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Six Silent Men – a Silent tribute to a band of “Unsung Heros”

“No way in hell you could survive ‘out there’ with six men. You couldn’t live thirty minutes ‘out there’ with only six men.”

lrrp-stay-alive

Throughout history the need for small, highly trained, far ranging units to perform reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition, and special type combat missions has been readily apparent.

Confronted by an enemy adept at using terrain to mask movement, thereby leaving conventional forces blind to their intentions, it was only natural that the military should create a capability to monitor and disrupt deep within enemy-held territory.

Old-timers call this the “suicide units”. Whether conducting prisoner snatches, engaging targets , search and destroy missions, or hunting for the enemy’s secret base camps, LRRPs depend on one another 110 percent. One false step, one small mistake by one man could mean sudden death for all.

From saturation patrols along the “de factor” rebel held border to near-suicide missions and compromised positions in the always dangerous LTTE heart land, these units unflinchingly “walk the razor’s edge” every day and has became one of the most respected and most feared illusive battalion in the history of the of the separatist war.

It is dangerous and exacting work, usually carried out by small, close-knit teams of five or six lightly equipped (but well-armed) volunteers, operating beyond artillery support in difficult country. Their tasks–to gather information, mount ambushes, and take the occasional prisoner-were vital if the Tamil rebles were to be denied the initiative.

This blog tries to give it’s readers a very brief retrospect into the lives and battles of the extraordinary men for whom the brotherhood of war was and is an ever-present reality. These tough young warriors — grossly outnumbered and deep in enemy territory– fight with the guts, tenacity, and courage that have made them undying legends in this separatist war.