Counter-insurgency and Jungle Warfare School - Training Methods

Training Methods

Since its inception, the School has constantly evolved in stature and strength, in keeping with the changing dynamics of insurgency and terrorism in the country. Its relevance has grown manifold with the mushrooming of small and big insurgent/terrorist groups in the country and worldwide. With its vast expertise in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism training, it has truly come into its own as a centre of excellence in such operations. The School has continuously incorporated all the lessons learnt during such operations and has painstakingly kept its training curriculum contemporary. It presently trains over 7000 officers and soldiers every year. Its scope and mandate has increased with Para Military Forces, Police, Services and foreign component adding to the numbers and compositions.

The reputation of the CIJWS lies in the fact that the training module is framed in a highly scientific manner - soldiers receive training in identifying improvised explosive devices (IED), jungle survival, counter terrorism, and interrogation techniques.

The training focuses on physical fitness, reflex firing techniques and tactical lessons. The module for training is practical oriented with number of lectures, discussions, case studies, sand model exercises & outdoor exercises. Live situations are painted during the outdoor exercises to judge the reaction of the soldiers at the spur of the moment. The troops are taught to live in difficult and hostile terrain, eat and sleep like the guerrillas and strike as silently as the guerrillas. The school boasts of excellent training areas, training facilities, with thirteen innovative firing ranges and an outstanding training staff who have first hand experience in fighting the insurgents and the terrorists within India.

Today, the ultra-commando trainee is educated, uses the Internet for gathering information, disseminating propaganda, negotiating arms deal and is familiar with hi-tech explosives. At the same time the trainee is trained with native skills like using easily available materials in forest which can be used to devise deadly traps that can kill an elephant with nothing more than bamboos and vines. The inherent characteristic of insurgency in northeast India is its small scale, low profile activities, with the main insurgent bases located across the border. The main ideology is terrorist use hit and run tactic that are meticulously planned and ruthlessly executed by small units, which force a large deployment of armed forces to counter them. But simply deploying large force is useless as it never produces any result. Learning to operate in small teams, studying the pattern of the militants, establishing an intelligence network, knowing their traditional sanctuaries, maintaining the element of surprise, selecting the site for counter ambush, observing the discipline of when exactly to open fire, knowing field craft and jungle craft well enough to remain undetected, and improvising within a given situation, is the kind of stuff that breaks an ambush. And it’s this which is taught nowhere else better than at CIJW School.

To fight in the jungle is tough, both physically and mentally. Jungle operations test soldiers to their limit which needs special tactics, techniques & procedures. In this scenario soldiers were given physical drills and common-sense tips on how to survive in the jungle by studying its characteristics, Dense vegetation with limited visibility, heavy cross compartmentalization, streams & rivers, heat & humidity, few roads, numerous tracks and limited communication. It is in this theater that students live and train.For no matter, how crucial physical fitness is, it all depends on mental toughness to survive, trust No One and be alert.

The normal schedule is about six weeks, during which a soldier undergoes strenuous drills that make him conversant with guerrilla warfare and low-intensity conflicts.The training module is non-conventional and once a soldier undergoes training here, he can face deadly situations anywhere in the world in all-weather terrain, eat and sleep like a guerrilla and strike as silently as a guerrilla. The training module includes lectures, seminars and mock operations in the rugged jungles in Mizoram.The trainees are also exposed to media interaction, civic actions plus fraternisation, human rights and collection of intelligence and their analysis. Soldiers undergoing a course here not only go through rigorous physical training, but also tough mental training through lectures and problems posed by the capable instructors of this school. An importance placed in the top list of this school is how to avoid collateral damage as much as possible. With precision shooting, the soldiers engage in exercises where live rounds are used to shoot down plywood terrorists inside homes and stores without hitting the civilian population.

The training imparted in this school is of such high quality that many countries all over the world have recognized this school as the only place available where their troops can receive training to combat insurgency and terrorism