In yet another feather in the cap of the Port City of Visakhapatnam, Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba on Tuesday commissioned INS Karna. It is the only independent base of Marine Commandos in the country.
Until now, Visakhapatnam had a marine commando unit in naval establishments across the country. Now, with the establishment of the base, all marine commandos will have to come to INS Karna for training.
Here are 9 points about the commissioning of INS Karna:
- The manpower of the MARCOS East unit has risen from an initial strength of 2 officers and 40 sailors to 25 officers, 320 sailors, and 12 civilians, thus enabling the unit to be converted into a base.
- It was commissioned by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba at the commissioning ceremony held at the Naval Base.
- With a foresight to conduct special missions in the maritime domain, the Indian Navy founded the Indian Marine special Force (IMSF) which was rechristened as the Marine Commando Force (MCF), popularly known as Marcos.
- Marcos has established themselves as special operations force of international repute in a short span and have won well-deserved gallantry awards for their acts of courage and valour.
- INS Karna is located on the premises of INS Kalinga near Bhimili.
- The unit based at INS Kalinga will function under Commanding Officer (Designate) Captain Varun Singh.
The commissioning of INS Karna has added a new base to the special forces of the Indian Navy as they are deployed to safeguard our nation’s vast maritime interests.
