Over the years, the Assam Rifles has acquired a role merely from police duties to a multi dimensional profile. Its role includes counter insurgency operations, guarding the Indo-Myanmar and Indo-China border and to provide aid to civil authorities when need arises. For achieving excellence in its role, the training of the men is of paramount importance in the Force.

In earlier days, the responsibility for recruitment as well as training of men rested primarily with Assam Rifles battalions themselves. In early 1920, orders were issued that a selected batch of Assam Rifles men would be sent every year to the affiliated Gorkha Rifles Group for training. The Commanding Officer and Subedar Major of the Gorkha Rifles were allowed to go and visit affiliated battalions of the Assam Rifles to check the standard of training.

During the Second World War,to cope up with requirements of additional trained personnel as reinforcements for the regular Army, and also for the Assam Rifles own battalions, the 5 Assam Rifles which was disbanded in April 1932 was re-raised on 1 April 1942. The 5 Assam Rifles was to act as a Training Battalion for the whole Force and was also to shoulder operational responsibilities on the northern borders of Balipara and Sadiya tracts of NEFT (now Arunachal Pradesh). 

After the Independence of the country, the need for having a separate training centre was felt and accordingly on 1 January 1959, the Assam Rifles Training Centre was established at Missamari under the command of Lieutenant Colonel PS Thapa,MC. In june 1959, the Boys Wing of Assam Rifles was shifted from Shillong to Missamari.In February 1961, Headquarters and a portion of Assam Rifles Training Centre was shifted to Chardwar. In 1962, in the wake of the Chinese aggression, the Centre was shifted from Missamari to Dimapur (Nagaland). In 1982, the post of commandant was upgraded to Brigadier and in september 1994, the Assam Rifles Training Centre was redesignated as Assam Rifles Training Centre and School (ARTC&S).

The ARTC&S has been growing in consonance with the expansion of the Assam Rifles. At present, it has four training battalions and is designed to train up to 1,800 recruits at one time. It is spread over three places viz Dimapur, Diphu (district of Karbi Along,53 kms from Dimapur) and Sukhovi (20 kms from Dimapur) Headquarters of ARTC&S alongwith No 1 (Lakhimpur) Training Battalion, Signal Wing (less Cipher Company) and the Assam Rifles Museum are located at Dimapur. No 2 (Diphu) Training Battalion along with an adhoc Courses Wing, Republic Day Parade Cell and Clerks Training School are located at Diphu. No 3 (Sukhovi) Training Battalion along with the Cipher Company of signals Wing and an adhoc Counter Insurgency and jungle Warfare Cell, is at Sukhovi. No 4 Training Battalion which was raised in 1985-86 to meet the need of trained manpower for the ewpansion of Assam Rifles was disbanded on 24 June 1990.

The entire canvas of training in ARTC&S is to make a raw recruit into a well-motivated and trained Assam Rifles Rifleman who can easily take his rightful place both in the field and peace, once he reports to the Assam Rifles battalion. Accordingly, a recruit in ARTC&S is provided with the correct environment for living and training. The training has been so structured that interest in training is kept alive and there is a total involvement of both instructors and recruits in the training being imparted. The ethos of training as the focal and prime activity at the ARTC&S has been built and consolidated over a period of time and is periodically reviewed and fine-tuned. While concentrating on field craft, battle craft, drill, physical fitness, firing standards, reflex and reaction shooting with the help of innovative training aids, sight is not lost of the status and role of soldier as an important pivot in our society; thereby instilling self-pride and greater awareness about the status, role and Importance of the Force in a democratic setup. It takes 36 weeks training before the keen, enthusiastic and inquisitive young recruit is attested to take his rightful place in the unit.

Besides carrying out basic training of all recruits, which is the main task of ARTC&S, it also conducts specialist training for clerks, cipher personnel and signal operators. Training courses, on the lines of the Army have been started for Junior Commissioned Officers and other ranks of the Force. An Officers Orientation Course is also conducted for Army officers posted on deputation to Assam Rifles units. In 1994, the Assam Rifles training Centre and school was designated as the nodal agency for the conduct of Counter Insurgency Training for Central Para-Military  Force in the North East. It has trained small batches of the Central Industrial Security Force in handling of AK-47 Rifles and in commando operations. A batch of 137 recruits of the Meghalaya Police was also trained in ARTC&S in 1996-97.

To further improve training capabilities of ARTC&S, 100 JCO and NCOI instructors have been taken on deputation from the Army for a period of three years. At the same time a number of state-of-the-art training aids to include Small Arms Training Simulator (DRONA) Infantry Weapon Effect Simulator, System (IWESS), vehicle simulator, multimedia CD Rom and training mines are being procured for further improving standard of training at ARTC&S.