Shailza Dhami 1st Women In Command Combat Unit

The Indian Air Force IAF has chosen Group Captain, Shaliza Dhami, a helicopter pilot, to assume the leadership of a missile squadron in the western sector, by IAF officials on Tuesday, March 7.

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the officials said that Dhami, who was commissioned into the IAF in 2003, is a qualified flight instructor and has spent more than 2,800 hours in the air.

The change occurs at a time when the military services are expanding women’s horizons and providing them with possibilities on par with those available to males.

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 army began appointing female officers to command positions outside the medical stream in February.

About 50 of them are slated to lead units in operational settings, including forward locations, under the Northern and Eastern Commands, which are in charge of securing Chinas borders with India.