Group Captain Shaliza Dhami Becomes First IAF Woman Officer To Command Combat Unit

A woman officer has been given command of a frontline combat unit for the first time in IAF history.

New Delhi: Group Captain Shaliza Dhami has been selected by the Indian Air Force to lead a frontline combat unit in the Western sector. This is the first time in IAF history that a woman officer has been given command of a frontline combat unit. Recently, the Military started relegating women officials to order jobs interestingly, outside the clinical stream. About fifty of them will be in charge of units in operational areas, including the forward. Both the Northern and Eastern Commands will experience this

Group Captain Dhami has more than 2800 flying hours and was commissioned as a helicopter pilot in 2003. She has held the position of Flight Commander of a helicopter unit in the Western sector and is a qualified flying instructor.

The officer is currently working in the Operations department of a frontline Command Headquarters after receiving two commendations from the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief.

This comes close behind Commander Shiva Chouhan of the Indian Armed force's Fire and Fury Corps becoming the first female officer to be operationally deployed in Siachen.

In January, Captain Chouhan was given a three-month assignment at the Kumar Post in Siachen, which is at an elevation of approximately 15,600 feet.

When Dhami was commissioned as a flying officer on a short-service commission in 2003 when she began her career in the IAF. In 2003, she flew solo in a HAL HPT-32 Deepak for the first time. On December 20, 2005, she was elevated to flight lieutenant, and on December 20, 2009, she was elevated to squadron leader.

Dhami became the first woman officer in India to be appointed as a Flight Commander in August 2019, and she was promoted to wing commander in December 2016. At Hindan Air Force Station, she is the flight commander of a Chetak helicopter unit. Dhami also made history by becoming the first woman to teach Chetak and Cheetah helicopter pilots in the IAF. She is thus the first female IAF flying instructor.