I think some things have been conflated here. It's not claimed this was the FIRST OPERATION of the Garuds in J&K but that this was the FIRST exposure of the first batch of Garud trainees (inducted since August) in a real world op. As stated clearly- post-Pathankot the IAF has decided to make "live situational training" a mandatory 6 month module of the Garud training and this batch were the first to be sent to J&K after this decsion. It is NOT claimed that the Garuds (fully badged) have not operated in J&K before bro.
In fact, the Ajai Shukla article makes it clear that this was NOT the Garud's first op in J&K and that they have been operating there for over a decade now. The reason we don't hear about this too much straight from the Garuds themselves:
“We prefer to remain quiet about our operations in Kashmir and elsewhere”, says a Garud officer when asked for details.
So this isn't a case of Shukla being delusional, this is straight from the horse's mouth!
Cmon bro you are manipulating the situaon like a good lawyer defending his client.Read this..
The IAF took the initiative to give more exposure to Garuds after the Pathankot strike.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...d-commandos/story-YxOvfnMX3QgGjM32jCBcNP.html
If the Garud were already active since 10 years and killed terrorist then why would AF decide to give them 'more' exposure?
The IAF’s Garud commando units consist of around 1,000 men who specialize in protecting vital assets of the air force such as fighter bases, aircraft and ammunition holding areas. The force is pursuing plans to expand the size of its commando wing.
This is always claimed by higher AF officer.
According to sources, following the terror attack at Pathankot Air Force Station in January 2016, the IAF decided to upgrade the training of its Garud commandos to be able to effectively tackle a jihadi terrorist threat and improve their security posture. As part of that plan, two squads of Garud commandos — of one officer and 13 air warriors each — were earmarked for on-the-job training with the Army.
If you read this with a neutral approach it is quite clear what it means bro.
The two squads currently operating with the Army in Kashmir are the first lot of Garuds undergoing this on-the-job training. This will be followed by the next batch of Garuds who will have a two-week overlap in the operational area with the current lot early next year.
The two squads currently operating with the Army in Kashmir are the first lot of Garuds undergoing this on-the-job training. This will be followed by the next batch of Garuds who will have a two-week overlap in the operational area with the current lot early next year.
http://kashmirlife.net/iaf-commando...ing-live-situation-training-with-army-153176/
They were posted at 12 Wing here for the past about two years and were part of the first batch of 30 Garud commandos sent on a six-month attachment with the Army to the Valley for what IAF officers term “live situational training.” The move to send IAF commandos on attachment for anti-terror experience is a fallout of the Pathankot airbase terror attack last year.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/ch...re-part-of-anti-terror-operations/481053.html
Live situational training” involves “on the job” training with the Garuds learning to combat militants in a real-life scenario, a concept that germinated in the aftermath of the Pathankot airbase attack in January 2016, after four heavily-armed Pakistan-trained terrorists infiltrated into the high-security airbase that is home to high-value IAF assets.
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nati...lagers-security-forces-clash-post-attack.html
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/repor...-batch-to-get-live-situation-training-2552108
I think it is very clear in tens of article what the truth is.
Secondly,I would really like to know which two terrorists the Garuds killed(in the past) because as far as i know the Army was part of killing all the commanders.Now being part of Army ops and under the command of a Army officer to take the whole credit to yourself when there was a outer cordon laid by the RR,stratergy decided by the Para and maybe if they were a part of the op also to kill the terrorists and take the full credit is not right.
And everyone will agree that Garuds did not operate independently.
To say they were doing such ops since 2005 is laughable because till 2009-10 they were not even operational ready.They were undergoing a lot of training in this period and many of them were not good enough who subsequently got phased out.
Anyway,i am trying to make the situation clear to you otherwise there are some usernames on this thread who are very biased for Garuds on this forum and who are really partial.So,its hard to make things clear.