Historic: Who is Group Captain Shaliza Dhami, first woman to command a combat unit in IAF?

Ahead of International Women Day, the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Tuesday (March 7) announced that it has selected Group Captain Shaliza Dhami to take over command of a frontline combat unit in the Western sector. She will be the Commanding Officer of a missile squadron near the Pakistan border.

Commissioned in 2003 as a helicopter pilot, Gp Capt Dhami has over 2800 hours of flying experience. "A Qualified Flying Instructor, she has served as Flight Commander of a Helicopter Unit in the Western sector," the IAF said.

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Currently, she is posted in the operations branch of a frontline Command Headquarters. On two occasions, she was commended by the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief.

Prior to this in August 2019, she was the first woman officer to become the Flight Commander of a flying unit. The Flight Commander is the second in command of the unit.

This comes close on the heels of Captain Shiva Chouhan of Indian Army's Fire and Fury Corps becoming the first female officer to be operationally deployed in Siachen.

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Captain Chouhan was posted at the Kumar Post, which is located at an altitude of around 15,600 feet in Siachen in January for a three-month stint.

She was born and raised in Punjab's Ludhiana.

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• Combat unit
• Flight Commander
• Group Captain Shaliza Dhami
• Helicopter Unit
• India Air Force
• International Women's Day 2023
• Shaliza Dhami
• Women's Day 2023
• International Women's Day