Indian Special Forces

[Aditya Ballal]

The DRDO-BEL Panaromic Quad-Tube NVG

 

[Jedi Operator]

View attachment 200462View attachment 200463
Para Sf View attachment 200464
GarudView attachment 200465
Marcos
You can easily spot the difference

covered his face and name patch. Ofc the equipment is better

 

[Col Habib zahir]

Major Vivek talks with us army Ranger

 

[abingdonboy]

View attachment 200462View attachment 200463
Para Sf View attachment 200464
GarudView attachment 200465
Marcos
You can easily spot the difference

The similarities are more pronounced.

what self respecting SOF would do these horse and pony shows?

as for the substance- SDRs with call centre headsets, elbow pads,ill-fitting PCs, high visibility patches, name tags , Nike branded face masks etc

barely a step above LARPers at this point

 

[rkhanna]

Major Vivek talks with us army Ranger

IMO this intake of Kids into SF - straight from the acadamy is a structural flaw in our process.

In the SAS for example the most successful applications come from the Paras or RMC. In the GBs / delta they come via the Rangers.

We need these stepping stones to create a specialized experienced and mature incoming class profile where benefits are derived further along in their careers

IMO this is one of the reasons why our SF rate more at a ranger / commando level then true modern age SOF units .

Even in the civilian world. Kids straight out of undergraduate coming into an MBA class provide zero value to their peers/classroon and have far lower takeaways. Where as experienced classmates have so much more to share

(Above is not for AF/Naval SOF units)

 

[Automatic Kalashnikov]

 

[Corvus Splendens]

 

[ALBY]

IMO this intake of Kids into SF - straight from the acadamy is a structural flaw in our process.

In the SAS for example the most successful applications come from the Paras or RMC. In the GBs / delta they come via the Rangers.

We need these stepping stones to create a specialized experienced and mature incoming class profile where benefits are derived further along in their careers

IMO this is one of the reasons why our SF rate more at a ranger / commando level then true modern age SOF units .

Even in the civilian world. Kids straight out of undergraduate coming into an MBA class provide zero value to their peers/classroon and have far lower takeaways. Where as experienced classmates have so much more to share

(Above is not for AF/Naval SOF units)

Check again iirc there is some kinda direct enrollement of freshers to SAS.SEALs,Green berets gets fresh recruits after passing out of academy.Delta is equalent of SG which too gets veterans.

 

[Marliii]

 

[JConline]

View attachment 200584

This is MARCOS training. Obviously they aren't exposed to the best of the equipment.

 

[ALBY]

This is MARCOS training. Obviously they aren't exposed to the best of the equipment.

This is atleast a decade old pic or minimum 5/6 year old pic

 

[COLDHEARTED AVIATOR]

IMO this intake of Kids into SF - straight from the acadamy is a structural flaw in our process.

In the SAS for example the most successful applications come from the Paras or RMC. In the GBs / delta they come via the Rangers.

We need these stepping stones to create a specialized experienced and mature incoming class profile where benefits are derived further along in their careers

IMO this is one of the reasons why our SF rate more at a ranger / commando level then true modern age SOF units .

Even in the civilian world. Kids straight out of undergraduate coming into an MBA class provide zero value to their peers/classroon and have far lower takeaways. Where as experienced classmates have so much more to share

(Above is not for AF/Naval SOF units)

You have a officer here who is a second gen officer who has no respect for foreign SF and then goes on in an interview with them to claim he left because he thought he is doing a job where he is himself questioning his motivation by saying things like what are the children of important people doing and this is all a hogwash.

Goes on to retire.. calls himself brave but is unwilling to tackle the problem head on.

I mean... i am flabbergasted!!!

I have always looked at Army officers and admired them and it was a different breed of men like Sir Sam who could look into the eyes of Indira Gandhi and say i am not ready for war.

 

[NoobWannaLearn]

Armasen guys are blessing

 

[Inderjeet Singh]

You have a officer here who is a second gen officer who has no respect for foreign SF and then goes on in an interview with them to claim he left because he thought he is doing a job where he is himself questioning his motivation by saying things like what are the children of important people doing and this is all a hogwash.

Goes on to retire.. calls himself brave but is unwilling to tackle the problem head on.

I mean... i am flabbergasted!!!

I have always looked at Army officers and admired them and it was a different breed of men like Sir Sam who could look into the eyes of Indira Gandhi and say i am not ready for war.

Go read about Lt Gen Hanut Singh Rathore
Told his Jawans remain bachelor whole life if you really want to be a soldier Lt Gen Hanut was a Saint Soldier

 

[Pig benis on sushy]

Question regarding why para sf didn't go to neutralize the terrorist I think it's answered here. @ALBY move this to other thread if needed

 

[abingdonboy]

IMO this intake of Kids into SF - straight from the acadamy is a structural flaw in our process.

In the SAS for example the most successful applications come from the Paras or RMC. In the GBs / delta they come via the Rangers.

We need these stepping stones to create a specialized experienced and mature incoming class profile where benefits are derived further along in their careers

IMO this is one of the reasons why our SF rate more at a ranger / commando level then true modern age SOF units .

Even in the civilian world. Kids straight out of undergraduate coming into an MBA class provide zero value to their peers/classroon and have far lower takeaways. Where as experienced classmates have so much more to share

(Above is not for AF/Naval SOF units)

I have thought the same but this is for officers, I’m not sure if non-commissioned personnel can go straight for SF selection from basic training.

that said, the US has for a while had recruitment or processes that let civilians join up purely to go for SF/SOF selection, in the US army I think these are called 18X contracts, I believe the USN now has a similar program where in candidates can go straight to BUD/S and if they fail they’ll be discharged from service instead of having to go to the big navy.

i wouldn’t be surprised to learn this was similar now in the U.K. SF given how the U.K. generally apes what the US does

so I don’t think it’s necessarily a prerequisite to have been in a conventional unit to be a decent SF operator as long as the training is adequate in the SF pipeline, that’s probably the weaknesses in india

 

[abingdonboy]

The depressing part is this guy could be the most elite soldier in the army or could be a JKP cop, there’s nothing ‘special’ about Indian SF anymore. Almost everything they have some police/CAPF unit has

 

[Automatic Kalashnikov]

Question regarding why para sf didn't go to neutralize the terrorist I think it's answered here. @ALBY move this to other thread if needed

View attachment 200651

Why flew from Delhi and not Manesar?

 

[abingdonboy]

Why flew from Delhi and not Manesar?

CTTF is based at IGI (or very very close to it) afaik

 

[rkhanna]

I have thought the same but this is for officers, I’m not sure if non-commissioned personnel can go straight for SF selection from basic training.

that said, the US has for a while had recruitment or processes that let civilians join up purely to go for SF/SOF selection, in the US army I think these are called 18X contracts, I believe the USN now has a similar program where in candidates can go straight to BUD/S and if they fail they’ll be discharged from service instead of having to go to the big navy.

i wouldn’t be surprised to learn this was similar now in the U.K. SF given how the U.K. generally apes what the US does

so I don’t think it’s necessarily a prerequisite to have been in a conventional unit to be a decent SF operator as long as the training is adequate in the SF pipeline, that’s probably the weaknesses in india

Check again iirc there is some kinda direct enrollement of freshers to SAS.SEALs,Green berets gets fresh recruits after passing out of academy.Delta is equalent of SG which too gets veterans.

Let me clarify and give context to my comment

1. Yes by law and procedure anybody can apply for the SAS and US GB including Civlians. (Civilian application is also allowed in india technically.

2. BUT the average age of almost every incoming class for these type of SOF units is mid-late twenties. So the MAJORITY of successful applicants come from the Paras/Airborne/Rangers. Tier I units like Delta and ISA the incomign class is even as old as early 30s (try a search on SOFREP - have read a number of articles on this

3. Above is for All applicants not Just officers. I am comparing All ranks of the US with Indian officers as in the US units are NCO let, in India they are officer led. Example Delta cadre are usually staffed with SGTs and above. thats a hella lot of experience. That being said even the induction of ORs in our SF tend to be extremely young as well.

4. ALL above are for Army SOF units ONLY - like I said not include AF and Navy units (exceptions being USMC and RMC - where candidates first spend time in the mother unit before applying for MARSOC/SBS
[Hence Naval / AF operators are younger - and while they make FINE SOF operators they are actually pretty shit soldiers - this includes DevGru. There is a reason why Devgru goes into battle with a Ranger QRT as backup

5. DELTA is not equivalent to SG - but yes the point of veterans is correct. IMO Delta's only equivalent outside the US is the SAS - not basis capability but by Political Mandate.

6. Younger Applicants in the west while passing the physical tend to washout in the Interview Phase. Primarily reason their Tacitical Knowledge is classroom and their Strategic Thinking ability is ZERO. Western SOF tends to choose independent thinkers - which masks a deep contrast from Rangers / USMC (for example) where thinking independently is highly discouraged for Unit Cohesion.

7. The GWOT HAS seen a dilution of standards in SOCOM AND JSOC. both from an ability (IQ) perspective, mentally fit perspective while keeping physical Standards intact. lessons - IT IS EASIER building up a unit with extreme physical standards only. It is harder matching physical standards to Warfighting IQ