(IN) Animals abused for Counter Insurgency Training

[Guest guest]

**

* " . . . tips on survival in the jungle, including trapping of wild animals

and familiarisation with special condition under which they might be

required to eat snakes, monkey . . . " *

 

Link: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/12/stories/2008081254791100.htm

 

*U.S. soldiers learn jungle warfare *

 

**

Sushanta Talukdar

 

Vairengte (Mizoram): Captain Greg Adams and soldiers of the U.S. Army's

Special Force Green Berets held their breadth and watched with rapt

attention as soldiers of the Special Force of the Indian Army crawled on a

jungle strip towards a mock insurgent hideout, with the Israeli Tavors in

their hands booming with deafening sound and two others camouflaged in the

jungles keeping their fingers on triggers of their snipers at the targets of

the counter-terrorist range.

 

With live bullets from automatic weapons flying from all directions, it

provided the perfect stage for the 24 personnel of the Green Berets to learn

some lessons from their buddies of the Special Force as to how to fight a

guerilla like a guerilla.

 

Capt. Adam and his team arrived at the firing range of the

Counter-Insurgency Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) here on Monday after hours

of exciting joint manoeuvres such as slithering. They were flown over the

Mizoram hills by an Indian Air Force chopper, the hilly terrain providing

the perfect setting for learning jungle warfare and counter-insurgency

skills.

 

The soldiers of both the Armies emplaned and deplaned in batches of 10

during the slithering exercise from the chopper at the CIJWS helipad here.

During the 'style exercise,' they hovered over the hilly terrains of

Vairengte in groups of five, each group following the other quickly.

 

" It is an excellent training. The Indian Army has a lot of experience in

counter-insurgency and jungle warfare and it will be very useful to us. We

enjoyed the training. We also shared our experiences with them, " said Capt.

Adams, who has the experience of operating in Iraq for six months. Some of

the personnel of the U.S. Special Force have also been to Afghanistan on

assignments.

 

Puneet Atwal of the Special Force said " it is wonderful learning experiences

for both the sides. "

 

The manoeuvres were part of their fifth joint exercise ?Vajra Prahar-08 ?that

began at the CIJWS on August 4 and will continue till August 24. The

first joint exercise was held in April 2003, the second in March 2004, the

third in September 2005 and the fourth in August 2007. A total of 133 U.S.

personnel have undergone training at the CIJWS so far.

 

" Faced with terror attacks in both Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. Army is

keen to learn from Indian Army's experience in combating insurgency for the

last 50 years. One can't think of a better staging ground for this exercise

between the two forces than the CIJWS. This is the best training institute

of its kind. For its special field of training to fight insurgencies, the

School has been recognised as a Centre of Excellence for counter insurgency

training, " said CIJWS Commandant Brigadier A.K. Ram.

 

" The defence cooperation joint exercise is aimed at increasing the

interoperability between the two forces. Many countries have shown keen

interest to conduct joint training in counter-insurgency with the Indian

Army training establishment here at Vairengte and the CIJWS is set to become

a global institution on sub-conventional warfare, " he added.

 

Over the past 38 years since its inception, a total of 1,487 personnel of 25

countries and 1,56,000 personnel of all ranks of the Indian Armed Forces,

Navy, paramilitary forces and central police organisations have been

trained.

 

The training modules include familiarisation and understanding the doctrine

of each other, tips on survival in the jungle, including trapping of wild

animals and familiarisation with special condition under which they might be

required to eat snakes, monkey, light a fire with wood sticks, reflexive

firing and awareness on Improvised Explosive devices.

 

" It is an intensive training and not a day is wasted, not a moment is

wasted. Both the Armies are trying to make the best use of it, " said Colonel

B. Mukherjee, who is in charge of the training modules.

 

Asked about the training programmes for foreign countries lined up for the

year, Brigadier Ram said that the CIJWS would soon train a special batch of

trainers of the Indian Army, who in turn would impart training in

counter-insurgency and jungle warfare to the Chinese Army.

 

 

On 8/11/08, AZAM SIDDIQUI <azam24x7 wrote:

>

> ---------- Forwarded message ----------

>

>

>

>

> *>Troops were trained to feed on venomous vipers, dogs and monkeys as

> part of military exercises to sharpen their skills in jungle survival and

> combat.<

>

> *Link:

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterinsurgency_and_Jungle_Warfare_School

>

> *Kind attention:

>

> Chairperson/ Secretary, Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI)*

>

> *Sub: Indian animals being abused for Counter Insurgency Training*

>

> Dear all at AWBI,

>

> Please see link to read the full text to find the quoted lines. These lines

> have been extracted from Wikipedia and it is about the The Counter

> Insurgency and Jungle Warfare (CIJW) School of the Indian Army which is

> based in Vairangte, Mizoram.

>

> It may be noted that since this institution was set up, it has been

> training Indian and foreign defense personnels and consumption of the wild

> animals is still practiced as a part of the training.

> Some animals that are being poached in the name of training by the Army are

> as follows:

>

> 1. Snakes and reptiles.

> 2. Dogs

> 3. Primates

>

> It is hereby requested to caution or issue a notice in this regard to those

> concerned so that the training continues MINUS the slaughter and use/abuse

> of wild and protected animals.

>

> Picking up animals from the forest or illegal markets in the northeast of

> India and using them for such activities is a punishable offense and the

> offenders should be made to take note of this as early as possible

>

> The next high level training is between the US and Indian military

> personnels, and the soldiers have arrived.

> Please see details below:

>

> Link:

>

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Halt_India-US_military_exercises_in_Miz\

oram_CPM_to_UPA/articleshow/3318468.cms

> *Halt India-US military exercises in Mizoram: CPM to UPA*

>

>

> Also if any animal whether wild or domestic is used for the purpose of

> training, the institution or the authorities concerned should obtain

> necessary permission in this regard from the AWBI or the Wildlife

> Department.

>

> Also at a time when the nation`s Prime Minister is taking personal interest

> in the protection and welfare of animals in danger, this brutality in the

> name of training should be immediately halted and those guilty punished/

> booked.

>

> An acknowledgment of receipt of this mail is highly appreciated from the

> AWBI.

>

> regards,

>

> Azam Siddiqui

>

> Master Trainer in Animal Welfare

> Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI)

> member: PFA- India, PETA-India

>

> Contact number: +91 94350 48481

>

> Copy to:

>

> 1. Smt. Maneka Gandhi,Chairperson PFA- India & Former Forest and

> Environment Minister, Government of India.

>

> 2. Ms. Belinda Wright, Executive Director, WPSI- India

>

> 3. Ms. Anuradha Sawhney, Chief Functionary, PETA- India

>

>

> _______________

>

> From the archives:

>

> Link: http://www.dawn.com/2004/04/10/int7.htm

>

> *US troops eating snakes in Indian jungles *

> VAIRENGTE, April 9: US troops are being fed venomous vipers, dogs and

> monkeys as part of military exercises to sharpen skills in jungle combat in

> India's insurgency-torn northeastern state of Mizoram.

>

> Some 100 Alaska-based US infantry soldiers and 120 local troops last

> weekend launched joint exercises codenamed " War Rehearsal " to learn what

> they called " low-intensity " combat at the Counter-Insurgency Jungle Warfare

> School (CIJWS). Lt Col David Alan Wisecarver, commanding the US contingent,

> said the US army planned to add more teeth to its unconventional combat

> units.

>

> " The US army has already raised two such strike brigades and we form the

> elements of the third, which is being trained to be highly-mobile, digital

> and network-centric for rapid anti-terrorist strikes, " Col Wisecarver said.

>

> The CIJWS, set up in 1970, is one of the world's most respected

> anti-terrorist institutions with troops from 19 nations including Iraq and

> Afghanistan having being trained in counter-insurgency warfare here.

>

> The games, being held in Mizoram's remote Vairengte forests, are scheduled

> to end on April 17. Brig B.K. Ponwar, CIJWS commander, said the rugged

> training included living off the land.

>

> " The human body is capable of undergoing tremendous stress and strain and

> it is often not realised until put to test, " Ponwar said besides a table

> loaded with snake, monkey and dog meat on which the soldiers feasted.

>

> " Troops must live in all-weather terrain, eat and sleep like the guerrilla

> and strike as silently as the guerrilla, " said an Indian trainer in CIWJS.

> Wisecarver said his men enjoyed the joint exercises in Mizoram's lush green

> jungles.

>

> " Though the landscape may be reminiscent of Vietnam, we are enjoying our

> stay here, " the US colonel said. Ponwar, meanwhile, said his school planned

> to upgrade its facilities and train soldiers to take on guerillas in places

> like occupied Kashmir.

>

> " With the northeast on the threshold of eliminating terrorism, the CIJWS is

> now shifting its focus towards Jammu and Kashmir, " he said. Local insurgency

> ebbed, especially in the worst-hit Assam, after New Delhi last December

> prodded neighbouring Bhutan to launch an all-out military offensive to crush

> elaborate hideouts the militants had set up in the Himalayan kingdom.

>

> " The CIJWS is also going in for framing tactics to hunt down and confront

> terrorists groups carrying weapons of mass destruction..., " Ponwar said,

> adding the school would be upgraded into a military college later this year.

>

>

> The school was set up after Indian soldiers suffered heavy casualties at

> the hands of north eastern rebels who were adept at hit-and-run guerrilla

> strikes. More than 50,000 people have been killed in the insurgency in the

> northeastern region since 1947. -AFP

 

 

 

 

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