Under the observation of Indian Army jungle warfare instructors, Indian and U.S. soldiers patrol through a remote Indian training area.

To enhance interoperability, the units created two-man teams, one Indian soldier and one U.S. soldier, throughout the squads and companies. This was true for the military leaders, including company commanders and platoon and squad leaders.

Indian and U.S. soldiers secure an area during a counterinsurgency exercise.

Indian soldiers and a U.S. soldier prepare a meal.

Indian Army Brig. B.K. Ponwar and U.S. Army Lt. Col. David Wisecarver give a soccer ball to local children.

U.S. Army Lt. Col. David Wisecarver said the exercise was mutually beneficial. “In India they’ve been fighting insurgency and terrorism for more than 50 years, and they established the CIJWS in 1973,” he said. “They have different tactics, techniques, and procedures that are unique to India because their conflict is internal. They instructed us on those techniques.”

U.S. Army Spec. Shaune Moore also commented on the Indian Army’s experience. “We got to talk to Indian soldiers who had been on the line fighting insurgency for a while, so we got some useful knowledge about their methods and what works for them,” he said.

“The hardest thing is that you have to treat every insurgent as if they were a civilian, because you can’t decipher the difference between a civilian and a terrorist,” said U.S. Army Spec. Thomas Vanantwerp. “They all look the same, they all walk the same, and 90 percent of the time you’re not going to be able to see their weapon. It’s a very difficult task, and you’ve got to really pay attention to detail.” He added that the troops were constantly challenged during the exercises, because they didn’t know where they were going, what their target looked like, how far they were to move, or what was around the next corner.

The U.S. forces shared with the Indian troops U.S. doctrine and procedures, squad battle drills, platoon battle drills, tactics on ambushes, Military Operations in Urban Terrain, and how the U.S. Army does mission planning and company-level operations. “The Indian troops looked at our equipment, our weapons systems, and they were very interested in those things,” said Lt. Col. Wisecarver. He also noted that the Indian troops worked with U.S. noncommissioned officers (NCOs), adding, “Other armies don’t have the NCO professional development we have in our Army. In other armies I’ve trained with, the officers do most everything. This was the first time [Indian troops] got to see how much we entrust to our NCOs.”

The military-to-military relationship will continue later in 2004 when Indian troops are to train with U.S. troops at a U.S. Pacific Command installation in Hawaii.

Indian Army instructors observe U.S. soldiers calibrating their weapons during marksmanship training.