The Indian Navy has appointed the first woman commanding officer in a naval ship in sync with its philosophy of ‘all roles-all ranks’ for female personnel, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said on Dec 1.
The appointed officer, a qualified navigation instructor with a background in training observers, has successfully completed all requisite qualification processes and exams. Admiral Kumar highlighted that she will undergo pre-commissioning training before assuming command of the ship.
Admiral Kumar also shared that the overall strength of women Agniveers has now crossed the 1,000-mark, adding that the Indian Navy’s first batch of Agniveers graduated from the premier-winning establishment, INS Chilka, in March this year.
“And importantly, this (first) batch of Agniveers includes 272 female Agniveer trainees as well…And going further, the second batch of Agniveers had a total of 454 women and I want to say that with the third batch, which has just been inducted, we have now crossed over 1000 women affiliates in the navy,” Admiral Kumar said.
Addressing a press conference ahead of Navy Day, Admiral Kumar said the Indian Navy’s ships, submarines, and aircraft have sustained a high operational tempo in the strategic waters in the last one year.
“Our ships, submarines, and aircraft have sustained a high operational tempo – undertaking missions and tasks encompassing military, diplomatic, constabulary and benign roles,” he said.
