SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE

SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE

The Special Frontier Force (SFF) was created on November 14, 1962, near the end of the Indo-China War. The Cabinet Secretariat had ordered the raising of an elite guerrilla force composed mainly of Tibetan refugees. It's main goal was to conduct covert operations behind Chinese lines in the event of another Indo-China war. The first Inspector General of the SFF was a retired Indian Army Major General who was known for his unconventional thinking. Soon the SFF came to be known as 'Establishment 22' due to its first Inspector General, who used to be commander of 22 Mountain Regiment during World War II. The SFF base is at Chakrata, near Dehra Dun. It is home to the large Tibetan refugee population. By early 1984, the SFF's elite Special Group became the primary counter-terrorist force in India. They participated in the assault on Golden Temple. The force was also used for VIP security in late 1984. Currently, one SFF battalion is stationed in the Siachen Glacier. In 1985-1986 several SFF members were given bravery medals for their actions on the glacier. Currently the force has around 10,000 men with each battalion composed of six companies, each company consisting of 123 men. There are around 700 Gorkhas in the force at any given time. Its emblem depicts a camouflaged snow leopard sprinting above crossing sword and snow pick axe. This three have been bordered below by the depiction of snow clad mountains where the force operates.