MARCOS is a prime special force unit of the Indian Navy. It was established in February 1987 as the Indian Marine Special Force (IMSF) for conducting special operations. In 1991, IMSF was renamed as Marine Commando Force (MCF), which is now known as the MARCOS Commando Force. MARCOS has a strength of approximately 2000 personnel. MARCOS is India’s best special force and it places 10th in the world. MARCOS is given the nickname of “MAGARMACH”. Their motto is ‘The Few The Fearless’.
There is no direct entry or written exam in the recruitment procedure for MARCOS. As MARCOS is the special unit of the Indian Navy, the aspirant needs to be a part of the Indian Navy first only then the aspirant can apply for MARCOS. the candidate can join the Indian Navy through any recruitment procedure for joining it. In the Indian Navy, the candidate who wishes to become the MARCOS Commando can apply even if he is commissioned or non-commissioned. The male candidates can only apply for the MARCOS SF, female candidates cannot apply. For MARCOS, the candidates who are in their early 20’s, young and fresh are selected so that they keep up the strength and passion of the unit always. This means the candidates should be in the age limit of 20-23years.
The selection procedure is the toughest for this force. The commandos are trained to face any kind of warfare situation all over the world. MARCOS pre-training selection procedure is divided into two parts.
- The first part consists of a 3-day physical assessment and an aptitude.
- The candidates who qualify for this phase are then sent for the next phase, which is the screening test. This phase is called “Hell Week” which is similar to US SEALs. during this phase, the candidates are tested with less flip time over high-degree physical exercises at the time 80% of candidates are screened out. The candidates who pass this phase, then phase their actual training.
- The duration of the actual training session is 2-3 years. In this duration, the starting 6 months are for the basic training, of which the first 2 months are known as the ‘Wedding Out Phase’.
- The next nine months is the time where the candidates are trained with all kinds of weapons. The final phase of the MARCOS training has a special phase called the “DEATH CALL”. In this phase, the trainees crawl in the mud and loaded with 25 kgs weight, after which when the trainee is completely tired, he has to go through the final training.
- This final training is tough. there is a target at 25 meters and there is a fellow companion of the candidate right beside the target and the task for the candidate is to shoot this target. The attrition rate is 90-95%, in which half of the candidate’s strength leaves the training in between.
At last, the candidates who complete the whole tenure of training will be the next Indian Navy MARCOS Commando and are ready to serve the motherland further.
Source: Youtube
“The Few, The Fearless”