Garud Commandos - All About IAF's Special Forces Unit
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The Garud Commando Force, raised in 2004, is the Indian Air Force's (IAF) special forces unit
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The Garuds are named after Garuda, a Hindu deity. They are enlisted as Airmen within the Indian Air Force rank structure
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The entire force is currently under the command of a Wing Commander rank officer
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The Garud force is organized in 15 "Flights"- a flight is roughly equivalent to a company in the infantry
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The flight is commanded by a Flight Lieutenant
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The motto of Garud Force is "Prahar se Suraksha", which means "Defence by Offence"
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Currently, the Garud Commando Force has a total of over 1500 airmen
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Unlike its counterparts in the army and navy, officer candidates for Garud commandos are not selected from volunteers of other branches
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Recruitment of airmen to the Garud Force is done directly through Airmen Selection Centres
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Eligible candidates undergo a 52-week basic training course, which is one of the longest among all the Indian Special Forces
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ndtv.com