A small town 12,000 ft above sea level, with the Line of Control on the west and the Line of Actual Control on the east is backdrop for the latest chapter in the Indo-US military relationship.Special Forces personnel from both countries are taking forward the relationship in the terrain that surrounds Leh, home to a peace-loving population trying to sell adventure tourism to the West. A walk through the bazaar will explain why Indians and Americans chose this town, home to the Army’s 14 Corps raised after the Kargil war. Banners and hoardings offers a trekker’s paradise, with packages that base their appeal on the rugged mountains. Here, the men and the boys among them can be distinguished. The walk will also leave newcomers short of breath. Because the oxygen level dips from a 21 per cent in the atmosphere to a meagre 12 per cent. Which explains why nearly 30 burly men, the finest of their country’s armed forces are cooped up in an unknown hotel busy acclimatising, waiting for the third day, when Exercise Balance Iroquois will draw them into the mountains to face up to their Indian counterparts. For them, this is the first chance to measure an army that has conducted operations with ease for the last 50 years. While they have the equipment, what they are keen to understand is the ability of the Indian Special Forces soldier to operate under these circumstances. More than the tactical measuring up, it is the effort to promote inter-operability that is being keenly watched by military leadership on both sides. The strategic importance is also not lost on the Indian military. Years ago, when Senators Sam Nunn and William Cohen passed a Congressional amendment, formalising a role for their Special Forces, they made a significant step towards defining a strategic role — a role that has seen US Special Forces being involved in nearly 120 countries, including India. An aspect which has not been missed by the senior Indian military, which has descended quietly on Leh. And they have competition shaping up as the officers from the Indian Special Forces battalions, who have gathered here, are second to none.But if they have the grit, they are also studying the strategy that has brought the Americans halfway across the world to Leh. Special Forces tactics and skills honed through counter-terrorist operations and forays into battles in Iraq and Afghanistan will be discussed threadbare, by the two sides — a result of the growing confidence and respect that the two sides have developed for each other ever since they met officially for the first time in May 2001. They have gone into the jungles of the North-East with Indian Army and Navy Special Forces, and tried their hand at sub-zero temperatures in Alaska last year. But the fact they are now going to exercise a mere 140 km from the Line of Actual Control is raising eyebrows of military strategists across the country. The fact that two years ago, India delivered a bloody nose to Pakistan a few hours to the west of Leh, is also adding to the curiosity that has enveloped the strategic establishment.
