The Indian Military Training Team (IMTRAT), established since 1961–62, is a training mission 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- ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

. IMTRAT is responsible for the training of the personnel of the

Royal Bhutan Army The Royal Bhutan Army (RBA; dz, བསྟན་སྲུང་དམག་སྡེ་, bStan-srung dmag-sde) is a branch of the armed forces of the Kingdom of Bhutan responsible for maintaining the country's territorial integrity and sovereign ...

(RBA) and the

Royal Bodyguard of Bhutan The Royal Bodyguard (RBG) of Bhutan is a part of the Royal Bhutan Army but independent as it is under the personal command of the King of Bhutan and is in charge of the security of the King of Bhutan (currently Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck) and ...

(RBG). It is the oldest training team sent outside India to a friendly foreign nation. IMTRAT is headquartered at Haa Dzong in Western Bhutan.

History

In May 1961,

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

sent a team of military officers and men on a

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

mission to Bhutan. The team was led by BGS XXXIII Corps Brigadier J. S. Aurora (who later became

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

and Eastern Army Commander during the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...

). On 20 July 1962,

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

B. N. Upadhyay of the

9th Gorkha Rifles The 9th Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha infantry regiment of the Indian Army and, previously, the British Army. The regiment was initially formed by the British in 1817, and was one of the Gurkha regiments transferred to the Indian Army after independe ...

took over as First Commandant of IMTRAT. His initial team had about 15 officers. The Wangchuk Lo Dzong Military School (WLDMS) was raised on 16 October 1962 and commenced training with 22 officer cadets and 49 non-commissioned officers.

Commandant

The office of the commandant was held by an officer of the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

, but was later upgraded to

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 ...

. Currently, the commandant is a two-star appointment. Bhutan does not have a Minister of Defence, so the Commandant of IMTRAT acts as an informal advisor to the

King of Bhutan The Druk Gyalpo (; 'Dragon King') is the head of state of the Kingdom of Bhutan. In the Dzongkha language, Bhutan is known as ''Drukyul'' which translates as "The Land of the Thunder Dragon". Thus, while kings of Bhutan are known as ''Druk ...

, who is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the RBA.

Establishments

Apart from the WLDMS, IMTRAT runs the Indo-Bhutan Friendship Hospital (IBFH). It was established in 1970 and was inaugurated by the then-Commandant

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

T. V. Jeganathan, . IMTRAT also runs a mobile clinic at Haa. The Indian Army also maintains a detachment in the capital city of

Thimphu Thimphu (; dz, ཐིམ་ཕུག ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's ''dzongkhags'', the Thimphu District. The ancient ...

References

{{Indian Army Bhutan–India relations Army units and formations of India Indian Overseas Military bases Military of Bhutan Military units and formations established in 1962

History

Commandant

Establishments

See also

References