| MARCOS- The Uber Elite Forces Of The Indian Navy |
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Indian Navy is considered among the best in the word with truly cutting edge weaponry and some of the best trained personnel.
Among all the upcoming navies of the different countries, Indian Navy is considered as the fastest growing towards the capability of becoming a true expeditionary force. One of the key units of the Indian Navy are its elite MARCOS who were previously known as the Marine Commando Force (MCF) and are colloquially known as the Crocodiles. Ever since the first batch of Marcos qualified in February 1987, the unit has seen a lot of action and emerged as the hardest to qualify for elite naval force in the world. Every second person has been dropping out of it despite a rigorous selection criteria. Where the actual number of Marcos personnel remains classified, the current estimates place the figure at around 2000. The selection process and extremely exacting standards means that the force remains perpetually understaffed. 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 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 actual training duration of the Marcos is anywhere between one and a half to two full years. The cadets start with basic diving and commando tactics and skills. This basic training lasts as long as six months and is followed by around year long training of specialized skills. At the beginning, Marcos were trained by different special forces and civilian police special forces. A significant amount of the training that US Navy SEALS undergo has been replicated in the training of Marcos. Today, the training of Marcos takes place in 'Naval Special Warfare Tactical Training Centre' located at Mumbai. The current operational bases of Marcos are in Mumbai, Goa and Port Blair. There are plans in work 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 modeled on the lines of CIJWS of the Indian Army in Mizoram. Marcos have participated in many operation of Indian Navy. Primary among these are Operation Cactus which undid the coup in Maldives and Operation Pawan where Marcos were involved in peace keeping activities in Sri Lanka, Kargil War where India threw out Pakistani infiltrators and others like Operation Cyclone and Operation Black Tornado. Related Articles
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