National Security Guards (NSG)

　All that is visible is a blur of black, the glint of metal and then two muffled cracks - shots from 消音器付の機関拳銃. 国家保安警備隊（National Security Guards − NSG）のエリート対ハイジャック分隊のコマンド, wearing menacing black hoods, have just stormed a Boeing-737, hijacked by the Hizbul Mujahideen at ニューデリーのインディラ・ガンジー国際空港, seconds after receiving the 危機管理グループ（Crisis Management Group）から緑色の信号

　NSGの緊急対応チーム（Quick Reaction Team）の14人は、armed with the H&K 9mm MP-5短機関銃、Glock 17又はSig Sauer拳銃 and poison-tipped knives, split into pairs and enter the plane through ７ヵ所の異なる入り口、ドア及びコックピット

　チームは、3人のハイジャック犯を完全に奇襲した。In fact the two patrolling the aisle are dead with soft-penetration, non-ricochetable ammunition in their heads even before they have time to react. そして、3人目のハイジャック犯は、第1チームによりコックピットで武装解除された。全作戦にかかった時間は、12秒未満だった。

A NSG commando dressed to kill

　This is just one of the hundreds of realistic scenarios that India's premier counter-terrorist force simulates in daily drills; the key being fitness & surprise. "Surprise doesn't mean that the terrorists don't know we are coming. It is just that we have chosen the when, how and where. And it is with our chosen technique and weapon," says V.K. Dutta大佐, who has been associated with the NSG since its inception in 1985.

　This they dramatically proved during Ashwamedh作戦, the storming of a hijacked Indian Airlines (IA) aircraft at Amritsar airport on 1994年4月24日, neutralising the hijacker, Mohammed Yousuf Shah, before he could react. But to reach that level of professional excellence isn't easy.

　ニューデリーから50kmのManesarの組織の訓練センターでの基礎訓練期間は、90日続く。全課程を首尾良く修了した者だけが、are in inducted into the NSG and given 更なる専門訓練を与えられる。The probation grind saps the toughest of recruits and the drop out rate is 50〜70％.

　For starters there is a 26-item, 780m障害コース, with a qualifying time of 18分. If a person completes the course in 25分, he is deemed fit. The best do it in less than 9分. The obstacles have to do with heights, horizontal gaps and vertical scaling and are difficult to tackle in sequence. As if this is not enough, there's a target shooting session at the end of the obstacle course meant to test the aspirants' performance under severe stress and exhaustion.

A rope obstacle in a 26-item obstacle course - qualifying time for the course is 18分 but the best manage to do in just nine

　戦闘屋内射撃において、the combatant enters a dark room, adjusts to the darkness and engages the target with either a torch light or a compatible laser image intensifier - all within three seconds. And not just in darkness but under the strobe lights of a discotheque as well, which are some of the most difficult shots to take. "We train them to take only head shots. And two at a go - the double tap system. It's to ensure neutralisation of the target. 近接人質・テロリスト状況下において、we face there is little scope for body shots," says Dutta大佐

　To hone shooting skills the training centre has an Electronic Combat Shooting Range built at a cost of over Rs.1 crore. Divided into 11 zones and spread over 400m, a recurit has to cover the distance in 6分30秒 and fire at 29目標 along the way. The target exposure time is between two and three seconds and the targets are of all kinds - vertically rising, popping out, moving and rotating. The faster a person engages the target the more points he scores.

　It is not just non-reactive targets that they practise against. In twin room shooting, rival combatants enter contiguous rooms and watch each other's movements on a screen. They are supposed to neutralise each other by shooting at the screen. The exercise test the combatants' response time and accuracy under 戦場に近い条件下

Practising fast-reaction shooting from difficult angles at targets that pop up for split seconds to achieve absolute accuracy

　The men are also put through a battle inoculation program where they have to stand right next to the target while one of their partners shoots at it. "They have to become used to live bullets flying under their noses. Also the person shooting is conscious that if he misses by even a couple of inches the bullet is going to hit his partner." says an 教官. They don't wear the kavach either, a bullet-proof vest, designed by Dutta大佐 himself. The vest can withstand an AK-47又は7.62mm carbine shot at point blank range.

　彼らの何人かは、イスラエルで補足訓練を受け、9mm Uzi短機関銃のような兵器を使用する。The NSG's weapon of choice is the Heckler & Koch系列の9mm短機関銃 、7.62mm PSG-1狙撃銃 and the H&K 512 12-gauge shotgun. They are also armed with state-of-the-art, day & night, surveillance gadgets and other sophisticated equipment.

　Patterned on the lines of the ドイツのGSG9, the NSGは、特殊行動群（Special Action Group − SAG）と特殊レンジャー群（Special Rangers Group − SRG）の2グループに分かれる。戦力の54％を構成するSAGは、is the elite, offensive wing with all the members drawn from the インド陸軍

　SRGは、 has members on deputation from central police organisations like the CRDF、BSF、ITBP及びRAF. その主要機能は、is to play a supportive role to the SAF, especially in isolating target areas. For maintaining the young profile of the force, troops are rotated and sent back to their parent organisations after serving in the NSG for three to five years.

　The smallest combat unit in the NSG's counter in the NSGの対テロ作戦 is a hit which comprises of 5人 - two pairs, or partners and a technical support member. Four hits make a team which is under the command of a captain. The number of hits used for an intervention job depends on its complexity and the magnitude of the operation.

　NSG隊員は、are assigned partners soon after 基礎訓練終了後 and they train and even go on leave together. But as crack professionals, they are under orders to shoot their partner if he makes a single threatening step detrimental to the security of a VIP. On an average, a commando fires 2000 rounds of live ammunition during practise sessions throughout the year. This is apart from the two months that units have to spend in alert status and for whom it's a daily stint at the range. "I did more firing in a week of alert status than in my entire 10-year stay in the Army," says an NSG Officer.

Landing on a roof to storm a terrorist hideout

　On an average a person fires close to 14,000 rounds over a period of two months in alert. The target strike rate has to be 約85％ for a person to remain in the force. But for all this, apart from VIP duty, the NSG has seen few operations, the most notable among them being Operation Black Thunder I and II in the Golden Temple complex in 1986 & 1988 and Ashwamedh作戦 in 1994.

　Black Thunder I作戦は、was conducted on 1986年4月30日 when the NSG commandos stormed the 黄金寺院. Compared to 1984年のBluestar作戦, however, this was a tame affair; no weapons were discovered and nobody was killed.

　Black Thunder II作戦は、1,000人のNSGコマンドが寺院に到着した1988年5月12日に実行された。夜間暗視装置付きのHeckler & Koch PSG-1小銃を装備したBlack Catの狙撃チームは、took up positions, including atop a 300-foot watertower. While commandos from the 51 SAG divided into assault squadrons, 特殊レンジャー群は、were used to seal off the area around the temple and for tactical support. 5月15日、NSGは、その攻撃を開始した。

　Machine gun fire and rockets were used to cut holes in the temple's minarets, followed by teargas canisters. Once it was determined that the towers had been abandoned, the SAG used explosives to break holes into the temple basement. 5月18日までに、all militants had surrendered at the cost of only 2 wounded Black Cats. 1990年中盤、1個NSG大隊が、シーク教徒反乱者と対峙するために、再びパンジャブに配備された。そこで、彼らは、パンジャブ警察の対テロ訓練を開始した。

NSG commandos taking over a hijacked train

　NSGは、 was raised by the Cabinet Secretariat as an armed force under the  of 1985年の国家保安警備隊法（National Security Guard Act）. 彼らは、are popularly known as Black Cat Commandos because of the black nomex coveralls the black balaclavas they tend to wear while in the field and on parade. They also have a superb bomb disposal squad. 彼らは、約7,500人の戦力を有する。

　NSGは、以下のことを訓練される。

　加えて、NSGは、provides security to high risk VIP’s, conduct anti-sabotage checks of venues of visits/public meetings of VVIP’s and VIP security. It has been reported that an NSG contingent is permanently stationed at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport for any hijacking scenarios.

　NSGは、国家に第2防衛線を提供するエリート部隊である。彼らは、have played a pivotal role in safeguarding the unity of India and have commendably foiled attempts of anti-national elements to tear apart the social fabric of the country. NSGは、has maintained an edge over terrorist outfits in possession of latest technology and are considered among the finest special operations units in all of South Asia. しかしながら、as Colonel Dutta says, "We are like nukes. The ultimate back-up."

最終更新日：2004/04/11