way of making money than risking their lives along the border. In 1964, the SFF, led by the Inspector General, began its airborne training at Agra. The SFF then began its own airborne training program at Sarsawa Air Force Station. In 1967, Establishment 22 was expanded and renamed into Special Frontier Force. In 1968 with the help of Aviation Research Centre (ARC), SFF were provided with airlift facilities and became fully airborne-qualified with a dedicated mountain and jungle warfare unit. CIA support and pull-out The SFF's weapons were all provided by the US and consisted mainly of M-1, M-2 and M-3 sub-machine guns. Heavy weapons were not provided. The US government pulled out the CIA from the training program as relations with India soured in the early 1970s during the period of Cold War, with the Sino-Soviet split and Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China for improving the bilateral relationship. The unit conducted limited cross-border reconnaissance missions as well as highly classified joint operations with the CIA in 1965 on Mount Nanda Devi in the Himalayas. Battalions and composition The SFF has a total of six battalions called 1 Vikas, 2 Vikas, 3 Vikas, 5 Vikas, 6 Vikas, and 7 Vikas. Each battalion has around 800 troopers. The six battalions are commanded by Indian Army officers of colonel rank. At least five other Indian Army officers are in a battalion. At the helm of SFF is the Inspector General (SFF), an officer of Major General rank. The Special Group, or 4 Vikas, functions under a separate chain of command under the R&AW. Historically, by the late 1960s, the SFF was organised into six battalions for administrative purposes. In the past, each battalion, consisting of six companies, was commanded by a Tibetan who had a rank equivalent to a lieutenant colonel in the Indian Army. A Tibetan major or captain commanded each company, which was the primary unit used in operations. After the 1980s, the practice of giving Indian Army commissions to Tibetans was discontinued. Ethnically, the unit is a mixture of Tibetans and Gurkhas from Nepal. The Tibetan troopers are recruited from the dwindling population of Tibetans in India, which stood at 85,000 in 2018. The flow of Tibetans joining SFF has slowed due to the declining population of Tibetans, leading to a more ethnically mixed unit. Gurkhas have been recruited to the SFF since 1965. Tibetans currently serve as