Special Frontier Force

The Special Frontier Force (SFF) is a paramilitary unit of India. It was conceived in the post Sino-Indian war period as a guerrilla force composed mainly of Tibetan refugees whose main goal was to conduct covert operations behind Chinese lines in case of another war between the People's Republic of China and India. Based in Chakrata, Uttarakhand, SFF is also known as the "Establishment 22" [www.chushigangdruk.org/history/history11.htm] [The SFF became more famous within the administration as the "Establishment 22" because its first Inspector General (IG) Major Gen. Sujan Singh, a Military Cross holder and a legendary figure in the British India Army. Singh commanded the 22nd Mountain Regiment during World War II in Europe and a Long Range Desert Squadron (LRDS) in north Africa.] . The force was put under the direct supervision of the Intelligence Bureau, and later, the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency [ [http://www.bollywoodsargam.com/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=2813 Bollywood Sargam - Special: Tibetan faujis in Bluestar ] ] .

History

Ethnic Tibetans have been a part and parcel of the modern Indian Army for as long as it has existed. Independent formations of Tibetan (including Ladakhi, Bön, and Sikkimese) units were to patrol and police the lands they were native to. During the time of the Great Game, the British Indian Army began to employ Tibetans as spies, intelligence agents, and even covert militia in northern India and Tibet proper. At the time of Indian independence, the Northern Hills of India remained the most isolated and strategically overlooked territory of the subcontinent. When Tibet was invaded by the People's Liberation Army, India was in no position to militarily interfere. After the Chinese conquest of Tibet, Central Intelligence Agency and the Indian Intelligence Bureau established Mustang Base in Nepal [ [http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/jan/08spec.htm The Phantoms of Chittagong ] ] , which trained Tibetans in guerilla warfare. The Mustang rebels were used to rescue the Dalai Lama from Chinese captivity, into exile in India [ [http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/archive/index.php/index.php/t-37833.html India's Tibetan Troops: Histories & Rare Photographs [Archive - Military Photos ] ] .

Formation

After the Sino-Indian war and towards the end of 1962, after hectic lobbying by Intelligence Bureau (IB), the Nehru administration ordered the raising of an elite commando unit and specialized mountain divisions primarily composed of Tibetan resistance fighters. Chushi Gangdruk leaders were contacted for recruitment of Khampas into this new unit. An initial strength of 5000 men, mostly Khampas were recruited at its new Mountain Training Facility at Chakrata, Dehradun. Established under the direct supervision of the Prime Minister, the unit under the operational command of IB and later R&AW, was designated the Special Frontier Force (SFF), and was primarily used for conducting clandestine intelligence gathering and commando operations along the Chinese Theatre. Initial training was conducted by the CIA paramilitary officers and the IB's own special operations unit. In 1968 SFF, with the help of the Aviation Research Centre which provided airlift facilities, became fully airborne-qualified and a dedicated mountain and jungle warfare unit. During this period the Indian government also formed the Ladakh Scouts and the Nubra Guards paramilitary force on similar lines. SFF was later incorporated in the the Special Services Bureau (SSB) of R&AW.

The Organization

Sh Transport Helicopters. ARC also provides air surveillance facilities through the Chakrata Air Base near SFF HQ.

Training

Most training is still conducted at Chakrata, lasting nine months and is similar to India Army training, with extensive additional courses on guerrilla tactics, mountain and jungle warfare. All commandos are parachute qualified after five jumps, with three refresher jumps every year. SFF personnels are trained in four basic areas:

* Mountain: Experts in mountain and Arctic warfare, these men are trained to survive and fight in extreme conditions. Mountain troops' skills can be called on anywhere from the Siachen Glacier to the Himalayan ranges in the east. They are also known to have trained in the famed German Alpine Guides course at the Mountain Warfare School at Mittenwald and the High Altitude Warfare School at Gulmarg reaching proficiency levels that rival the best climbers in the world.

* Amphibious: This troop's combat divers are the outfit's amphibious experts. In essence, it provides a comparable amphibious warfare capability to the SFF as the MARCOS provide to the Indian Navy. While they have overlapping mission profiles, the Special Group clearly does not have as extensively maritime roles. There is close cooperation and cross-training between its amphibious troops and the MARCOS and a bitter rivalry exists between them.

* Air: Air Troop is the Special Group's free-fall parachuting specialists, tasked with jumping behind enemy lines, either on their own missions or to pave the way for other squadron troops. Air Troop also employ less conventional forms of air insertion such as micro-lites and powered parachutes. For HALO/HAHO combat jumps skydivers use square-type RAM parachutes which are more maneuverable also allow for softer, controlled landings than the standard round chutes.
* Jungle warfare: Jungle operations are considered to be one of the toughest in the world and more men here fall to nature than the enemy. The Special Group's Jungle troopers are the masters in jungle craft, probably second only to the French Foreign Legion. They are skilled at carrying out deep interdiction and search and destroy operations for extended periods of time.

FF operations

SFF was raised with covert operations in mind, mainly along the Indo-China border, however SFF has been fielded by R&AW and the Indian governmnet in various covert and overt operation theatres [www.bharat-rakshak.com/ LAND-FORCES/Special-Forces/SFF.htm] .

China

In 1964 intelligence reports kept indicating that China was preparing to test a nuclear bomb at its Lop Nor nuclear installation in Xinjiang. On October 16, 1964 China tested a nuclear weapon in Xinjiang. It was expected but not enough details were known. Later in November 1964, the CIA launched a U2 flight out of Aviation Research Centre (ARC)'s Charbatia Air Base in Orissa, but its return turned out to be a bit of a mishap. The U2 overshot the runaway and got stuck in slushy ground caused by heavy rain in the monsoons. Getting it unstuck and out of India without being noticed by the Indian press, then even much more subject to leftist influences and hence antagonistic to the USA, was another clandestine operation. This gave all concerned quite a scare and it was decided to rely on other technical means. [ [http://www.indiadefence.com/himalayas.htm WHAT ] ] So CIA decided to launch an ELINT operation along with R&AW and ARC to track China's nuclear tests and monitor its missile launches. The operation, in the garb of a mountaineering expedition to Nanda Devi involved celebrated Indian climber M S Kohli who along with operatives of Special Frontier Force and CIA (most notably Jim Rhyne, a veteran STOL pilot), was to place a permanent ELINT device, a transceiver powered by a plutonium battery, that could detect and report data on future nuclear tests carried out by China [Spies in the Himalayas, by Kenneth Conboy and M.S. Kohli, University Press of Kansas (March 2003), ISBN-10: 0700612238 ] . The plan to install a snooping device was hatched far away in Washington D.C., in the offices of the National Geographic Society. Barry Bishop, a photographer with the magazine, interested Gen. Curtis LeMay of the US Air Force in the idea. The actual efforts called for to place a permanent electronic intelligence (ELINT) device powered by a nuclear SNAP 19C power pack fuel cell. The first attempt to place this device on the Nanda Devi, by a Kohli-led SFF team under the cover of a mountaineering expedition failed as the team had to retreat in the face of adverse conditions and left the device in a small unmarked mountain cave after having hauled the device to just short of the 25,645 feet peak. When another Kohli-led expedition returned the following year to recover the device, it was found to be missing [Harish Kapadia, "Nanda Devi", in "World Mountaineering", Audrey Salkeld, editor, Bulfinch Press, 1998, ISBN 0-8212-2502-2, pp. 254-257.] . [There are many theories about what happened. Most of likely ones are that the device rolled off the mountain and is now lodged at the bottom of the glacier. More imaginative theories speculate that the supposedly indestructible nuclear power pack with a highly toxic plutonium isotope in its core, with a half-life of many thousand years is inching its way into the Ganges. Another plausible theory is that another team of Indian mountaineers came up furtively early the next season and spirited away the device for Indian nuclear scientists to study. Many Americans lean towards this, and with the legendary spymaster, RN Kao in the picture anything was possible.] In the meantime the Chinese not only kept testing nuclear weapons at regularly intervals but also ballistic missiles. The urgency to gather information was never greater. Another mission was launched in 1967 to place a similar device on the Nanda Kot. This mission was successful but a couple of years later another problem cropped up; snow would pile up over the antenna and render it blind. So Kohli and a SFF team was sent once again to bring it down, this time they retrieved it successfully. In October 1967 the Chinese began testing an ICBM capable of reaching targets 6000 miles away. There was renewed urgency to find out more. So SFF mountaineers went off on one more mission in December 1969 to successfully place a gas powered device on an undisclosed mountain supposedly in Chinese controlled areas. But by the following year, the US had the first generation of the TRW spy satellites in place and did not have to rely on the old ELINT devices.

Indo-Pakistan War of 1971

SFF was extremely successful against Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971. Elements of the force were sent to Mizoram in late October by November 1971, a 3000 man strong Brigade strength Task Force was deployed and conducted pre-emptive strike operations in support of the Indian army formations along the Chittagong Hill Tracts. They trained the Bangladeshi resistance movement, Mukti Bahini. For the Bangladeshi campaign, designated "Operation Mountain Eagle", the SFF members were issued Bulgarian AK-47's and US carbines. SFF conducted several mission, including the destruction of the Kaptai Dam and other bridges. The Inspector General urged that the SFF be used to capture Chittagong, but SFF members did not have artillery or airlift support to conduct a mission of that magnitude. After three weeks of border fighting, the SFF divided its six battalions into three subgroups and moved into East Pakistan on 03 December 1971, they were also loaned four Indian Air Force Mi-4 helicopters. They also halted large portions of the Pakistani 97 Independent Brigade and the famed 2nd Commando Battalion from infiltrating into Burma by cutting off their rear defences and flanks. This operation saw the first Dapon, Tibetan equivalent of a Brigadier General to command part of the SFF Task Force. With the Pakistani Lt. General A.A.K. Niazi signing the ceasefire on 17 December, the SFF had lost 56 men and had 190 wounded. The Indian government gave awards to 580 operatives of the SFF for their meritorious conduct and valour during the Bangladeshi campaign.

Internal operations

SFF was used in combating communal riots in mid 70s and later was used in Operation Blue Star in 1984. It was also used briefly for VIP security in late 1984 around the Prime Minister following the assassination of Indira Gandhi. Later this role fell upon the Special Protection Group.

In 1975 a new rule pertaining to the SFF was issued, this prohibited the SFF from being deployed to within 10 km of the Indo-Chinese border unless under explicit instructions. This came about after several incidents in which SFF was found to be conducting unsanctioned cross-border raids and intelligence operations. Currently, one SFF battalion is stationed in the Siachen Glacier.

Current roles

With warming of Indo-Chinese relations, SFF has moved out of covert operations to various other fields like counter-terrorism. The major functions of SFF in the present day scenario are as follows:

Counter-terrorism

One Squadron is responsible for counter-terrorism duties, with a team in a constant state of alert. The four squadrons rotate through this role on a six-monthly basis. Special Group teams regularly conduct CT operations in troubled Kashmir against militants on specific intelligence inputs.

pecial Group

The Director General (DG) Security, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) in 1982 dispatched 500 SFF operatives along with over 500 Indian Army special forces to Sarasawa for Counter Terrorist training. It is also thought that the selected troopers thereafter were sent to Israel for highly specialized training. These men formed the nucleus of an ultra-elite and highly classified new detachment, known as the "Special Group". The SFF Special Group is structured like the Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment, its headquarters supported by an Intelligence and Planning wing, a Training wing and a specialist Signals Troop which is solely responsible for support operations. Having four squadrons each made up of around 100 troopers, which are further divided into four troops. Each troop has a specialized role. The Special Group has a wide range of responsibilities, each requiring specific training and disciplines.

Intelligence Gathering

Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols or Pathfinders must be able to remain hidden under the nose of the enemy for days or weeks on an end. The outfit was trained to do this against the Chinese but actually used the technique to great success in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the fields of the northern state of Punjab.

Combat Air Control

With the emphasis on air power in modern warfare there comes a need for skilled combat air controllers, men on the ground calling in air strikes. There is usually a trooper specially trained to guide in attack aircraft for a strike, verbally or using Laser Designators. SFF Special Group troopers effectively demonstrated this capability during India's Kargil conflict with Pakistan in the summer of 1999.

Close Protection

The Special Group, along with the Special Protection Group (SPG) were the pioneers at close protection (CP) duties in India, having developed many of the protocols themselves, unique to the Indian subcontinent. Nowadays much of the VIP protection is the sole responsibility of the National Security Guards (NSG) and other specialized provincial units.

Training Foreign Military

Over the years, the Special Group has shared their expertise with a few friendly nations like Maldives and Nepal, training their own special forces. The government also gets political benefits from such arrangements.

References