In a major step to induct women officers into operational areas, the Army, for the first time, has deployed a Captain at the Siachen glacier, the world’s highest battlefield.
Fire and Fury Corps officer Captain Shiva Chouhan became the first woman officer to be operationally deployed at the Kumar Post at a height of 15,632 feet on the Siachen glacier. She will serve a three to four month stint there.
"Captain Shiva Chouhan of Fire and Fury Sappers became the first woman officer to be operationally deployed in Kumar Post, at the highest battlefield of the world," tweeted the official account of the Leh-based Fire and Fury Corps of the Indian Army.
The Twitter post has added the caption, 'Breaking the Glass Ceiling', celebrating Shiva's feat. The officer of the Corps of Engineer had to undergo arduous training before her posting at the Kumar Post.
Giving details of the officer, Army officials said here on Tuesday
Captain Shiva 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.
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 the Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai and was commissioned into the Engineer Regiment in May 2021.
At a young service of one year, Captain Shiva displayed grit and determination by successfully leading the Sura Soi Cycling Expedition from Siachen War Memorial to Kargil War Memorial conducted on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas in July 2022 covering a distance of 508 kms.
The officer then took up the challenge of leading the men of Sura Soi Engineer Regiment at the world’s highest battlefield and based on her performance was selected to undergo training at the Siachen Battle School.
The officer was put through rigorous training at the Siachen Battle School where she trained alongside the officers and men of Indian Army. The training included endurance training, ice wall climbing, avalanche and crevasse rescue and survival drills. In spite of various challenges, Captain Shiva with unflinching commitment successfully completed the training and was all set to be inducted to the Siachen Glacier.
She got inducted to the Siachen Glacier on January two this year after an arduous climb. The team of Sappers led by Captain Shiva Chouhan will be responsible for numerous combat engineering tasks and will be deployed at the post for a duration of three months.
The Siachen Glacier is the highest battleground in the world, where India and Pakistan have fought intermittently since 1984. Temperatures there dip to minus 25 to 30 degrees and the soldiers have to brave harsh weather besides rugged terrain including crevasses and avalanches.
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.
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.
Kumar Post is named after Colonel Narendra ‘Bull’ Kumar, an iconic mountaineer and the man who helped secure the Siachen Glacier for India.
More than 1,000 Indian soldiers have died due to weather and harsh terrain since 1984 at the Siachen glacier thereby indicating the risks inherent with such deployments.
At present, a brigade(3,000 soldiers)is deployed at the glacier and nearly the same strength is fielded by Pakistan given the strategic importance of the glacier. India occupies all the dominating heights at the glacier thereby giving it a distinct advantage.