Colonel Geeta Rana: First Woman Officer to Take Command of Army Unit in Ladakh

Rana is the latest in a series of women officers who have been chosen for command positions, and her appointment follows the Army's decision in late February to appoint women officers to command roles outside of the medical stream for the first time. Around 50 women officers are expected to lead units in operational areas, including forward positions, under the Northern and Eastern Commands, which are in charge of India's borders with China, and some have already taken charge.

Rana has served in various places during her 23-year military career, including Sikkim and Jammu and Kashmir, and has previously served as an instructor at an EME training institution. Rana's father was a junior commissioned officer from the Mahar Regiment, and she was commissioned into the Army in 2000 after training at the Officers' Training Academy in Chennai.

A special selection board was established by the Army to promote 108 women officers to the rank of select-grade colonel, allowing them to assume command roles in select branches, in a bid to address gender parity. The selection board assessed 244 women lieutenant colonels for the 108 positions, and women officers from the 1992 to 2006 batches commissioned in various arms and services, including Engineers, Signals, Army Air Defence, Intelligence Corps, Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps, and Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, were considered.

The opening of command roles to women became possible only after the Army granted them permanent commission (PC) in 2020. Although tanks and combat positions in infantry remain off-limits to women in the military, women officers have made significant strides in the military, particularly during the last seven to eight years, according to officials, who claim that most of the new opportunities for women have come their way as a result of a strong push by the armed forces to improve women's empowerment and tap nari shakti (woman power).