Widow of Air Force pilot became Army officer, 184 officer cadets completed training in OTA

Indian Army: The plane of Yashwini's husband pilot Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh had crashed, the country's first Chief of Defense Staff General Bipin Rawat was with him in the plane. He had flown from Air Force Station, Sulur near Coimbatore to Defense Services Staff College, Wellington, Udhagamandalam.

Sat, 09 Mar 2024 09:12 PM (IST)
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Widow of Air Force pilot became Army officer, 184 officer cadets completed training in OTA

Yashwini Dhaka, widow of an Indian Air Force pilot who died in a helicopter crash along with the country's first CDS General Bipin Rawat, and a civil engineer from a farmer family completed training at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai.

Yashwini's spouse, Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh, was the pilot of the aircraft that crashed; aboard was the nation's first Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat. He had taken a plane to Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Udhagamandalam, from Air Force Station, Sulur, close to Coimbatore. However, the passengers died when the helicopter crashed in the Nilgiri hills. opted to enlist in the Yashwini Army. Yashwini's life was altered by this tragedy, and she decided to enlist in the army. Along with 184 other officer cadets, she completed her military training programme at OTA and was commissioned as an Army officer.

Cadet Shauryan Thapa is the youngest (21 years) at the academy to complete the OTA training programme. He was awarded the OTA Gold Medal in the passing out parade on Saturday. Shauryan will join the service of 7/8 Gorkha Rifles along with his father Colonel Mohit Thapa.

Saranya M, from a farming family from Erode district of Tamil Nadu, also became an army officer. She is a civil engineer and the first graduate in her family. He rejected a job in an IT firm and chose to become a commissioned officer through OTA.

Muskan Kumawat Journalist & Writer