In a proud moment for the country, Lieutenant Rekha Singh, wife of late Naik Deepak Singh who lost his life in the Galwan Valley clashes in June 2020, was commissioned as an officer in the Army Ordnance Corps on Saturday. Lt. Rekha Singh, who has been undergoing rigorous training as an Army cadet for 11 months at the Officers’ Training Academy (OTA), Chennai, will oversee the supply chain of equipment, clothing, and ammunition of the Army at a forward location along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh.
During the passing out parade on Saturday, Lt. Rekha Singh expressed her pride and said that it was a hard decision, but she wanted to feel and go through everything that her husband went through. Her husband, Naik Deepak Singh, was posthumously conferred the Vir Chakra in 2021 in recognition of his bravery in the Galwan Valley clashes.
Army officers said that Lt. Rekha Singh will be posted to a frontline base along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, where both India and China have deployed over 50,000 additional troops and have been aggressively building infrastructure for their sustenance. The military standoff between the two countries is entering its third year next month, and despite some resolutions at a few friction points along the LAC following multiple rounds of military talks, the situation continues to remain tense with no sign of an overall de-escalation.
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The first batch of five women cadets, including Lt. Rekha Singh, were commissioned as officers into the Army’s Regiment of Artillery on Saturday after the parade, alongside 19 male officers who were commissioned in this arm. Lt. Mehak Saini is commissioned into a SATA (Surveillance and Target Acquisition) Regiment, Lt. Sakshi Dubey and Lt. Aditi Yadav into Field Regiments, Lt. Pious Mudgil into a Medium Regiment and Lt. Akanksha into a Rocket Regiment.
Army officers said that the women officers getting commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery are being provided the same opportunities and challenges as their male counterparts. These young women officers are being posted to all types of artillery units, where they will get adequate training and exposure to handle rockets, medium and field guns and SATA equipment in challenging conditions.
Lt. Mehak Saini, who was also commissioned as an officer in the Army’s Regiment of Artillery, expressed her joy and said that this day has been her aim since her college. She also emphasized the importance of family support and said that it starts from the family.