Posted on 04/12/2004 6:30:06 AM PDT by AnIndianFromIndia
For the first time, soldiers from India and the United States have come together for a three-week long exercise in guerrilla warfare.
It began on March 28 and will end on Friday, April 16.
Involving a total of 120 personnel from both sides, it is the largest such exercise between the two countries.
Photographs and reportage: Josy Joseph
Soldiers no longer have the 'comfort' of their trenches to stare across at the enemy. Modern-day battles are fought with a faceless enemy in extremely treacherous terrain.
Also Read:The New Terrorists http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/sep/16spec.htm
Also see: The Young Bravehearts http://specials.rediff.com/news/2004/jan/28speca.htm
The Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School at Vairengte in Mizoram is the only one of its kind in the world.
The School has been shaping critical leadership and soldiers of several nations, including Nepal and Sri Lanka, for unconventional warfare.
Also Read: Varsha Bhosle on the Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School http://in.rediff.com/news/2000/feb/21varsha.htm
During the three-week exercise, the soldiers will train to operate in jungle terrain, in rural and urban centres, anti-hijacking and hostage rescue operations, interrogation, intelligence based tactical operations, combat training, and IED (improvised explosive device) handling
The School has 12 firing ranges, which are set amidst natural surroundings, have moving targets, replicas of multi-storeyed buildings, aircraft etc for training purposes.
One of them is a massive reflex range, where soldiers are taught to take on terrorists.
There is no time to take position, aim and shoot. A whisper, a fleeting image, or a ruffle of leaves; a soldier has to respond within a fraction of a second. If he fails, his target will get him.
American soldiers display their M4 rifles and M9 pistols.
The new generation M4 rifle is the weapon used by most American infantry soldiers. It is equipped with the M-68 device, which makes it highly accurate, night vision and boasts of almost zero recoil.
During the exercise, American soldiers used Indian INSAS rifles while their Indian counterparts used American M4 rifles during raids in mock hostage situations and jungle treks.
Brigadier B K Ponwar is commandant of the Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School.
The School is starting a new course in August with focus on interventions -- that is, tackling terrorists who have hijacked aircraft or other vehicles, or forcibly occupied multi-storied buildings etc
Similar photo feature: Indian, US soldiers jointly learn jungle warfare http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/apr/07mizo.htm
(Too tiring to manually add all these.)
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