India, US commandos carry out joint wargames in Himachal hills

The India and USA joint Special Forces exercise VAJRA PRAHAR 2022 culminated at Bakloh in Himachal Pradesh today with the commandos of both countries completing 21 days of wargames involving air borne operations and counter-terrorism measures, the Defence Ministry said.

“The 21-day joint training provided an opportunity for the Special Forces from both nations to train in Air Borne Operations, Special Operations and Counter Terrorism operations in a joint environment under United Nations Charter,” according to the Defence Ministry statement.

The exercise was conducted in two phases. The first phase involved combat conditioning and tactical level special missions training exercises and the second phase included 48 hours of validation of training received by both contingents in the first phase, the statement explained.

Both the India and US contingents expressed immense satisfaction on the outcomes of the exercise, in terms of the standards achieved and sharing of best practices, when both contingents undertook joint training, planning and execution of a series of mock operations in simulated conventional and unconventional scenarios in mountainous terrain.

Exercise VAJRA PRAHAR with the US Special Forces is significant in terms of security challenges faced by both Nations in the backdrop of the current global situation. The joint military exercise has further strengthened the traditional bond of friendship between the special forces of both Nations as well as improved bilateral defence cooperation between India and the USA, the official statement added.

This annual military exercise is hosted alternatively between India and the United States. This was the 13th edition of the exercise while the 12th edition was conducted at Joint Base Lewis McChord at Washington in the USA in October 2021.