New Delhi: Breaking the glass ceiling, Captain Shiva Chauhan from the Corps of Engineers has been posted to the Kumar Post, situated at an altitude of 15,632 ft on the Siachen Glacier — the world’s highest battlefield.
This is the first time an Army woman officer has been operationally posted to an actual post at Siachen Glacier. In the past, women officers have been posted to Siachen base camp which is at about 9,000 ft as part of their regular postings along with the unit.
The Leh-based Fire and Fury Corps tweeted a picture of the young officer at Kumar Post, saying this was “breaking the glass ceiling”.
‘Breaking the Glass Ceiling’
Capt Shiva Chauhan of Fire and Fury Sappers became the first woman officer to be operationally deployed in Kumar Post, post completion of arduous training, at the highest battlefield of the world #Siachen.#SuraSoi@PMOIndia @DefenceMinIndia @adgpi pic.twitter.com/nQbmJxvLQ4
— @firefurycorps_IA (@firefurycorps) January 3, 2023
Captain Chouhan from Rajasthan is a Bengal Sapper Officer. She has done her schooling from Udaipur and holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from NJR Institute of Technology, Udaipur.
According to the Army sources, she lost her father at a young age of 11 years and her mother, who is a housewife, took care of her studies.
Since her childhood, she was motivated to join Indian Armed Forces and showcased unparalleled zeal during training at OTA, Chennai and was commissioned into the Engineer Regiment in May 2021, the sources said.
Captain is the second rank for an Army officer. Sources said that Chauhan has got a field ranking which is always one rank higher than what one has.
The sources said she was inducted to the Siachen Glacier on 2 January 2023 and the team of Sappers led by her will be responsible for numerous combat engineering tasks and will be deployed at the post for a duration of three months.
Sources explained that Kumar is the first of such posts on the Siachen Glacier. On the way to the Post, there are four positions – Camp 1, Camp 2, Camp 3 and Camp 4 – which are launching areas for the soldiers before they head up to their final location.
Kumar Post is the headquarters of the Northern Glacier Battalion.
Though the Indian Navy and the Air Force have thrown open all arms within their services for women including combat, the Army is yet to allow female officers in its actual combat arm – infantry.
Sources said that special preparations were done to accommodate the lone woman officer at Kumar Post and she will be entitled to her own hut and toilet facilities.
As reported by ThePrint earlier, Kumar Post is named after Colonel Narendra ‘Bull’ Kumar, an iconic mountaineer and the man who helped secure the Siachen Glacier for India.
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