New Delhi, April 29

Five women, who were commissioned as officers in the Indian Army today, have been inducted into the Regiment of Artillery making them the firsts to join a “major combat support” arm of the Army.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Rekha Singh, wife of gallantry award-winning Army soldier Naik Deepak Singh who lost his life in the Galwan clash with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh in June 2020, was today commissioned into the Indian Army as an officer and has been posted to Ladakh.

The five women who were commissioned today completed their training at the Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai. Three of these officers have been posted to units deployed along northern borders (with China) and the other two at locations in the Western Theatre (facing Pakistan).

Ladakh posting for Galwan hero’s wife

• Lieutenant Rekha Singh (left) passed out of OTA, Chennai
• She was allocated to the Army Ordnance Corps and posted to Ladakh
• She is the wife of Naik Deepak Singh who was martyred in the Galwan clash
• Rekha Singh is a BSc, B.Ed qualified teacher
• She was encouraged by the Army in 2022 to take the UPSC exam
• She cleared the exam and also the five-day SSB interview at Allahabad

Lt Mehak Saini was commissioned into a SATA regiment, Lt Sakshi Dubey and Lt Aditi Yadav into field regiments, Lt Pious Mudgil got commissioned into a medium regiment and Lt Akanksha was commissioned into a rocket regiment.

Though the artillery is classified as a “combat support arm”, most of its regiments are forward deployed. These young women officers will get adequate training and exposure to handle rockets, medium guns, field guns and surveillance and target acquisition (SATA) equipment.

The women officers being commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery are being provided exactly the same opportunities and challenges as their male counterparts. As many as 19 male officers have also been commissioned into the artillery, Army officials said. In January, Army Chief General Manoj Pande had announced the decision of commissioning women officers into the artillery. It was later approved by the government.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Rekha Singh (29) passed out of OTA Chennai today and allocated to the Army Ordnance Corps. She is the wife of Naik Deepak Singh of the Army Medical Corps, who was awarded the Vir Chakra, the third highest war-time gallantry award. They got married in November 2019, just seven months before the Galwan clash.

From the Medical Corps, Naik Deepak Singh had been attached to the 16th Battalion of the Bihar Regiment.

The Vir Chakra citation of Naik Deepak Singh says: “During the violence coupled with stone-pelting, he sustained grievous injuries but continued rendering medical support to the injured soldiers. He managed to save as many as 30 lives before succumbing to his injuries,” the citation read.

In early 2022, his widow, Rekha Singh, a BSc, B.Ed-educated teacher, was encouraged by the Army to take the UPSC exam. She cleared the exam and also the five-day Services Selection Board (SSB) interview at Allahabad.