Equipped with modern warfare training, SOG to replace obsolete SWAT

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Bahadurgarh (Patiala), July 19

When it comes to stealth — during and after an anti-terror operation — Punjab will rely on its Special Operations Group (SOG) commandos, being specially trained to handle terrorist-related operations, flushing out militants from the hinterland and prepared for “one-way ticket” missions.Armed with Swiss and Israeli assault rifles, under-barrel grenade launchers and bulletproof jackets, Special Operations Group (SOG) commandos on Thursday completed half of their training before being inducted in a special squadron to tackle terror-related incidents.Approved by the Punjab Cabinet in 2017, the SOG will primarily be dealing with fidayeen or terror attacks and will also prevent any hostage-like situation.The SOG commandos are getting trained from the best in the lot. “We have trainers from the Para (Special Forces), equipped and trained in handling deadly lethal weapons. Further trainers from Assam Rifles, which is the oldest of paramilitary forces of India, and former National Security Guards (NSG) are training these commandos,” said Additional DGP (Commandos), Punjab, Rakesh Chandra.At present, 186 commandos are being trained by 17 specialised instructors at the Bahadurgarh Commando Complex on the outskirts of Patiala.“We started from 600 men, but due to the kind of mental and physical stamina required for the job, we are left with 186 men as for now,” said Chandra.Earlier, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh visited the Special Operations Group trainees and saw them showcasing their physical fitness, firing skills, field tactics, rappelling and slithering techniques, jummaring, storming and building intervention.He said since the state shared an international border of 553 km with Pakistan, besides 70-km boundary with Jammu and Kashmir, such a force was needed to tackle drug smugglers, peddlers and militants.“Though the frequency of militant-related incidents has come down considerably post conventional militancy period, there now exists a new and graver threat in the form of unconventional militancy,” he added.

Special Operations Group

• Punjab will soon have a 243-member Special Operations Group (SOG) squadron led by ADGP
• Drawn from various state forces, the SOG commandos will be given 3-month training
• Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) force will be phased out
• SOG has 10 times more strength than SWAT
• Commandos will be able to handle multiple grenade launchers, rocket launchers, machine guns and sniper rifles
• They will have special training in physical fitness, firing skills, field tactics, rappelling and slithering techniques, jummaring, storming and building intervention

What’s in store

• Armoured bulletproof vehicles
• Troop carriers
• Drones for surveillance
• Night vision binoculars
• Bulletproof jackets
• Laser-guided weaponry
• 

File photo of Army Chief General Bipin Rawat. PTI

New Delhi, June 29

Days after imposition of Governor’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Friday said Army was operating with “people-friendly” rules of engagement in the Valley.

“Our basic purpose is to go after terrorists who create violence and disturbance in the Valley. Our aim is not to cause inconvenience to civilian population who are not indulging in arson or violence,” he said on the sidelines of an event here.

Jammu and Kashmir was placed under Governor’s rule on June 20, the fourth time in the last one decade, after the BJP withdrew support to its alliance partner PDP forcing Mehbooba Mufti to resign as the chief minister of the state.

“There is nothing like stepping up… Army continues to operate with the formulated rules of engagement,” Rawat said when asked whether security has been stepped up in the Valley after the fall of the government.

The Army chief said in addition to the “stringent” rules of engagement, local formation commanders continuously give guidelines to soldiers as to how to operate.

“Our rules of engagement are very people-friendly and we conduct operations in a very people-friendly manner. And, motivated reports that Indian Army is carrying out brutal operations in Kashmir is not true,” he said.

Gen Rawat had earlier dismissed the recent UN report on alleged human rights violations in Kashmir as “motivated” and asserted that Indian Army’s record in this regard was “absolutely above board”.

The Army chief today interacted with a group of school students, including five girls, from Baramullah and other neighbouring regions of the Valley who visited him here at South Block as part of a national integration tour.

“The message we want these children to go back with, is that if terrorist activities and stone-pelting stops in Kashmir, it too can prosper like Delhi or other big cities, and perhaps even better,” he said. PTI

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 15

As the militaries of India and China have re-started an interaction and the Ministry of Defence on either side scales up the engagement, history of the past decade reminds of the frequent ups and downs in the relationship. Notwithstanding the recent meetings, the military on either side has not dropped guard. Incidents along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) — the de-facto boundary — have been reduced. However, till there is a resolution on demarcating the LAC on ground, a sense of alertness shall remain, sources indicated to The Tribune. There is no slackness in India’s infrastructure building in the Himalayas.Lt Gen SL Narsimhan (retd), a former commander of the 3 Corps based in the North-East, says, “India-China military relations were never ‘frozen’ as such. Yes, there were issues on the border and they have been managed.” The General is now part of the National Security Advisory Board.  During the 73-day (June–August 2017) Doklam stand-off, there was no major flare up at the LAC barring the clash between troops of either side at Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh. In the past decade, India-China military relations are dotted with bonhomie turning into a freeze. In December 2007, the two countries conducted their first-ever joint military exercise “hand-in-hand”. In August 2010, India snapped military ties after China denied visa to Northern Army Commander Lt Gen BS Jaswal. Almost 18 months later in January 2012, an attempt to restore ties failed. India cancelled delegation visit after China refused visa to Arunachal-origin IAF officer.Chinese Defence Minister General Liang Guanglie visited India in September 2012 as both sides announced resumption of exercises. A few months later in April 2013, a military stand-off ensued at the Depsang plains, eastern Ladakh—one of the hotly contested areas. In July that year, Defence Minister AK Antony visited China.In September 2014, there was another  change, a  military stand -off ensued at Chumar in South-eastern Ladakh even as Modi- Xi Jinping meet in India.A few months later, in May and August 2015, two additional formal border meeting point opened at Kibithoo,  Eastern Arunachal Pradesh and  Daulat Baig Oldie,  Ladakh, respectively .In   December 2015, Lt Gen DS Hooda, the then northern Army commander led  a military delegation to China. In October 2016 was another watershed event. India and China did a first-ever joint tactical exercise in Jammu and Kashmir, at Chushul, Eastern Ladakh.In February 2017, a 15-member Chinese military delegation visited India. Three months later in May 2017, China put off the military exercise. In April this year, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met her Chinese counterpart twice and in the same month, Modi-Xi summit was conducted at Wuhan. In the past four weeks, there has been a joint yoga session at Daulat baig Oldie, Ladakh, and a visit by China’s senior military leadership to India.

The new system of induction will ensure that physically and mentally fit personnel are inducted into the force. Reuters file

New Delhi, June 24

The NSG has included a new and comprehensive psychology test for entry-level soldiers aspiring to be inducted and honed as ‘Black Cat’ commandos who undertake special counter-terror and counter-hijack operations in the country.

The federal contingency force till now used to put Army and paramilitary troops under rigorous physical and mental strength tests once they join the commando conversion course (CCC) to get inducted into the premier force.

Soldiers desirous of joining the National Security Guard (NSG), modelled on the lines of special counter-terror forces of the UK and Germany, will now have to undergo a special capsule of psychology tests and questions during the three-month CCC, a senior official in the Union home ministry said.

He said a threshold mark has to be obtained by a soldier in the psychology test like qualifying the other physical and mental parameters in order to join the force.

The force had a “pressing” need for a full-time pyschologist in its commando selection panel and experts of this domain have recently been hired in the NSG, he added.

The new system of induction will ensure that physically and mentally fit personnel are inducted into the force to become and perform as the best commando unit of the country, the official said.

PTI had reported in January that the force, while conducting a Psychological Screening Test (PST) when chosen personnel from various uniformed forces join it on deputation, wanted to have a “regular process” of measuring psychological attributes of a trooper wanting to join it and also for those who are already in the ranks.

The force had also included yoga in the daily fitness curriculum and gradings given by the yoga instructor and the newly-hired psychologist will henceforth be reflected in the performance records of commandos, who undertake continuous training when not part of an operation.

The ‘Black Cat’ commandos of the NSG are segregated into two major units—SAG (Special Action Group) manned by officers and jawans from the Army and the SRG (Special Rangers Group) comprising personnel from paramilitary forces.

The force was raised under an act of Parliament in 1984 as a federal contingency combat unit. It has undertaken numerous operations till now. These include flushing out terrorists during the 26/11 Mumbai siege in 2008 and the 2016 operation when they were deployed to kill terrorists who attacked the Indian Air Force (IAF) base in Pathankot.

Recently, a small team of its commandos has been deployed in the Kashmir Valley to undertake specific ‘house intervention’ and terrorists’ neutralisation operations as part of  their new mandate to “strengthen the security grid” in Jammu and Kashmir.

The force will also train personnel of the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the J&K Police and the CRPF which regularly undertake counter-terror operations in the Kashmir Valley. PTI

A NEW demonstration of political piety is participating in drug tests in Punjab—in the full glare of the media, naturally. The unseemly hurry with which politicians are taking tests is unfortunate. Even as the people of Punjab would like reassurance about the “clean” status of their political leaders, they would be far better served by leaders who cleaned up the state. Indeed, the challenge before the state is to remove the scourge of drug abuse and thereby save the future generations from going to waste. Far more critical than Capt Amarinder Singh’s offer to take the test is his announcement that all government employees would be required to submit to an annual inspection. Along with this, the move to make such tests compulsory for all those who seek government service as employment is something that is likely to have a ripple effect. Government jobs are the most sought after, and thus all aspirants would have to ensure that they are drug-free. Since aspirants far outnumber employees, there is a powerful incentive for the young Punjabis to steer clear of drugs. This rule applies to the police also,  both those who aspire to be in uniform and those already in the force. The issue of drug abuse is complicated and needs a multi-pronged approach, based on a nuanced understanding of the problems — unemployment that has made it difficult for the youth to be meaningfully engaged, education that does not empower them with enough skills to get jobs, general disenchantment, and the easy availability of drugs. Just concentrating on the addicts and low-level peddlers is not enough. The clampdown on the trade has to come from the top—the politicians and the police need to be held accountable. The involvement of a shockingly high number of police personnel is dismaying. They have to be weeded out ruthlessly. Instead of posing at photo-ops, political leaders should do their duty in providing the leadership and the atmosphere that will ensure a drug-free Punjab.

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