NEW DELHI: Mention ‘Special Forces’ and the intrepid Israelis, the gung-ho Americans or the secretive British come to mind. But, it appears that it is the Indians who are the toughest of them all. This is what a gruelling contest determined last week.
The Israelis were not there, but a team of India’s 10 Special Forces (SF), led by Captain Krishnadas, outshone their counterparts from the US, South Africa, U.K., France, hosts Botswana and a clutch of African nations in the Kalahari desert.
The second Indian team came fifteenth, out of the 28 that participated in the annual event that took place between 8-10 June. In addition, the two teams won a number of individual prizes.
A proud Special Forces officer says this is all the more creditable since the teams, each comprising of an officer, a non-commissioned officer and three paratroopers “were pulled out of active duty and given just two months to prepare.” This is the first time India has been invited to participate in the event. Last year’s competition was won by the South African Special Forces.
The event required a trek of 87 kms over three days with full combat load of 50 kg, all the activity being conducted under the desert sun during the day. The contest was kicked off on June 8 by a paradrop of the teams close to the border with Namibia. The events then progressively moved them east towards the Okavango Delta.
Here the team led by Major Animish Ranade suffered a mishap at the outset when Commando Mool Singh’s parachute did not open and his emergency parachute landed him so hard that he fractured his ankle. Despite the mishap that cost the team points, it won the individual prize in the 35 kms endurance march that followed.
On June 9, Capt Krishandas’s team, scored with the individual prize for the navigation segment where the commandos have to move through 20 kms of trackless desert with just a compass, Ranade’s team stood second. This was topped by a casualty evacuation exercise that required them to carry a 50 kg deadweight, simulating a casualty, for 10 kms. Krishandas’ team stood first and Ranade’s second. On the last day the teams did a 17 kms speed march and Krishandas’ team again scored a first.
The Indians performed well in the other elements of the competition as well. These included a rifle and pistol firing competition, a 400 metre an observation lane exercise requiring them to spot seven targets and a final 5 kms home run that makes the grand finale of the gathering.
A senior officer told TNN that such competitions “which deal with our core business,” are a great boost for the professional elan of the force. India currently has four SF units that have traditionally been asked to do the toughest jobs in the battlefield.
Currently they specialise in counter-terrorist work where using their own intelligence, they operate independently against terrorist concentrations in remote mountain and jungle regions in Kashmir and the Northeast.