Employment till now of our nascent Special Forces have been analyzed including whether our Special Forces have actually been employed or used as Special Forces or primarily used in counter insurgency operations for which we have any number of other units available. The book brings out whether a rare resource like Special Forces should or should not be employed for such missions that can be performed by a host of other groups. In the backdrop of 21st Century threats, what should be the Special Forces structure in India, their concept of employment and doctrine? These are the other questions this book has attempted to answer.

This book is attempted as a critique of Special Forces as they have emerged in India, as related to counterparts in all important armed forces around the world, emphasizing the concept as it has developed in our Army and the current name it has come to acquire. It delves into the creation of Special Forces in India; evolution, development through the years and why they are called Special Forces. Employment till now of our nascent Special Forces have been analyzed including whether our Special Forces have actually been employed or used as Special Forces or primarily used in counter insurgency operations for which we have any number of other units available. The book brings out whether a rare resource like Special Forces should or should not be employed for such missions that can be performed by a host of other groups. In the backdrop of 21st Century threats, what should be the Special Forces structure in India, their concept of employment and doctrine? These are the other questions this book has attempted to answer. Book jacket.

This book in four sections covers the ‘Operational Milieu and Special Operations’, ‘Successful Special Operations’, ‘Failed Special Operations’, and ‘Implications for India’. It covers regular, irregular and mixed operations under the rubric of hybrid warfare of select foreign militaries, and Indian experience in sub-conventional operations. A myriad of successful and failed special operations covering a span of over seven decades from 1943 onwards have been analyzed in detail, drawing lessons from each. The last Section, ‘Implications for India’, covers lessons, challenges and recommendations in three chapters. These highlight India’s adverse strategic asymmetry vis-a-vis China-Pakistan, inability of India to put in place SOF structures to optimize the considerable SF potential for employment at the strategic, operational and tactical levels, and ending up with policy recommendations.

Special Forces and Special Operations offer an option for providing an asymmetric response across the entire spectrum of conflict. An asymmetric response does not automatically imply a physical attack; in most cases, direct action should be only the extreme response. Special Forces are meant to achieve strategic objectives through application of modest resources in a calibrated manner. With an eye on the future, a seminar was held at CENJOWS which was aimed at examining various alternatives for optimal employment of Indian SF, in pursuit of national security goals with a proactive mindset. Various aspects were covered by eminent speakers from India and other countries. This book is based on the seminar proceedings.

One Hundred Victories is a portrait of how -- after a decade of intensive combat operations -- special operations forces have become the go-to force for US military endeavors worldwide. Linda Robinson follows the evolution of special ops in Afghanistan, their longest deployment since Vietnam. She has lived in mud-walled compounds in the mountains and deserts of insurgent-dominated regions, and uses those experiences to show the gritty reality of the challenges the SOF face and the constant danger in which they operate. She witnessed special operators befriending villagers to help them secure their homes, and fighting off insurgents in the most dangerous safe havens even as they navigated a constant series of conflicts, crises, and other "meteors" from conventional forces, the CIA, and the Pakistanis -- not to mention weak links within their own ranks. They showed what a tiny band of warriors could do, and could not do, out on the wild frontiers of the next-generation wars. One Hundred Victories also includes the inside story of the dramatic November 2011 cross-border firefight with Pakistan, which sent the US commander into a fury and provoked an international crisis. It describes the murky world of armed factions operating along the world's longest disputed border, and the chaos and casualties that result when commanders with competing agendas cannot resolve their differences.

India's Armed Forces stand as a deterrent to external aggression, regional fragmentation, separatism, or secession. They have always carried out their duties with competent professionalism though not seeking much influence in policy areas outside their beat. India's Armed Forces: Fifty Years of War and Peace is their story in the post-independence period. Starting with the trauma of partition, the Armed Forces have continuously engaged in a wide variety of operations. There is perhaps no such parallel in contemporary times of similar uninterrupted employment. The book deals with all essential aspects of India's four wars providing some new insights. It particularly highlights the contributions of the Armed Forces in countering insurgency and towards international peacekeeping. The author captures the environment in which the Armed Forces have operated and the politico-military and strategic circumstances obtaining at various periods of India's turbulent history. The emphasis throughout is on these macro issues and the lessons learned.

In today s situation the security and safety of our countrymen is not only into the hands of Indian army and state police but also forces known as Paramilitary Forces. The security of Indian borders and internal matters are being looked after by these brave men working in these Paramilitary Forces including their history, origin, organization, duties and functions, role and future. It also examines the role of these forces in counter-insurgency and also international peacekeeping under UN. Covering all paramilitary organizations of India, this volume provides valuable information to students, researchers and laymen. An excellent book, which will serve as a sound and lively introduction for all, and also will, makes an impressive and substantial contribution to study of Paramilitary Forces of India.