A legacy of courage

As the First Battalion of the Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) celebrates its 250th Raising Day this month, it looks up to an inheritance of heroism and professionalism, having etched its footprints across the globe, writes Vijay Mohan

Four...three...two...one...go..!!!" orders the team leader in an undertone. A split second later, armed figures, clad in battle fatigues, their heads and faces covered with camouflaged scarves, move like lightning, kicking-in the door of the building against whose walls they had been stealthily crouching against, and charge inside in a pre-planned and deliberate manner. Sounds of automatic weapons, firing controlled bursts, filter out as the commandos storm through dimly lit rooms and race up staircases, covering each other and picking out targets with relative ease. A few minutes later, they emerge "victorious" from the "kill house", take stock of the situation, check their weapons and equipment and line up for the next course of action.

The gruelling training includes a wide spectrum of warfare skill Photos: S. Chandan

For men of the First Battalion of the Parachute Regiment (Special Forces), it is yet another day of gruelling training at the picturesque, lush-green environs of their base in the foothills of the Himalayas. It is this training hour after hour, day after day, covering a wide spectrum of warfare skills that makes them a different breed. As the unit celebrates its 250th Raising Day this month, it looks up to a legacy of courage, valour and professionalism, having etched its footprints across the globe.

The battalion, generally referred to as 1 Para battalion, traces its origin to the Madras Army of the East India Company and was raised as the 8th Battalion of the Coastal Sepoys by Captain Cooke at Trichinopoly in October 1761. It has, since, undertaken military campaigns around the world and continues to see action in the form of counter-terrorist operations and provides aid to civilian authorities as well as participating in joint exercises with Special Forces of foreign countries at home and abroad.

"We are the Army’s first unit to complete 250 years of continuous existence," says the ballation’s Commanding Officer, Col Alin Saha. "There are some units that claim to be older, but then their history includes disbandment, discontinuation or re-raising later," he adds.

Besides operations in Southern India against native rulers as well as the North-West Frontier Province in its early years, the battalion also took part in both the World Wars, having fought in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Burma, winning a total of 14 battle and theatre honours. At the end of World War II, it was selected to form the nucleus of the select fraternity of paratroopers and it became the First Battalion, the Second Punjab Regiment (Para).

The battalion has undertaken many campaigns around the world

Post-Independence; the battalion was among the first to be deployed for the defence of Kashmir against Pakistani raiders and later took part in the liberation of Goa. During the 1965 India-Pak war, the unit captured the strategic Haji Pir pass. The pass is located in the Pir Panjal range at the height of 2,637 metres on the road`A0between Poonch and Uri and dominates access routes into Poonch, Rajauri and the Kashmir Valley. The assault by 1 Para was led by Maj R. S. Dyal, who retired as a Lieutenant-General and was later appointed Lt-Governor of Pondicherry. He was decorated with the Mahavir Chakra. Operations in Jammu and Kashmir and in the 1965 war earned it many battle and theatre honours. The 1971 India-Pakistan war saw the battalion in action in the Western Sector where it launched successful attacks on the Pakistan border posts of Peereke, Gatti Bharola and Amin Bhaini.

In 1978, the battalion was reorganised into a modern class of commandos and re-designated as the First Battalion, the Parachute Regiment (Commando). In recent times, it came into prominence for a daring heli-borne operation in October 1992 to rescue 10 passengers stranded in a suspended cable car at Timber Trail near Parwanoo in Himachal Pradesh. Major I. Crasto of the unit, assisted by some of his men, had lowered himself from a hovering helicopter on to the roof of the damaged car hanging precariously from cables, and winched-up the passengers, including women, one by one. The battalion and its personnel, who were involved in the rescue, were decorated for bravery and also honoured by the state government.

The battalion is the Army’s first unit to complete 250 years of continuous existence

In May 1999, the unit was placed under 50 Independent Parachute Brigade for operations in the Mushkoh Valley to clear Pakistani intrusions across the Line of Control. It was after 1978, that the unit became a part of the Parachute Brigade once again. The unit undertook a number of varied tasks in assisting the formation.

The battalion’s post-1947 tally of gallantry awards include one Ashok Chakra, one Maha Vir Chakra, six Kirti Chakras, 11 Vir Chakras and 17 Shaurya Chakras.

Maj Mohit Sharma, a young officer, was awarded Ashok Chakra, the nation’s highest peacetime award for gallantry, posthumously, in 2009. Decorated twice earlier for gallantry, he had, in a daring act of valour, rescued two of his colleagues and killed four terrorists during an encounter in the Kupwara sector of Jammu and Kashmir in March 2009.

The battalion’s post-1947 tally of gallantry awards includes one Ashok Chakra, one Maha Vir Chakra, six Kirti Chakras, 11 Vir Chakras and 17 Shaurya Chakras

Being the elitest among the elites is not an easy task and the officers and men have to work hard to achieve and maintain standards of professionalism that make the Indian Special Forces among the world’s finest. Their day begins early and training is continuous, with each Special Forces volunteer having to master a vast variety of skills and techniques in varying situations and environment. Infiltration and exfiltration, covert operations, sabotage, jungle warfare, hostage rescue, combat in urban and semi-urban, unarmed combat, deep-water diving, mountaineering and rock climbing, surveillance and observation, sky-diving and advanced fieldcraft are part of their routine training.

And, of course, proficiency in handling a variety of weapons is a must. Of late, Israeli Tavor TAR-21 and US M4 lightweight contemporary assault rifles have replaced older generation weapons. A range of personal equipment that is modular, light, easy to use and makes the commandos’ task easier, while offering greater physical protection against injury, have come in.

A contingent of Indian Special Forces, led by the Commanding Officer of 1 Para, has just returned from the USA after a month-long joint training exercise with their American counterparts at the Yakima Training Centre and Joint Base Lewis-McChord at Tacoma in Washington State. Termed Exercise Vajra Prahar – 2011, the aim of the exercise was to strengthen inter-operability and enhance contribution to bilateral security goals.

The contingent spent two weeks at each centre. The Indian contingent consisted of 34 para-commandos from 1 Para (SF) and six from the Special Forces Training School that is co-located with 1 Para and 18 personnel from 4 Para (SF). The US Special Forces contingent was represented by A-Company, 4th Battalion of the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), supported by 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.

The exercise included advance marksmanship, advance operations in urban terrain, medical evacuation techniques, counter-IED techniques, day and night insertion of troops by special operations aviation units and a collaboration of military decision-making process.

The contingent also shared combat experiences, different combating environmental awareness on global stage and basic small-team tactics while exchanging thoughts and battle procedures for joint missions in future. The exercise culminated with a joint full mission profile, which exhibited the integration of task forces at the squad level, and helped in assessing the capabilities and interoperability of both contingents.