Guwahati: The United States and the Myanmar Army will hold joint military exercises alongside the Indian Army at the Joint Training Node (JTN) in Meghalaya’s Umroi later this month and December 2023.
While the Malaysian Army is currently holding a similar bilateral exercise at the Umroi JTN, the same venue has been selected for exercises with three other friendly countries for consecutive three months.
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Aiming to host foreign armies for joint training exercises, the Indian Army had conceptualised and created an independent and fully integrated JTN at Umroi in 2016. Umroi, located on the Northern foothills of Shillong along the Umiam river, was envisaged as a JTN keeping in mind the conducive weather conditions and terrain configuration offering an optimal training environment. It has been developed at par with training centres of leading armies of the world.
The Umroi JTN is the nominated node of the Eastern Command of the Indian Army for the conduct of joint exercises with friendly foreign countries. In the past seven years, it has matured as a centre of excellence for international Army joint training and focussed on strengthening military-level exchanges.
It reinforces the Indian Army’s commitment towards building partnerships with friendly foreign countries by building soldierly bonds, sharing best practices and training shoulder-to-shoulder on pursuit of a common end state.
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The Umroi JTN reflects India’s commitment towards enhancing cooperation among friendly foreign nations and promoting global peace and stability through mutual learning and collaboration.
Since its inception, the Umroi JTN has witnessed rapid progress in Infrastructure development and has graduated from the conduct of one command post exercise in October 2017 to show a total of eight joint exercises with friendly foreign countries till date.
The training area spread over 2,500 acres, encompasses state-of-the-art training facilities for the conduct of counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations in semi-urban and jungle environments under the mandate of the United Nations for Peace Keeping and Peace Enforcement operations.
The training areas include an 800-meter sniper range with six firing lanes and elevated platforms. A challenging 1.4-kilometre battle obstacle course with 17 obstacles, culminating into the 300-meter range with eight firing lanes, which is utilised for training on endurance and firing skills.
The 200-meter jungle lane shooting area and indoor combat reflex shooting range is optimally designed to train on jungle and urban warfare including the counter-terrorist village training area in training of house intervention operations. The special operations training area enables the training of soldiers for heliborne operations.
The state-of-the-art joint warfare Centre includes state-of-the-art IT infrastructure and network network-enabled wargame centre for the command post exercises to ensure integration of command control communication Computer intelligence and information systems.
The training node has a residential complex for 450 soldiers with various amenities including a state-of-the-art gymnasium and sports facilities.
As the exercise ‘Harimau Shakti’ progresses, the camaraderie and collaboration among the participating nations continue to deepen, fostering a sense of unity and shared purpose. This intercontinental partnership serves not only to strengthen global security but also to establish a platform for mutual growth and understanding among nations.
This amalgamation of cutting-edge technology with traditional training methods establishes an unparalleled learning environment, shaping the next generation of military leadership.
The ongoing exercise at this facility is a testament to the power of international collaboration and the relentless pursuit of military excellence, enhancing cooperation and interoperability and serving as a beacon of hope for a more secure and rule-based international order.
The Indian Army has engaged positively in the field of defence cooperation by conducting 36 joint exercises with 22 friendly foreign countries.