Captain Abhilasha Barak Becomes Indian Army’s First Woman Combat Aviator
New Delhi: Captain Abhilasha Barak on May 25 created history by becoming the first Woman Combat Aviator in the Indian Army.
On Wednesday, the Additional Directorate General of Public Information, IHQ of the Ministry of Defense Army Official’s social media website made the news public.
26-year-old captain from Haryana, along with 36 other army pilots Director-General and Colonel Commandant Army Aviation awarded the Coveted wings.
This major accomplishment of Captain Barak’s depicted as a “Golden Letter Day” in the history of Indian Army Aviation.
Director-General of Army Aviation, A.K. Suri was the chief guest at the ceremony that took place in Nashik.
According to the official website, the Army Aviation arm of the RAF was established in India in 1942. The first Indian Air Observation Post-flight, however, was not established until August 1947.
The Army Aviation Corps was founded on November 1, 1986, in specific. The Corps was “immediately inducted into Operation Pawan,” which was described as a “crucial test” for the newly established Corps.
Background
Abhilasha Barak, a Sanawar resident, received her B.Tech. degree in Electronics and Communication from Delhi Technological University in 2016 and was hired by Deloitte in the United States.
She became a member of the Army Air Defence Corps in 2018.
“I always knew that this day was not so far”, says Captain Barak
The young captain Barak told the Indian Army in an interview that serving in the army was always an ‘everyday affair.’
“While growing up in military Cantonments, and being surrounded by people in uniform, it always seemed like an ordinary affair. I never realised it (that it was different) until our family moved out of the military life, after my father’s retirement in 2011. The feeling only grew stronger after seeing my elder brother’s passing out parade at Indian Military Academy in 2013,” said Captain Abhilasha Barak.
Young Captain Barak chose the Army Aviation Corps after being inducted into the defense corps. Barak said that she had passed the Pilot Aptitude Battery Test, even though she was only eligible for ground roles at the time.
“Somewhere in my heart, I always knew that the day was not far away when Indian Army would start inducting women as combat pilots,” she said.
President Ram Nath Kovind selected Barak as a Contingent Commander for the Presentation of Colors to Army Air Defense while she was a member of the Corps of Army Air Defence.
The 26-year-old informed the Indian Army that she owes her life to the aviation corps. She asserted, “In 1987, during Operation Meghdoot, my father was leading a patrolling party from Amar Post to Bana Top Post (earlier Quaid Post). Owing to bad weather, he suffered from Cerebral Odema and was brought back to Amar Post, from where he was evacuated right in time.”
