NEW DELHI: India’s elite Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD) combatants have got busy fine-tuning operational procedures and tactics and are carrying out exercises in diverse terrains including Siliguri Corridor, where the simulation included the seizure of enemy objectives by “going behind the enemy lines”.
“The integration of the special forces’ troops of the Army, Navy and the Air Force is in its mature stage to reach the specialised levels,” said a source. In March alone the Army carried out a couple of airborne exercises covering various terrains including the sensitive Siliguri Corridor.
“The exercise involved advanced free-fall techniques, insertion, surveillance and targeting practices and seizing of key objectives by going behind enemy lines,” another source said. “Around 600 paratroopers of the Airborne Rapid Response team carried out drops near the Siliguri Corridor on March 24 and 25,” added the source.
The troops of the same division had also conducted an airborne exercise in peninsular India. “The AFSOD practiced their aerial insertion capabilities and rapid response anywhere on the mainland and islands, in an airborne exercise in peninsular India on March 14 and 15,” the source said.
Talking about the specialised troops, Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia (retd), a Parachute Regiment veteran, said the exercises help in capability-building and capacity-enhancement. “These specialised troops are important element used to offset the war scenarios by creating decision dilemmas in the enemy hierarchy.”
The AFSOD started war-gaming last year on specialised scenarios with an aim to develop common drills and operating procedures.
The combined force
AFSOD consists of special forces commandos from the Parachute Regiment of the Army, MARCOS of the Navy and the Garud Commandos of the Air Force