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 Created
in 1987 with a complement of 38 officers and 373
sailors, the MARCOS as they are fondly called
are amongst the finest maritime special forces
in the world and one of the few units qualified
to jump in the water with a full combat load.
Operations undertaken by MARCOS usually remain
classified though some of the know operations
are Operation Pawan where they were part of the
Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka
in 1988, Operation Cactus where they took part
in defending the democratic government of President
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom of the Maldives from a coup,
Operation Leech, which resulted in the slaying
of a number of Burmese rebels at Narcondum Island
in the North Andaman group of Islands and, Operation
Tasha, which was a coastal security operation
on the Tamil Nadu coast to thwart operations of
the LTTE post Operation Pawan.
Operation Swan, which was a similar exercise
on the Gujarat and Maharashtra coast after the
Dec 1992 terror blasts in Mumbai and Operation
Black Tornado where MARCOS stormed the Trident
and Taj Hotels in Mumbai during the Pakistani
terror attack on 26 Nov 2008 are the other known
operations. In addition they have also been deployed
at the Wular Lake in Kashmir, one of Asia’s largest
freshwater lakes, where they achieved significant
success in counter insurgency operations against
terrorists and militants in Jammu & Kashmir.
MARCOS have earned reputation for their lethality
and the speed with which they launch assaults
from the water. Protecting offshore oil rigs and
platforms is another major task for which the
MARCOS maintain a quick reaction team at Mumbai,
to deal with threats to the offshore oil assets
at Bombay High.
The force started off as the Indian Marine Special
Force, the first batch qualifying in February
1987. It was later renamed the Marine Commando
Force (MCF) in 1991. Initially trained by the
other special forces of the country, including
those under the Home Ministry, the Army, Air Force,
Police and paramilitary its and special forces
from UK and USA, the force set up its own training
facility, first as an adjunct of the operational
company at Mumbai, and later as the Naval Special
Warfare Tactical Training Centre. Their training
is conducted over a two-year course. It is said
that by the end of training only 10 to 25 per
cent of the officers and sailors make the mark.
In its first ever action in the Gulf of Aden,
MARCOS thwarted an attempt by pirates to capture
the Indian merchant vessel MV Jag Arrnav on 11
Nov 2008. On 13 Dec 2008, MARCOS units operating
from the Indian Naval warship INS Mysore foiled
a pirate hijack attempt of Ethiopian vessel MV
Gibe off the Somali coast. In the process 23 pirates
were arrested. On August 12, 2011 MARCOS successfully
recaptured a hijacked Iranian vessel - MV Nafis-1
which had reportedly sailed from Chahbahar in
Iran to an undisclosed location in July. Navy
Intelligence reports revealed that the ship was
being used to smuggle weapons and contrabands.
Plans are afoot to shift the existing training
facility, the Naval Special Warfare Training and
Tactical Centre, to a new facility to be set up
at the erstwhile Naval Academy in Goa on the lines
of the Indian Army’s Counter Insurgency and Jungle
Warfare School (CIJWS) in Vairengte, Mizoram.
.. wn terror attack on 26 Nov 2008 are the
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