MAKING OF A COMMANDO-5 | Survival skills to fight, to win, to live another

[thestringshredder]

By Anantha Krishnan M
Express News Service
Bangalore: One of the tenets of a commando is 'live to fight another day.' Every soldier who arrives at the Commando Wing (CW) in Belgaum is prepared to face a worst case scenario; that is the best preparation. A commando has to ‘fight to survive’ and ‘survive to win.’ He can never afford to lose. Having learnt various commando techniques to operate behind enemy lines, skills to survive form the final piece of the commando training at CW. These skills may not overtly aid in carrying out a task but are the most essential and helpful in adverse situations. A commando has to master jungle skills to survive in inhospitable terrain and weather. He has to be in touch with his animal instincts.
During their survival skills training, commandos are taught how to build shelters, procure water, make fires, navigate, make traps and snares, track and finally obtain food from flora and fauna. “Shelters protect from weather, insects, animals and enemy observation. It helps conserve energy. We teach our students to build debris huts, swamp beds and improvisations of a poncho,” Capt V K Pandey, Instructor, CW, tells Express.
Procurement of potable water is a pivotal aspect of survival. Water obtained from a solar still or plant sources like banana or cacti can be directly consumed. Various means of purifying water like boiling, use of bleaching powder, chlorine tablets and distillation are taught to student during the course.
The ability to start a fire in adversity could make the difference between life and death. “Fire can be started using flint and steel, lighter, chemicals and a magnifying glass. For a soldier, fire can be a bane as smoke and light can alert enemies. Techniques to conceal fire and smoke are crucial lessons and are taught in detail,” says Capt Pandey.
A commando does not ask -- What’s on the menu? -- as they have no option but to survive on the flora and fauna available. “Edibility test for plants comes very handy when one is not sure about them. Skills to prepare an animal can come handy and have saved lives of non vegetarians. Taste and choice of food have no place in our lives, while on a mission,” he said.
A commando has to be an expert in building traps and snares to catch small animals and birds without losing surprise. “It takes lot more than knowledge and survival skills to live successfully through an arduous situation. While learning survival skill is important, having the will to survive is essential, without which these skills have no meaning,” adds Capt Pandey.

Link - Tarmak007 -- A bold blog on Indian defence

 

[T90TankGuy]

Earlier it was only for offices, especially those who were going to conflict zones. now it has two courses , one for offices another for NCO.

 

[Abingdonboy]

Earlier it was only for offices, especially those who were going to conflict zones. now it has two courses , one for offices another for NCO.

Initially it was for every Indian Army officer heading into a combat arm ie Infantry,Mech Infantry, Armoured corp, Combat Engineers etc after completing officer training. Now, you are right, it has been opened up to NCOs heading into the above combat wings of the IA.



I think "COMMANDO" course is a bit of a dubious and inaacurate name as these guys are regulars not training to be SF. But even still it is impressive to know that even regulars are given such intense and specilised training in the IA, the IA must produce some of the best trained soldiers on earth. I can't think of any other army in the world that has IED, jungle survival, CQB, small team ops etc as mandatory for every officer/NCO entering a fighting wing. It is very impressive.

 

[bloo]

 

[T90TankGuy]

Initially it was for every Indian Army officer heading into a combat arm ie Infantry,Mech Infantry, Armoured corp, Combat Engineers etc after completing officer training. Now, you are right, it has been opened up to NCOs heading into the above combat wings of the IA.



I think "COMMANDO" course is a bit of a dubious and inaacurate name as these guys are regulars not training to be SF. But even still it is impressive to know that even regulars are given such intense and specilised training in the IA, the IA must produce some of the best trained soldiers on earth. I can't think of any other army in the world that has IED, jungle survival, CQB, small team ops etc as mandatory for every officer/NCO entering a fighting wing. It is very impressive.

I remember in the days of 94 when officers needed this sort of training desperately , it was the height of terrorism in JnK. they doubled their batch's for the yrs 93-96 .

 

[Abingdonboy]

I remember in the days of 94 when officers needed this sort of training desperately , it was the height of terrorism in JnK. they doubled their batch's for the yrs 93-96 .

Was this before the Corps Battle School was set up then sir? As any soldier being deployed in JK has to go through the CBS regardless of whatever training they have in the past. The CBS is specific to the JK terrain and fighting tactics of the enemy.

 

[T90TankGuy]

Was this before the Corps Battle School was set up then sir? As any soldier being deployed in JK has to go through the CBS regardless of whatever training they have in the past. The CBS is specific to the JK terrain and fighting tactics of the enemy.

No the CBS existed even back then , but a huge number of officers used to come the Begaum for training during those days. it was my fathers last posting , he was an Officer in the Maratha LI.

 

[Capt.Popeye]

Initially it was for every Indian Army officer heading into a combat arm ie Infantry,Mech Infantry, Armoured corp, Combat Engineers etc after completing officer training. Now, you are right, it has been opened up to NCOs heading into the above combat wings of the IA.



I think "COMMANDO" course is a bit of a dubious and inaacurate name as these guys are regulars not training to be SF. But even still it is impressive to know that even regulars are given such intense and specilised training in the IA, the IA must produce some of the best trained soldiers on earth. I can't think of any other army in the world that has IED, jungle survival, CQB, small team ops etc as mandatory for every officer/NCO entering a fighting wing. It is very impressive.

I agree with the observation that to call it a "Commando Course" is a misnomer. Actually it was originally called the YO Course or Young Officer's course . Then the scope of the Course was radically changed. The then CO was a Lt Col who had just returned from the Rangers Course at Ft Benning (with a "Dagger" commendation) and he oversaw the revamp. Later he went on to become Col Comdt of the PARA Regmt with Flag Rank. The Commando apellation seems to be born out of the incorporation of extreme survival skills training. If one sees the film "Prahaar" made by Nana Patekar, one will get an idea of what it entails.
As for the then CO; his son passed through that course; served there as an Instructor and soon enough may get posted back as Comdt since he is SF also. All the other specialised courses at schools like CIJWS and HAWS etc came later.

 

[COLDHEARTED AVIATOR]

Most of the soldiers getting trained here will be a part of Ghatak Platoon when they return to their units.Regarding the discussion on "Commando" the thing is that if we dont call it a commando school then we should also not call Ghatak Platoon a Commando unit.The term "commando" is highly misused in India and we also have seen Para Elite units drop the Commando tag for the SF tab.

 

[janon]

Most of the soldiers getting trained here will be a part of Ghatak Platoon when they return to their units.Regarding the discussion on "Commando" the thing is that if we dont call it a commando school then we should also not call Ghatak Platoon a Commando unit.The term "commando" is highly misused in India and we also have seen Para Elite units drop the Commando tag for the SF tab.

But isn't this course mandatory for ALL officers in the infantry and mech infantry? Surely they wouldn't all be part of ghatak units? Or are you saying that the jawans who train here will all go into ghataks, but not the officers? That seems to make sense, that only ghatak soldiers are given such training. Doesn't make sense to give ranger like training to all soldiers, when we have bigger priorities to increase their efficiency. Even officers - why should every officer be given ranger like training? Is that really necessary? Isn't it far more important to equip them with better weapons and communication devices?

 

[Abingdonboy]

But isn't this course mandatory for ALL officers in the infantry and mech infantry? Surely they wouldn't all be part of ghatak units? Or are you saying that the jawans who train here will all go into ghataks, but not the officers? That seems to make sense, that only ghatak soldiers are given such training. Doesn't make sense to give ranger like training to all soldiers, when we have bigger priorities to increase their efficiency. Even officers - why should every officer be given ranger like training? Is that really necessary? Isn't it far more important to equip them with better weapons and communication devices?

You're right, it is mandatory for the above. However I think what coldhearted was saying all Ghatak personal come from this school also.

 

[COLDHEARTED AVIATOR]

But isn't this course mandatory for ALL officers in the infantry and mech infantry? Surely they wouldn't all be part of ghatak units? Or are you saying that the jawans who train here will all go into ghataks, but not the officers? That seems to make sense, that only ghatak soldiers are given such training. Doesn't make sense to give ranger like training to all soldiers, when we have bigger priorities to increase their efficiency. Even officers - why should every officer be given ranger like training? Is that really necessary? Isn't it far more important to equip them with better weapons and communication devices?

No..all soldiers and officers dont get this training because we cant give specalised training to everyone.What these schools do is that they make Commandos out of regulars and if i am not wrong they even get a badge for this(two rifles on a red backgroud) which is worn just above the name plate.

How i see is that we have 3 cateogary of soldiers...SF,Commando and regulars.SF have a seperate training institute and dont allow regulars but they are a part of various courses which regulars do like HAWS,Various CI schools in valley and NE.For regulars we have the battleschools and CIJWS and for special training this Commando school in Central India.

My dad was also posted in this school in 94-95(not interested in sharing details) and it is one of the toughest courses done by a infantryman.Back then the situation was such that he got sent to valley few months after completing the course in RR.Those were the worst days for insurgency in Kashmir and RPG attacks and machine guns infact there were training schools inside Indian territory then.

Comming back to the topic now the situation is that every Inf unit has a Ghatak platoon and soldiers from this platoon are regulalry sent to this school.My friend who is a Capt in Armoured Corp had to also do this course but it was not mandatory for everyone.With Ghataks it is a must.

Lastly i would add that with my observation i see the gap between our Commandos and SF units is decreasing with such school...you compare these pics with Nahan video and u will see a lot of similarity.