Indo-Tibetan Border Police force inducts its first women officers in combat

The IndiaChina LAC guarding the IndoTibetan Border Police force on Sunday commissioned its first two women officers in combat after they completed their training hereA total of 53 officers passed out from the ITBP officers training academy located in Mussoorie after a passing out parade was held with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami officiating as the chief guestA firstever History of ITBP book with 680pages containing many unknown facts and photographs of the border guarding force was also released by Dhami along with ITBP director general S S DeswalDhami and Deswal put the ranks of Assistant Commandant the entrylevel officer rank in the paramilitary on the shoulders of the two women officersPrakriti and Dikshaafter the passing out parade and attestation ceremony where they took oath to serve the countryWhile Prakritis father has retired from the Indian Air Force IAF Deekshas father Kamlesh Kumar is an Inspector in the ITBPAlso read 20 IndoTibetan Border Police personnel get COVID19 vaccineKumar in his Khaki uniform saluted his daughter after the parade and got a crisp salute in return following which they hugged each otherMy father is my role model He never considered me lesser than anyone Deeksha saidPrakriti who holds a bachelors degree in electrical engineering said the life in the force is very tough but it is also challenging and excitingThe ITBP started recruiting women combat officers in its cadre from 2016 through an allIndia examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission UPSCBefore this it only had combat women in the constabulary ranksOut of the total 53 officers 42 officers are in the general duty combat cadre while 11 are in the engineering cadre of the about 90000 personnel strong mountain warfare trained forceThese officers will now be posted across ITBP formations in the country including the LAC with China and the antiNaxal operations theatre in ChhattisgarhThe force was raised in the aftermath of the 1962 Chinese aggression and its primary role is to guard the 3488 km long IndiaChina Line of Actual Control LAC apart from rendering a variety of roles in the internal security domainAddressing the young officers who trained for 50 weeks general duty cadre and 11 weeks engineering cadre in various subjects of combat and strategy Dhami said the commanders should give their best while performing their dutiesHe said the country was safe due to the valour of its armed forces and the sacrifices made by the personnel in uniformI am the son of a soldier and I have seen the Army closely I have seen the struggles of their families he said while congratulating the young officers who he said were taking their first step for serving the nationThe CM also lauded the force for bringing out its firstever history book that has some 1000 unseen operational photographs starting from the period when the Union government was planning to raise itThe book has been published in view of making a reference volume for factual history and knowledge of the force to the officers and jawans It will also be useful for the administrative and training purposes and for gaining indepth details and is the official history of the force ITBP spokesperson Vivek Kumar Pandey saidPandey has himself been instrumental in bringing out the book after years of research and talking to serving and retired officers and others who were closely involved with the creation of the force that specialises in mountain warfareThere was no such book on the ITBP available till this publication It contains historical achievements of the force since its inception Pandey a secondincommand rank officer saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever