KOCHI: On Saturday, Indian Navy will cross a major milestone in the holistic integration of women in the armed forces with the passing out parade of the first all-woman batch of the observer course from the Naval Observer School in Kochi. Having successfully completed the six-month training at the Naval Observer School at Southern Naval Command, the four officers Sub-Lieutenants Priya Jayakumar, Swetha S, Sandhya Chauhan and Santosh Kumari will be inducted in Dorniers and IL38 in their respective squadrons at various naval air stations."They have had excellent training. I'm confident that they'll be suitably employed on-board the aircraft, especially in the surveillance roles where they need to operate sensors. They will be deployed for search and rescue operations and surveillance of our exclusive economic zones (EEZs)," said Commander PVGK Nambiar, Officer-in-Charge of the Observer School.The four officers completed their initial six-month orientation course at the Naval Academy and then joined the observer school. Observers are posted on aircraft to take care of navigation. So far women observers have been posted only on fixed-wing aircraft. Sharing the experiences with 'Express' on being part of the first all-woman batch, the women officers said they were ready to take up any challenge."Navigation is a challenge. There are a lot of activities. Before we go into the cockpit we are trained on the ground. First we thought we could never do it. But once we are there it's different," points out Sandhya Chauhan of Gurgaon, who says it was her passion for flying which drew her towards the armed forces.Santosh Kumari of Alwar in Rajasthan echoes the opinion. "Initially it was all difficult. But after the advanced training we became capable of doing it."Santosh Kumari, whose father is retired from the Navy, says it was her experience with the NCC that prompted her to join the Navy.
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