| MARCOS (India) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1987 - Present |
| Country | India |
| Branch | Navy |
| Type | Special Forces |
| Role | Amphibious warfare |
| Nickname | Magarmach (Crocodiles) |
| Operations | Operation Cactus, Operation Pawan, Kargil War, Raid on LTTE in 1987, Operation Black Tornado, Operation Cyclone |
MARCOS (previously named as Marine Commando Force (MCF)) is an elite special operations unit of the Indian Navy. "MARCOS" is short for "Marine Commandos".
The force started off as the Indian Marine Special Force, the first batch qualifying in February 1987. It was later renamed as the Marine Commando Force (MCF) in 1991. The force has acquired a reputation for its tough professionalism over the two decades it has been in existence. Now it is considered 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.
The force was initially trained by the other special forces of the country, including those under the Home Ministry, the Army, Air Force, Police and paramilitary units.Over the years, the force set up its own training facility, first as an adjunct of the operational company at Mumbai, later as the Naval Special Warfare Tactical Training Centre. Wide exposure to different forms of warfare have been obtained through field operations in counter insurgency and anti terrorist operations within the country, and joint exercises with more than a dozen countries across the world.
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The MCF presently has approximately seven hundred personnel, though its actual strength remains classified.
Operations undertaken by MARCOS usually remains classified though some of the known operations are:
The Marcos are capable of undertaking operations in all types of terrain, but are specialised in maritime operations from across Pakistan into Jammu and Kashmir through the Jhelum River and Wular Lake, a 65 square kilometer freshwater lake. Some Marcos personnel are also attached with the Army special forces units conducting counter-terrorism operations in the area.
The Force has undertaken numerous joint exercises with special forces from around the world, including some of the best known naval special force units of the developed world. 2003 saw MCF participation in joint training exercises called Exercise Balance Iroquois 03-1/Vajra Prahar, with US Special Operations Forces in Mizoram [1].
September 2005 again witnessed joint Indo-US naval exercises called Malabar 05, which had significant special operations content.
During the Indian Independence weekend in 2011, on August 12, the Indian Navy spotted an Iranian Cargo Ship Nafis-1 off course in the Indian Sea. Surveillance continued on the ship until August 14, when a MARCOS unit of 9 servicemen was deployed to intercept the ship via helicopter along with support from the INS Mysore. The Marines dropped onto the ship and detained the hijackers. A store of automatic assault weapons was confiscated on board as well.[2]
The MCF currently operates out of the naval bases at Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and Port Blair.
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.