Pooja Thakur | |
---|---|
Born | 1979 (age 44–45) |
Allegiance | India |
Service/ | Indian Air Force |
Years of service | 2001-2016 |
Rank | Wing Commander |
Other work | Guardians of the Skies [1] |
Wing Commander Pooja Thakur is a retired Indian Air Force Officer. She was the first female commanding officer of the Tri-Services Guard of Honour, which was inspected by then-US President Barack Obama at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in January 2015. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
She also contributed during the development stage of the Guardians of the Skies , a video game that features Indian Air Force pilots. [8] She gave two Tedx Talks, one in 2015 [9] and the other in 2017. [10]
She is from the 17 SSC (W) G Course. She was commissioned into the Administrative Branch of the Indian Air Force on 16 Jun 2001 and was promoted to the rank of Wing Commander on 16 June 2014. [11]
She was refused a permanent commission, so she went to the AFT and filed a case. [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [8] [17] [18]
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 October 1932 as an auxiliary air force of the British Empire which honoured India's aviation service during World War II with the prefix Royal. After India gained independence from United Kingdom in 1947, the name Royal Indian Air Force was kept and served in the name of the Dominion of India. With the transition to a republic in 1950, the prefix Royal was removed.
Surya Kiran is an aerobatics demonstration team of the Indian Air Force. The Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) was formed in 1996 and are a part of the 52nd Squadron of the IAF. The team has since performed numerous demonstrations usually with nine aircraft. The squadron was composed of the HAL HJT-16 Kiran Mk.2 military trainer aircraft till 2011 and were based at the Bidar Air Force Station in Karnataka. The team was suspended in February 2011 and was re-established with Hawk Mk-132 aircraft in 2015.
The Indian Air Force (IAF), the aerial component of the Indian Armed Forces follows a certain hierarchy of rank designations and insignia derived from the erstwhile Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF).
Air Chief Marshal Idris Hasan Latif, PVSM was a former air officer in the Indian Air Force. He served as the 10th Chief of Air Staff (CAS) of the Indian Air Force (IAF) from 1978 to 1981. After retiring from the air force, he served as 11th Governor of Maharashtra from 1982 to 1985.
St. Xavier's School, Hazaribagh is a private Catholic primary and secondary school located in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand. The co-educational Christian minority school was founded in 1952 by an Australian Jesuit missionary and is now owned and operated by the Hazaribagh Society of Jesus.
Air Commodore Ramesh Sakharam Benegal MVC AVSM was an ex-officer of the Indian Air Force and a recipient of Maha Vir Chakra, India's second highest award for gallantry, and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal.
Air Marshal Padma Bandopadhyay, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, PHS is a decorated former flight surgeon in the Indian Air Force. She was the first woman to be promoted to the rank of Air Marshal in the Indian Air Force. She is the second woman in the Indian Armed Forces to be promoted to a three-star rank, after Surgeon Vice Admiral Punita Arora.
No. 21 Squadron IAF (Ankush), is an Air Defence and Ground Attack unit of the Indian Air Force, operating from Sirsa AFS, as part of 12 Wing of Western Air Command. The squadron was number plated on an unspecified date.
Air Marshal Man Mohan Sinha, PVSM, AVSM, VM, was an Indian Air Force officer and a veteran of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. He was honoured with a number of medals including the Param Vishist Seva Medal, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and the Vayusena Medal.
No. 17 Squadron is a squadron of the Indian Air Force stationed at the Ambala Air Force Station as part of the Western Air Command. The squadron was number-plated in 2016, but was resurrected in Ambala on 11 September 2019 with the Dassault Rafale.
Air Marshal Balakrishnan Suresh PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC is a retired officer of the Indian Air Force. He served as Air Officer Commanding in Chief (AOC-in-C), Western Air Command from 1 November 2019 following superannuation of Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar, till the day of his retirement on 31 July 2020.
In the Indian Armed Forces women are allowed to join in combat service support branches and in non combatant roles only and they can only become officers except the Corps of Military Police of the Indian Army where women can become sepoys too. The Indian Air Force had 13.09% (2018) and 8.50% (2014) women; the Indian Navy 6% (2018) and 3% (2014); the Indian Army 3.80% (2018) and 3% (2014). As of 2020, three officers have the rank of lieutenant-general or equivalent, all in the Medical Services. In May 2021, 83 women were inducted as sepoys for the first time in the Indian Army, in the Corps of Military Police.
The Tri-Services Guard of Honour is an ad hoc infantry company of the Indian Armed Forces which is responsible for providing guards of honour for high ranking Indian and foreign officials. The company was created shortly after India gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1947. It is headquartered in New Delhi and is composed of 100 men and women who are drawn from the three services of the Indian Armed Forces. The guard excludes the Indian Coast Guard in any of its protocol events.
The Indian military bands consists of musicians from the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. Indian military bands regularly participate in international festivals and take part in celebrations dedicated to various national events. These bands are permanent participants in the Delhi Republic Day parade on the Rajpath. Today, the Indian Armed Forces have more than 50 military brass bands and 400 pipe bands and corps of drums. A Tri-Services Band refers to a joint Indian Armed Forces military band that performs together as a unit. At the Spasskaya Tower Military Music Festival and Tattoo in Moscow, the band consisted of 7 officers and 55 musicians. The Military Music Wing of the Army Education Corps is the principal educational institution of the armed forces that provides instruction to musicians of all ranks. Instruction is also provided by the Military Music Training Center and the Indian Navy School of Music.
Sqn Ldr Minty Agarwal is an IAF fighter controller. She was part of the team that guided India’s air defence during the 2019 India–Pakistan border skirmishes, where she witnessed a PAF F-16 Fighting Falcon being shot down. In August 2019, she was awarded the Yudh Seva Medal by President of India Ram Nath Kovind, thus becoming the first woman to receive it.
Group Captain Shaliza Dhami is an officer in the Indian Air Force (IAF). She is the first woman officer in the IAF to receive a permanent commission and the first woman to become a Flight Commander. She became first woman IAF officer to get selected in front-line combat unit.
Air Marshal Amit Tiwari, PVSM, AVSM, VM is a retired officer of the Indian Air Force. He served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Central Air Command. He assumed the office on 1 February 2021 succeeding Air Marshal Rajesh Kumar and served till 31 May 2021. He is succeeded by Air Marshal Richard John Duckworth. Previously, he served as AOC-in-C of Southern Air Command.
Vijayalakshmi Ramanan VSM was an Indian physician and career army officer. She was the first woman to be commissioned as an Indian Air Force officer, and served as a surgeon in several military hospitals in India. She was a recipient of the army's Vishisht Seva Medal in 1977 and retired as a wing commander in 1979.
Air Marshal Prithi Singh PVSM, AVSM, VM & Bar, ADC was an officer of the Indian Air Force. He served as Air Officer Commanding in Chief (AOC-in-C), Western Air Command from 1 August 1988 to 30 April 1992. During his 40 years in the Indian Air Force, Singh flew about 102 different types of aircraft and their 120+ versions setting a record in IAF of flying most number of aircraft.