Garud Commandos: The Guardians of India's Skies

When we think of air power, we picture fighter jets and pilots. But every airbase, every aircraft, every runway needs to be protected on the ground — often deep in hostile territory. That is the work of the Indian Air Force's elite special force, the Garud Commandos, named after Garuda, the divine eagle of Indian mythology.

My poem Wings of Vigilance was written for these guardians of the sky: "We are the wings that rise with the night, guardians unseen, we hold the light."

Born from necessity

The Garud Commando Force was raised in 2004 to give the Indian Air Force its own dedicated special operations capability.^[1] Their tasks include the protection of critical air bases and assets, combat search and rescue of downed pilots, disaster relief, and special operations in support of air campaigns.

Their selection and training are among the longest of any Indian special force, forging operators capable of working in the most demanding environments — from forward airfields under threat to the chaos of a rescue behind enemy lines.^[1]

Strength is quiet, not bound by noise, in stillness, we make the boldest choice.

The unseen half of air power

A fighter jet is only as effective as the base it flies from and the ground it is defended on. Garud operators are the reason a hostile force cannot simply walk up to a runway and end an air campaign before it begins. They are the quiet foundation beneath the roar of the engines.

Like much of what my book honours, their service is largely invisible to the public. There are no airshows for the men who guard the airfield's perimeter through the night. "Not for glory, nor for fame," the poem says, "but for the silence that carries our name."

Guardians who vanish at dawn

What I find moving about the Garuds is captured in the poem's closing image: "As dawn breaks, the shadows recede, we vanish, but fulfill every need." Their highest achievement is often that nothing happened — that the base was never breached, the pilot was brought home, the mission flew unhindered.

To guard the sky, someone must stand watch on the ground. The Garud Commandos do, and "the night remembers, and keeps our flame."