The High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) is a defence service training and research establishment of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

. In 1948, the Indian Army established a ski school in Gulmarg that later became the High Altitude Warfare School, which specializes in snow–craft and winter warfare. It is located in an area which is prone to avalanches. Selected soldiers from the US, UK, Germany and other countries visit regularly for specialist training.

History

The birth of High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) of Indian Army in 1948 can be directly attributed to the loss of

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has been the subject of a dispute bet ...

in the

Siege of Skardu The siege of Skardu was a prolonged military blockade carried out by the Gilgit Scouts, Chitral Scouts and Chitral State Bodyguards, acting in coordination against Jammu and Kashmir State Forces and the Indian Army in the town of Skardu, during ...

to Pakistan in 1947–1948 Indo-Pakistani War. The school was established in December 1948 by

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

K S Thimayya, then holding the rank of

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

. It was initially known as the ''19 Infantry Division Ski School''. During the winter of 1949–1950, the school was redesignated as a Command Establishment and renamed as the ''Winter Warfare School''. On 8 April 1962, it was upgraded to a Category A Training Establishment and adopted its current name.

Training

HAWS offers two training programmes, the Mountain Warfare course and the Winter Warfare course. The former course is conducted in

Sonamarg Sonamarg () or Sonmarg (), known as Sonamarag (; ) in Kashmiri, is a hill station located in the Ganderbal District The Ganderbal district, or more formally District Ganderdal, is a district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, I ...

between May and October each year. The latter course is conducted in Gulmarg between January and April. The two courses train personnel in High Altitude warfare, counter intelligence and survival skills. Ice-craft is taught at Machoi across Zojila. Army personnel deployed to the

Siachen Glacier The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about , just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Kar ...

and to other high altitude forward posts on the

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

n borders go through the courses. HAWS is the nodal instructional facility for specialized training and dissemination of approved doctrines in mountain, high altitude and snow warfare. The training programs at HAWS are open to personnel of the armed forces of friendly countries. HAWS also trains Indian Armed Forces personnel for winter sports such as snowboarding, alpine skiing and Nordic skiing. The school recently added facilities to allow the Indian Army ski team to train at night.

Media

Discovery Channel created a documentary series detailing the military training program at HAWS. This documentary was part of a larger series on the Indian Armed Forces, titled ''Veer by Discovery''.

References

{{authority control Indian Army Military academies of India Military education and training in India 1948 establishments in India Mountain warfare training installations

History

Training

Media

See also

Alumni

Of related interest

References