .... right ?
During 1965 war, Pakistan had paradropped their SSG into India. All of them were captured by farmers and handed over to Indian army.
http://vayu-sena.tripod.com/1965-ssg1.html
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PARA SF practicing room intervention tactic ..
abingdonboy
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Counter Assualt Team (CAT) member during the PM's visit to Dehradun :
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Is that guy( white dress beside President) marine ?
Because I have seen many Presidential body gaurds...who mostly are Marines.
Sent from my ASUS_Z00LD using Tapatalk
^^^ PBG - Presidents Bodyguard is a Cav Regiment - Unit drawn from IA
During peacetime their role is ceremonial but are trained as pathfinders for wartime role.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President's_Bodyguard
During peacetime their role is ceremonial but are trained as pathfinders for wartime role.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President's_Bodyguard
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