Physical Fitness Test (PFT) for Indian army
To determine the Physical Fitness Tests (PFT), the following tests carrying 100 mks are held:-
(a) 1 Mile Run.
(b) Pull Ups.
(c) Balance.
(d) 9 Feet Ditch.
Marking system is as follows: -
(a) 1 Mile Run.
(i) 5. 40 Mins and below - 60 Marks.
(ii) 5. 41 Mins to 5.50 Mins - 48 Marks.
(iii) 5. 51 Mins to 6.05 Mins - 36 Marks.
(iv) 6. 06 Mins to 6.20 Mins - 24 Marks.
(b) Pull Ups.
(i) 10 and above - 40 Marks.
(ii) 9 ------ - 33 Marks.
(iii) 8 ------ - 27 Marks.
(iv) 7 ------ - 21 Marks.
(v) 6 ------ - 16 Marks.
(c) Balance. Should qualify and no marks are awarded.
(d) 9 Feet Ditch. Should qualify and no marks are awaded
1)NSG-Selection is demanding and has a drop out rate of about 50– 70%.Three of their 14 months of training in Manesar, Haryana, are devoted to the basics.The basic training period lasts 90 days. Physical fitness training has 26 elements, ranging from an cross-country obstacle course to jumping from heights and across divides and scaling different kinds of terrain. One endurance test involves target shooting at the end of an obstacle-ridden cross-country run. This is meant to gauge the candidate’s performance under conditions of stress and exhaustion. Those who successfully complete the tests are sent for nine months of advanced training. The advanced training includes unarmed combat, knife combat, intelligence gathering, surveillance, demolition techniques, specialized insertion techniques, rapid and reflex shooting, mirror shooting etc. Only those who complete the entire course successfully are inducted into the NSG and given further specialised training, thus making them at par with the best forces around.
At the training, the commandos are trained to handle sophisticated communication equipment, combat gadgets and different kinds of arms/specialised weapons such as AK-47/74s, Browning hi-power 9mm pistol, 9mm Uzi sub-machine gun, 5.56mm M-16 A2, 9mm H&K MP5-A2/A3 and locally manufactured 7.62mm SLR and 5.56mm INSAS rifles. Sniper rifles such as the semi-automatic H&K 7.62mm PSG-1 and MSG-90, the SIG 7.62mm, SSG-2000 and the bolt-action Mauser SP66/86SR are also used to train members of the Special Action Group, which is specifically deployed for anti-terror/anti-hijacking operations.
2)MARCOS-All MARCOS personnel are males selected from the Indian Navy. They are selected when they are in their early 20s and have to go through a stringent selection process and training. The selection standards are extremely high. The training is a continuous process. American and British special forces assisted in the initial training, which now consists of a two-year course for new recruits. The training regiment includes: airborne operations, combat diving courses, counter-terrorism, anti-hijacking, anti-piracy operations, direct action, infiltration and exfiltration tactics, special reconnaissance, unconventional warfare training etc. Majority of the training is conducted at INS Abhimanyu which is also the home base of MARCOS.
All MARCOS personnel are freefall qualified (HALO/HAHO). A few also qualify to operated the Cosmos CE-2F/X100 two-man subs. MARCOS train along with the Special Forces officers of the Indian Army like the Para Commandos at the Indian special forces training school, Nahan and Army's other schools for Unconventional warfare These include the Junior Leaders' Commando Training Camp in Belgaum, Karnataka, the Parvat Ghatak School (for high altitude mountain warfare) in Tawang Arunachal Pradesh, Desert warfare school in Rajasthan, the High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) in Sonamarg, Kashmir and the Counter-insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) in Vairengte, Mizoram. These elite schools routinely host students from other countries. MARCOS are then trained at various training agencies within the navy. They are skilled combat divers and parachutists and most of the training deals with counter-terrorist, anti-hijacking and anti-piracy operations.
Generally, the pre-training selection process is made of two parts. Any Indian Navy personnel who wants to join this outfit must first undergo a three-day long, physical fitness test and aptitude test. Within this process, 80% of the application are screened out. Further screening process is known as 'hell's week'. This is actually a five-week long process which involves high degree of physical exercises and sleep deprivation. It is only after this process that actual training begins.
The total duration of training of MARCOS is between two and half to three years. The basic training lasts six months. The first two months is the weeding out phase. The first phase of which lasts one month, in which they undergo many rigorous physical tests of which only 50% pass. Then for the next nine months, they are taught how to use different types of weapons, conduct special warfare techniques and how to gather intelligence from the enemy. The cadets start with basic diving and commando tactics and skills. Those that go on are trained in every aspect of modern warfare and in every situation. This includes firing while lying down, standing, running full-sprint, even backwards and looking into a mirror – with a reaction time of 0.27 seconds. This is followed by a year of training of specialised skills. They are trained in various types of close combat including Krav Maga. Different forms of warfare training is imparted through field operations in counter-insurgency and anti-terrorist operations within the country and are trained to operate in any kind of environment like beaches, deep sea, on the surface of the ocean, in jungles, ravines and for situations like hostage rescue, urban combat and piracy. A notably rigorous training program is the "death crawl" – an 800-metre struggle through thigh-high mud, loaded with 25 kg of gear and after a 2.5 km obstacle course that most soldiers would fail. After that, when the trainee is exhausted and sleep-deprived, he has to undergo the final test – shooting a target 25 metres away, with a partner standing next to it.
The MARCOS are trained in every kind of weapon and instruments, from knives and crossbows to sniper rifles, handguns, assault rifles, submachine guns and bare hands. Being divers, they can reach hostile shores swimming underwater.
The further training includes:
Open and closed circuit diving
Basic commando skills including advanced weapon skills, demolitions, endurance training and martial arts
Para training
Intelligence training
Operation of submersible craft
Offshore operations
Anti-terrorism operations
Operations from submarines
Skydiving
Various special skills such as language training, insertion methods, etc.
Explosive ordnance disposal techniques
They are also trained to parachute into open water with full combat load. In 2013, the MARCOS have introduced a larger duck-drop system which will be fitted on Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft. Each system (two boats) can accommodate 32 commandos, their weapons and fuel for the boats. Duck-drop system that marcos operate in the past is smaller in size which is fitted on An-32 aircraft. This force-multiplier was developed by the Agra-based Aerial Delivery Research & Development Establishment. Once para-dropped from the aircraft, it allows for the commandos to assemble inflatable motorised boats within ten minutes, and quickly reach ships in distress. On reaching the target, they can dismantle the boats and travel underwater to mount a surprise attack. Such rescue missions can be mounted by the commandos deployed within an hour unlike in the past, when commandos took up to 48 hours to reach the targets as it involved travelling on-board ships and then being deployed on motorised boats.
The Marcos are also preparing for urban warfare and have begun practicing on 3D virtual models of offshore installations to ensure a swift response during a terrorist attack. The marine commandos are undergoing regular training sessions in this computer-generated programme to be well-prepared for a strike similar to the 26/11 attack. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has provided a virtual model of its facility in Krishna-Godavari basin in the east, for the marine commandos at INS Kalinga, the training base for Marcos in Visakhapatnam.
MARCOS will carry out amphibious operations at Frasersgunj in the Sunderbans as part of their routine training. Frasersgunj, with its beach and proximity to the estuarine delta, is an ideal location for such exercises, the source added. The Coast Guard is in the process of setting up a base at Frasersgunj and station hovercraft there. More importantly, the elite force will get a feel of the Sunderbans, which is considered at risk from infiltrators and terrorists. There are so many waterways running through the Sunderbans delta that it is not possible to maintain physical vigil on all movement there. Security experts believe that the threat from terrorists moving in from the sea still remains. With so many vessels passing through the Sunderbans, it may be a route for terror outfits to send in armed men to carry out an attack like that on Mumbai. In case of any eventuality, the Macros are most likely to be called in as it is a marine environment. A major part of their training is kept under wraps. Frasersgunj will be an ideal location where secrecy can be maintained.
The Indian Navy initiated the process of procuring five midget submarines for Marine Commandos (MARCOS). These vessels would have the capacity of carrying four to six personnel on board. The submarines would have a diving depth of around 400 meters, and will strengthen the MARCOS ability to carry out special underwater operations in high seas. The midgets will have the capability of carrying out both manned and unmanned operations and will be equipped with a number of weapons including torpedoes. In 2009, the navy initiated the process of procuring these vessels and issued a Request for Proposal to Indian shipyards including Hindustan Shipyards Limited, ABG and Pipavav shipyards. Due to their faster speed and smaller size, midgets are able to escape the enemy Sound Navigation and Ranging (SONAR) probes making them useful in carrying out covert operations,and help troops to penetrate into hostile territory without getting noticed by enemies. In 2013 other noteworthy development, Vizag-based Hindustan Shipyards Ltd has bagged the contract for building four 500-tonne mini-submarines, which were designed back in the previous decade by Larsen & Toubro. The mini-submarines, to be delivered in the latter half of this decade, will be used exclusively by the Indian Navy’s MARCOS. The combat management systems have been designed and built by TATA Power SED, while Riva Calzoni will be supplying the periscopes and other masts that will host a SATCOM communications systems and LPI navigation radar. The sonar suite is likely to be supplied by ATLAS Elektronik.
The average MARCOS training drop-out rate is more than 90%. The force has its own training facility, first as an adjunct of the operational company at INS Abhimanyu, in Bombay, later as the Naval Special Warfare Tactical Training Centre. For combat diving training, the commandos are sent to the Naval Diving School, Kochi. There are plans to move the Naval Special Warfare Tactical Training Centre to the erstwhile Naval Academy facility in Goa where it will be set up with focus on jungle warfare as well as counter insurgency operations. The new facility will be modelled on the lines of CIJWS of the Indian Army in Mizoram.
3)Garud Commandos-Garud trainees undergo a 72 week Basic Training course, which is the longest among all the Indian special forces but it also includes basic training. The total duration of training before a trainee can qualify as a fully operational Garud is around 3 years.
The initial phase is a three month probationary training which filters out the promising candidates for the next phases of training. This phase, which usually has a high attrition (Drop-out) rate is conducted at the Garud Regimental Training Centre located at Hindon, near New Delhi.
The subsequent phase of special operations training is imparted by the Special Group of the Special Frontier Force, the army, NSG and the paramilitary forces. Those who qualify, proceed to the Parachute Training School (PTS) at Agra to complete the basic airborne phase. Trainees are trained along with paratroopers of the Indian Army.
The remainder of the phases concentrates on niche fields like jungle and snow survival, demolition, etc. Garuds also train at the diving school of the Indian Navy and the Army's Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS). The final phase of training is active operations on being attached to Special Force Units of the Indian Army, which helps the Garuds in gaining operational experience.
After induction, the commandos also undergo advanced training, including anti-hijack and counter insurgency training, jungle and snow survival techniques, specialized weapon handling and advanced driving skills.
