Do you mean to say by the above that they are also used in normal infantry role ? That would be a waste of their training ! I read somewhere that they are also used for VIP Protection for the likes of the President, PM etc ! Is that true ?
If true ? It would be again a waste of SF talent !
Does SSG have a strategic and defined laid down deployment plan or is it based on the whims of fancies of the Top Brass ?
Lastly who controls the SSG ? The Army ? I ask this because the SSG has a water wing for Chariots and Combat Diving which the Army may not know how to employ them or is the SSG under a seperate Special Forces Command like in the USA ?
Hope someone with sound SSG knowledge could clear the clouds.
Regards
SF forces have been employed in the roles of normal infantry by many Armies including the Pakistani (1971, 1984), Indian (1999), US (Vietnam etc.), UK (Falklands) and many others that I am not listing. Sometimes this is due to circumstances and some times incorrect understanding or over estimation of SF capabilities.
In Pakistan, the SSG have a specific team that has been imparted training for VVIP/CP security detail. This team is professionally trained in this role and is actually tasked with it. So its not a matter of pulling any Tom, Dick and Harry from the SSG to carry out this task. They have put funding, manpower and training into this requirement.
Does SSG have a strategic and defined laid down deployment plan or is it based on the whims of fancies of the Top Brass ?
The taskings given to SSG are very very specifically laid out by the general staff of the Pakistan Army. The SSG base their entire training program around the requirements of the Army as laid out by this general staff (of course these requirements take into consideration feedback given by the SSG staff). Army conducts comprehensive planning for war and just like other Corps/Divs are considered for specific deployment/tasks/roles, so is the SSG.
Lastly who controls the SSG ? The Army ? I ask this because the SSG has a water wing for Chariots and Combat Diving which the Army may not know how to employ them or is the SSG under a seperate Special Forces Command like in the USA ?
The SSG is commanded by the GOC SSG (A Major General). The GOC SSG reports back to the Chief of General Staff (CGS), Pakistan Army who is a Lt. Gen and in most cases the one primed for leadership of the Army (CGS post is the most important of the PSO posts within the PA). This ensures that no specific Corps Commander holds sway over a central capability such as the SSG. In the past this has been an irritant for some Corps Commanders who happen to have the SSG assets in their areas of responsibility...but the chain of command for the SSG precludes the Corps Commanders. The CGS obviously reports back to the COAS and as such it is ensured that all SSG activities and missions remain under the purview of the Army's higher command.
SSG has its own Frogman (Combat Diver) training program at Tarbela. Initially SSG used to train with the Navy so this frogman company was based in Karachi but it has since moved. Currently the SSG is not under a joint SF command, but in the future we may see SSG (Army, Navy, PAF) under one command similar to the JSOC in the US. Its fairly expensive to do so, thus we have not seen this happen, however it would help in streamlining this capability.