Facts about Para SF: the men behind the Surgical Strikes

Hello friends, hope you are hale and hearty.

In today’s blog we are basically going to tell you some facts about the elite Para SF of the Indian Army.

Friends, the Para SF was the force of the Indian Army which took part in the surgical strikes in 2016.

Para SF is a special force unit of the Indian Army and is a part of the Parachute Regiment.

Also this force is dedicated to do counter-terrorism operations, Hostage rescue, Special reconnaissance, amphibious warfare, Intelligence operations etcetera.

Every soldier aspires to become a part of this deadly force to see direct actions with the enemy.

But, road to go become a part of Para SF is not everyone’s cup of to, it needs extreme dedication and boldness.

Following are the facts about the Para SF                                                       

1. Raising of the Para SF

• The Parachute regiment was raised on 27^th October 1941 before the Indian Independence.
• But the Para Special Force got its birth in the year 1966 as a result 9^th Para Commando battalion was raised.
• During the Indo-Pak war of 1965, an ad hoc unit, named Meghdoot force comprising of Guards.
• The unit performed exceptionally well in the war, thus the Army felt a need for a dedicated commando unit.
• It was initially to become a part of the Brigade of Guards but parachute qualification being a mandatory clause resulted in dissolving the special force into Parachute Regiment.
• The 9 Para SF is basically the oldest Para SF unit.

2. The Headquarters of the Para Special Force is at Bengaluru, Karnataka.
3. The Para SF insignia comprises of Maroon beret, shoulder titles, sleeve patch and the “Balidan” badge. 
4. The motto of Para Special Force is “Men apart, every man an emperor”.
5. There are 9 different battalions under the Para Special Forces which are as follows:

• 1 Para SF (Mountain warfare)
• 2 Para SF
• 3 Para SF
• 4 Para SF
• 9 Para SF (Jungle warfare)
• 10 Para SF (Desert warfare)
• 11 Para SF
• 12 Para SF
• 21 Para SF

6. The current commander of the Para SF is Lt. Gen Paramjit Singh Sangha.
7. The unit is tasked with missions like special operations, direct action, hostage rescue, counter-terrorism, unconventional warfare, foreign internal defence, special reconnaissance, seek and destroy, counter insurgency, personal recovery etcetera.
8. There are many operations in which Para SF participated successfully and are listed below:

• Indo-Pak war 1965
• Blue Star 1984
• Pawan 1987
• Cactus 1988
• Vijay 1999
• Khukri (Sierra leone) 2000
• Summer Storm 2009
• Ongoing counter insurgency operations in Kashmir valley.
• Surgical strikes in Myanmar 2015
• Surgical Strikes in Pakistan 2016

How to become a part of Para SF

For becoming a part of the Para SF is not easy, it requires nerve of steel, because the force is known to do impossible.

The Para SF selection basically takes place twice in an year.

Firstly, to be a part of the SF, one must have completed the basic military training. There is no direct way of joining special forces. You first need to join Indian Army

Secondly, the person who volunteers to join the SF must encompass administrative procedure and medical standards.

Lastly, the volunteers undergo a rigorous probation of 90 days comprising of extreme physical and mental tests. The dropout rate is very high.

Those who fail go back to their parent regiment, while those who succeed are inducted to the Para SF.

Sounds great right?

Hope this blog helped you to know the Para SF’s and moreover add up to your knowledge.

Good day, Stay tuned to DDE for more stuff.