Group Captain Shaliza Dhami has been selected to take over the command of a frontline combat unit in the Western sector

In the first command appointment for a woman officer in the Indian Air Force (IAF), Group Captain Shaliza Dhami has been selected to take over the command of a frontline combat unit in the Western sector. For the first time ever in the IAF’s history, a woman officer has been given command of a frontline combat unit – in this case, a missile squadron in the Western sector.

The IAF’s move comes just two months after Captain Shiva Chauhan of the Indian Army’s Fire and Fury Corps became the first woman officer to be operationally deployed at the world’s highest battlefield in Siachen.

Group Captain Dhami was commissioned in 2003 as a Helicopter pilot and has over 2,800 hours of flying experience. A Qualified Flying Instructor, she has served as Flight Commander of a Helicopter Unit in the Western sector. The armed forces have opened up command appointments for women officers following a Supreme Court verdict. The Army recently conducted interviews and approved the first batch of women officers for command appointments.