IAF woman officer marches to history

NEW DELHI: Wing Commander Pooja Thakur stole the show at the ceremonial reception for US President Barack Obama at Rashtrapati Bhawan on Sunday morning when she became the first woman officer to command the tri-service guard of honour for a visiting head of state.
“It was a very proud moment for me to lead the joint services guard of honour for the world’s most powerful man,” Wing Commander Thakur, 36, told TOI a few hours later, still basking in the “honour” of being selected for the task just a few days ago.
“It requires a smart turnout, bearing and drill practice,” she said. But the 36-year-old officer, commissioned into IAF in 2001, was quick to add that she considered herself no less than her male counterparts.
“I am an officer first and then a woman,” she said. “We are treated just like male officers right from our training days.”

Wing Commander Pooja Thakur requesting US President Barack Obama to inspect the guard of honour at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
But why was she not carrying the traditional sword that guard commanders salute the dignitary with? Was it because of security considerations? “The sword is carried in Army and Navy. In IAF, we carry revolvers. I was carrying it,” said Wing Commander Thakur.
The officer, who hails from Jaipur, always wanted to follow in the footsteps of her father who retired as a colonel, by joining the armed forces. “It’s not a job but a way of life. I wanted this way of life,” she said.
It was on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s directive that “woman power” or “naari shakti” was made the predominant theme for this year’s Republic Day parade, where Obama will be the chief guest, as was earlier reported by TOI.
The Army, Navy and IAF will be fielding all-women marching contingents for the first time on January 26, with 148 women each — one contingent commander, three platoon commanders and 144 in the marching block.
But the irony is that India still only grudgingly accords permanent commission to its women officers, restricting it to only a few branches. Nor does it allow them to fly fighter jets, deploy them on warships or induct them in infantry, armoured corps or artillery for “operational, cultural and practical problems”, in sharp contrast to many countries around the globe including the US.
Wing Commander Thakur herself will soon bid goodbye to her uniform, coming close as she is to the end of her 14-year short service commission tenure. “It would make me very happy if girls get inspired to join the armed forces (by seeing me today),” she said.
While women have been allowed to join the armed forces since the early-1990s, they currently number just about 3,000 of the 59,400 officers in the 13 lakh-strong armed forces. The Army has around 1,300 women officers, IAF 1,350 and Navy 350.
Some women officers have only recently begun to get permanent commission after fighting court battles.