New Delhi: Indian Army officer Captain Shiva Chouhan created history by becoming the first Indian Army woman officer to be operationally posted to the Kumar Post, situated at an altitude of 15,632 feet in the Siachen Glacier – the world’s highest battlefield. Kumar Post is the headquarters of the Northern Glacier Battalion.
Capt Chouhan comes from Rajasthan and currently is a Bengal Sappers officer.
Earlier, the women officers were used to be deployed at the Siachen basecamp, which is at an altitude of about 9,000 feet.
In a tweet, the Leh-headquartered Fire and Fury Corps termed the achievement as “breaking the glass ceiling”.
'Breaking the Glass Ceiling'
— @firefurycorps_IA (@firefurycorps) January 3, 2023
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
She had done her schooling from Udaipur and holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from NJR Institute of Technology, Udaipur. At a young age of 11, she lost her father and her mother, who is a housewife, took care of her studies, sources in the Indian Army said.
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 Indian Army’s Corps of Engineers in May 2021, the sources added.
Captain Chouhan was inducted to the Siachen Glacier on January 2, 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. The Kumar Post, where Capt Chouhan is posted, has been named after Colonel Narendra “Bull” Kumar, an iconic mountaineer and the man who helped secure the Siachen Glacier for India.
At a young service of one year, Capt Chouhan 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 kilometres.
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.
She 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 Chouhan with unflinching commitment successfully completed the training and was all set to be inducted to the Siachen Glacier.
