Woman IAF officer assumes charge as Director General Hospital Services (Armed Forces)

New Delhi [India], October 23 : Air Marshal Sadhna S Nair has assumed the charge of Director General Hospital Services (Armed Forces), becoming the first woman to hold the position on promotion to the rank of Air Marshal, according to an official statement.
Defence Ministry said that Air Marshal Nair has been transferred on promotion from HQ Training Command (Air Force), Bengaluru.
"Another chapter of excellence added into the history of the IAF when Air Vice Marshal Sadhna S Nair was promoted to the rank of Air Marshal on Oct 23, 2023. She is the second woman medical officer of the IAF who has climbed to such an esteemed rank," the IAF Training command said in a post on X (formerly Twitter)

"Air Marshal Padma Bandopadhyay was the first woman to be promoted to the rank of Air Marshal in the Indian Air Force. Air Marshal Sadhna S Nair is married to Air Marshal KP Nair (Retd) thus, became the first Air Marshal couple in the history of the IAF," it added.
Air Marshal Sadhna S Nair was commissioned into the Indian Air Force in December 1985.
"She holds a postgraduate degree in Family Medicine and has undergone a two-year training program in Medical Informatics at AIIMS, New Delhi. She was trained in CBRN Warfare with the Israeli Defence Forces and in Military Medical Ethics in Switzerland. She is the first and only woman Principal Medical Officer of Western Air Command and Training Command," an official statement issued by the Defence Ministry said.
Prior to this appointment, the Air Officer was working as the Principal Medical Officer (PMO) at HQ Training Command (Air Force), Bengaluru.