Meet Capt. Shiva Chauhan; first woman Army Officer deployed at world's highest battlefield [details]

Captain Shiva Chouhan becomes the first woman officer to get operationally deployed at the world's highest battlefield, Siachen, after training at Siachen Battle School along with other personnel.

Captain Chouhan is the first woman to be posted on operational duty at the highest battleground on the Siachen glacier, with the peaks ranging above 15000 feet.

Reports said that the posting of the first woman officer came after the government's policy to increase the number of women in a combat roles.

The development was shared by the Leh-based army's Fire and Fury Corps (14 Corps). Capt Chauhan achieved the rare feat and became the first woman officer to be deployed at the highest battleground in Kumar Post on the Siachen glacier.

"Capt Shiva Chauhan of Fire and Fury Sappers became the first woman officer to be operationally deployed in Kumar Post, at the highest battlefield of the world," tweeted the official account of Fire and Fury Corps of the Indian Army. The Twitter post has added the caption, 'Breaking the Glass Ceiling', celebrating Shiva's feat.

Shiva had to undergo arduous training before her posting in Kumar Post

The Siachen Glacier is the highest battleground on earth, where India and Pakistan have fought intermittently since 1984. A team of eight specially-abled people created a world record when they reached Kumar Post at 15,632 feet on the Siachen glacier in September 2021. Capt Shiva had to undergo arduous training before joining the world's highest battlefield.

Earlier, Capt Shiva had to undergo a month-long arduous training at Siachen Battle School along with other personnel before her posting in the Kumar Post located at a height of 15,632 feet on the Siachen glacier on January 2.

Capt Shiva Chouhan was put through rigorous training which included endurance training, ice wall climbing, avalanche and crevasse rescue, and survival drills, at the Siachen Battle School

"The team of Sappers led by Capt Shiva Chouhan will be responsible for numerous combat engineering tasks and will be deployed at the post for three months," an army spokesperson said.

The Siachen Glacier which came under India's strategic control after 'Operation Meghdoot' in 1984, stands at an altitude of 20,000 feet. The glacier is located in the Eastern Karakoram range of the Himalayas, and on the north of Nubra Valley. Reportedly, it is the highest militarized zone in the world. Soldiers serving in this region have to face harsh weather, avalanches, and landslides. During the winters in this high-altitude region, temperatures touch as low as -60 degree Celsius.