How To Join Garud Commando SF Of Indian Air Force ?
How To Join Garud Commando SF Of Indian Air Force ?
How To Join Garud Commando SF Of Indian Air Force ?
We all are very well acquainted with the three branches of defence forces of India i.e. Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Navy. But do you know about these Special Forces the three branches contain. Probably many of us not. These three branches of Armed Forces of India have their special forces to tackle any immediate arid situation. The special Forces of Indian Army are called as the Para Commando, In Indian Navy it is Marcos and in Indian Air Force these Special Forces are named as Garud Commando.
Many candidates who knew about these forces dreams to join these but due to lack of information they fail to do so. Here in this blog we are specifically trying to provide you knowledge as how to join Garud commando of Indian Airforce?
In Indian Hindu mythology, Garuda is depicted as a demi-god—a mythical being, half man and half eagle—with tremendous power.
BREIF HISTORY OF GARUD COMMANDO:
The origin of the IAF special /commando force lies in the daring attempts by Pakistan- trained terrorist against two major air bases in Jammu and Kashmir in late 2001. Even though the attacks were successfully repulsed, a need was felt for a specialised force to protect the Indian Air Force’s vital and vulnerable assets. Therefore, for certain dedicated Air Force tasks, the IAF decided to raise an elite commando force.
The group, originally christened ‘Tiger Force’, was later renamed ‘Garud Force’. The first batch of 100 volunteers from the IAF No. 1 Airmen Training Centre at Belgaum in Karnataka was assigned to undergo commando training in Gurgaon in Haryana. The Garud Force came into being on February 6, 2004 in Delhi with 62 out of the initial 100 volunteers successfully completing the course curriculum. The Garuds were first seen publicly during the Air Force Day celebrations at Delhi on October 8, 2004.
How To Join Garud Commando SF Of Indian Air Force ?
DUTIES OF GARUD COMMANDOS:
How To Join Garud Commando SF Of Indian Air Force ?
The commandos are trained to protect airfields from enemy and terrorist attacks, carry out hostage rescue operations, ‘Radar Busting’ etc. They also carry out the combat search and rescue missions (CSAR) for securing back Pilots from hostile territory.
Garud Commandos of IAF are specially trained to be a Quick Reaction Force at important Indian Air Force bases, protect IAF high value assets, conduct search and rescue during the peace and war, and undertake counter-terrorism tasks and special missions. They are regularly tasked to assist civil authorities for disaster relief operations during calamities. Garuds have been effectively employed in Indian missions in support of the United Nations (UN) and during extrication of Indian national from war zones i.e. apart from protecting the IAF’s vulnerable infrastructure and installations, Garud commandos engage in counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, providing aid during natural calamities and special military operations in the national interest.
RECRUITMENT, SELECTION & TRAINING:
The basic selection of GARUD commandos is through two processes on the basis of commission. For non- commissioned vacancies, airmen selection process and for commissioned post, ground duty trainees of GDOC.
Non-Commissioned :- This selection for GARUD is done directly through initial-entry recruitment (i.e. civilians) and not from volunteers, through Airmen Section Centres. Recruitment is initiated by the release of notification/ advertisement. Candidates found suitable for Garud are put through an intense process of mental and physical training. Candidates have only one chance to become a Garud trainee but, once they have achieved the required standards and completed training, they become a permanent member of the force and are retained within this career stream for the duration of their service in Indian Airforce.
Although Garud training is 72 weeks in duration, technically the longest Indian SOF training, although 12 weeks of this is Phase 1 basic military training (i.e. converting civilians into partly trained soldiers).
Candidates will generally go through five phases to become a fully-qualified Garud Operator, which includes:
Phase 1: Recruitment and Pre-Selection.
Phase 2: Selection
Phase 3: Phase 1 basic military training (known as Joint Basic Phase Training).
Phase 4: Basic SF training
Phase 5: Advanced SF Training.
From boot camp to fully qualified and operational, a Garud candidate may undertake up to three years of training
Commissioned: Application for Garud is made by male volunteers wishing to join the Indian Air Force. Volunteers can be either commissioned officers or enlisted soldiers. Candidates applying for Garud will be employed in the Group Y (Non-Technical) Trades as an IAF (Security) tradesman (IAF, 2017a) Commissioned Officers are selected from the Officer Cadets of the Ground Duty branch at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal. For GDOC, candidates have AFCAT exam. After getting trained, they get into the GARUD unit.
BASIC MILITARY TRAINING:
All Garud candidates will undertake, along with all other trades, the 12-week Joint Basic Phase Training (JBPT) delivered by the Basic Training Institute (BTI) located at Sambra.
Training during this phase includes:
- A diagnostic test (DT) & trade allocation test (TAT) for the candidate’s trade allocation, which is usually conducted during the 2ndweek of training;
- General service training (drill, endurance training, physical training and games, field craft, small arms and other related topics);
- General service knowledge
- English and Hindi language training; and
- Basic computer training.
Those candidates who successfully graduate JBPT will move on to basic SF training and subsequently (if successful) advanced SF training.
SPECIAL FORCES (SF) TRAINING:
The initial phase is a three-month probationary, mainly rigorous physical training, which filters out the promising candidates for the next higher phase. It is conducted at the Garud Regimental Training Centre (GRTC) located in Hindan, Ghaziabad near New Delhi.
The subsequent phase of special operations training is imparted with assistance from the special group of the Special Frontier Force, the Indian Army, the National Security Group and the Para-military forces. Those who qualify, proceed to the Parachute Training School at Agra to complete the basic airborne operations phase. The remainder of the phases consists of other niche fields such as jungle and snow survival, bomb demolition, and so on.
Garuds also train with the Army’s Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School. The final phase of training consists of active operations on being attached to operationally deployed Special Forces Units of the Indian Army, which helps the Garuds to gain firsthand operational experience. A few selected Garuds have also undergone training in foreign countries like the US, and so on.
PRESENT STATUS
Aspiring to be a 1,500-strong force, at present there are around 1,080 Garud commandos protecting the air assets all over the country. Garud Air warriors are inducted as airmen within the IAF’s rank structure. The force is organised into 15 ‘Flights’. A Garud flight is roughly the equivalent of a ‘Company’ in an infantry battalion of the Indian Army and is commanded by ay an officer of the rank of Squadron Leader/Flight Lieutenant. The flights are individually based at various Air Force Stations, where they are operationally deployed.
