Indian, Indonesian Troops Conduct Joint Jungle Warfare Drill

Army Statement: Training together to counter the scourge of insurgency in various contemporary scenarios including jungle warfare, the operational part of the first-ever platoon-level joint training exercise – EX GARUDA SHAKTI – of the armies of India and Indonesia, concluded successfully today at the Indian Army’s elite Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS), Vairengte in Mizoram. Chakravyuh, a three-day outdoor validation exercise tested the week-long training, imparted at various CI modules and at the plethora of firing ranges in the guerrilla warfare school, ended with the busting of a simulated insurgent hide-out in the Lushai Hills, in the early hours of Thursday, after a grueling night-long march.

The Indonesian National Army (Tentara Nasional Indonesia-Angkatan Darat, TNI-AD, in short) troops led by Lt Col Gatot Heru Puana of KOSTRAD (Indonesian Army’s Strategic Reserve Command) belonging to the 13th Infantry Brigade comprised of five officers, six Non-Commissioned Officers and 14 Privates. Troops from the 19th Madras Infantry Battalion, of 21 Mountain Division under Eastern Command, currently deployed in CI operations in the northeast sector, comprised the Indian side. For proper assimilation of the nuances in CIJW operations of the Indonesian troops, all training and attack drills were coordinated by having two mixed platoons (comprising around 30 soldiers each) of KOSTRAD soldiers and the Indian Infantry troops, overseen by senior military observers.

Photos / DPR Defence