In a first, Indian Air Force assigns woman officer to take charge of combat unit

A woman officer of the Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to take charge of a frontline combat unit for the first time, with the IAF selecting Group Captain Shaliza Dhami, a helicopter pilot, to take over the command of a missile squadron in the western sector, IAF officials said on Tuesday.

Dhami is also the air force's first woman qualified flying instructor. (HT sourced photo)

Commissioned into the IAF in 2003, Dhami is a qualified flying instructor and has logged more than 2,800 hours of flying, the officials said on the eve of International Women's Day.

The development comes at a time when the armed forces are opening more frontiers for women and giving them opportunities at par with their male counterparts.

Dhami is also the air force's first woman qualified flying instructor, and flight commander of a helicopter unit in the western sector, the officials said.

"Having been commended by the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief on two occasions, the officer is presently posted in the operations branch of a frontline Command Headquarters" said one of the officials cited above.

"This is yet another milestone for women officers in combat and command appointments. Air defence units, such as the one that the lady officer is set to lead, are a critical operational asset of the armed forces," said Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd), director general, Centre for Air Power Studies.

The IAF and navy have also allowed women officers to join their special forces units --- the Garud commando force and Marine Commandos, respectively, to promote gender equality within their ranks, provided they meet the criteria for selection.

In February, the army begun assigning women officers to command roles for the first time, outside the medical stream, and around 50 of them are set to head units in operational areas, including forward locations, under the Northern and Eastern Commands that are responsible for guarding India's borders with China.

In a similar appointment, the army in January earlier this year, had deployed a woman officer, Captain Shiva Chouhan, on the Siachen glacier for the first time.