Article Posted on : - Mar 02, 2012

A glimpse of special heli-borne operation during Ex-Garuda Shakti, joint training of Indian and Indonesian troops, at Indian Armys elite Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS), Vairengte in Mizoram, on Thursday. A PTI Photo.

AIZWAL (PTI): Learning from each other's experience of tackling insurgents and terrorism, Indian and Indonesian armies have concluded their week-long joint drills in Mizoram.

The first-ever platoon-level joint training exercise between the two armies -- codenamed 'Exercise Garuda Shakti'-- was held at Mizoram-based Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS).

It was conducted in two parts- indoor training sessions and outdoor validation drills codenamed Chakravyu in Mizoram's Lushai Hills, army officials said Thursday.

Troops from Indonesian National Army were led by Lt Col Gatot Heru Puana of KOSTRAD (Indonesian Army's Strategic Reserve Command), while men from 19 Madras Regiment, currently deployed in counter terrorism operations in the northeast sector, comprised the Indian side.

Praising the skills of Indonesian troops, CIJWS Commandant Maj Gen A K Sen said they matched the skills of their Indian counterparts.

"They are very sincere, devoted, well-prepared and eager to learn. The visiting troops were put through a rigorous initiation process, and they fared as good as their Indian counterparts," Sen said.

For proper assimilation of nuances of counter insurgency and jungle warfare, all training and attack drills were coordinated by having two mixed platoons of KOSTRAD soldiers and Indian troops, overseen by senior military observers, the officials said.

Praising the professionalism of the Indian soldiers, Lt Col Gatot observed that the Indian troops were very well equipped to fight insurgency.

While finding some of the training tactics very similar, he said the concept of 'Buddy' system was something they would like to emulate in their Army.