Five women get commissioned into combat role in Army artillery regiment

CHENNAI: They were the stars of the day. Five women cadets - Sakshi Dubey, Aditi Yadav, Pious Mudgil, Akansha and Mehak Saini - were the cynosure of all at Officers Training Academy (OTA) as they became the first set of women to get commissioned into the combat role in the artillery regiment of the Army.
After the pipping ceremony, where parents pin the stars on the lapel at the passing out parade, the women got mobbed by parents, Army officers and others on Saturday. Many congratulated them while others, including senior Army officers, posed for photographs along with them unmindful of the searing peak summer heat.
Lieutenant Mehak Saini, said as her beaming parents stood by the side, "I am not able to describe my joy in words. I have been aiming for this since my college days. Let this be growth for women and a chance for women empowerment. I am a second generation officer as my father is an officer in the Army. My parents and brother supported me. It starts from the family. That's what helps women break the glass ceiling."
Saini, who hails from Hisar in Haryana, said, "Women are no less than men. We get the same training and I am happy that my posting will encourage juniors to join combat roles."
Lt Col Sabarish Kumar said, "We are from an Army family. I want my daughter to do whatever she likes to do. We give full support. Combat postings do not make us worried as it's part of the Army life, and we are rather proud," he added.
Lieutenant Pious Mudgil, said, "We will get trained together and aim to become experts in the field."
The women cadets who passed out will be trained to handle rocket, medium and field and surveillance and target acquisition units. Three will be posted in units deployed along the northern borders and two in western border.
Director General of Artillery Lt Gen Adosh Kumar said it was a momentous occasion for the regiment of artillery. "We have made the right beginning. The new officers who have been selected will be given different kinds of training at the artillery centre for around a year and will be posted in the western and northern borders."
He said, "We are in the process of indigenisation and modernisation, and the cadets who got the posting will be exposed to cutting edge technology.”
There are more than 20% women officers in artillery but this will be the first time women will be posted in combat zones.
The decision to commission women officers into artillery was announced in January, he added.
Rekha Singh, wife of Naik Deepak Singh who died in the Galwan Valley clashes in 2020, also got commissioned into the Army. "I am feeling very happy, and this is a very proud moment for me and my family. My husband, whenever he is, must be proud also. I wanted to go through all the things my husband went through and decided to join the Army and become successful," she said. Deepak Singh was awarded Vir Chakra posthumously.