Ruchi Sharma | |
---|---|
Allegiance | India |
Service/ | Indian Army |
Rank | Captain |
Unit |
Army Ordnance Corps Parachute Regiment |
Awards |
|
Captain Ruchi Sharma is a former paratrooper in the Indian Army. She retired from the Army in 2003 and is now an educationist.
Ruchi Sharma was a 1995 batch science student of Mehr Chand Mahajan DAV College for Women. [1] Both Sharma and her father, an Indian Army officer, are alumni of Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai. [2] Sharma joined the army in 1996 [a], when she was 20 years old, [3] as a Short Service Commission officer and was commissioned to the Army Ordnance Corps. [4] She volunteered to become a paratrooper. [5] In an interview to Femina magazine she remembers that during training they were made to jog for 40 km with a 10 kg load. [6] Her first jump was in 1997. [6] About her first jump she says, "The first jump is like your first love"; in an Indian Express article she is quoted saying, "I was screaming my parents' names, telling them that I love them,” and adding, "but when I landed, my 'ustad' burst my bubble saying the enemy will know my position if I screamed so much everytime I jumped." [1] Sharma went on to earn the maroon beret and serve in areas such as Ladakh. [5] In 1999, she won the "General Oberoi Trophy" for "Best Women Adventurer" from her corps, and later on went on to be awarded the "Presidents Gold Medal". [5]
Captain Sharma retired in 2003. She says that if the policy of permanent commission for women had been there back in her days, she would have opted for it. [7] In 2020, on the occasion of International Women's Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s made a social media appeal to bring forward inspirational stories. [2] One of the stories was highlighted was that of Captain Ruchi Sharma. [2] In 2003 she left the forces so as to be able to look after her daughter. [1] Ruchi Sharma, now an educationist, [7] is married to an army officer, and they have a daughter. [1]
Ruchi Sharma | |
---|---|
Allegiance | India |
Service/ | Indian Army |
Rank | Captain |
Unit |
Army Ordnance Corps Parachute Regiment |
Awards |
|
Captain Ruchi Sharma is a former paratrooper in the Indian Army. She retired from the Army in 2003 and is now an educationist.
Ruchi Sharma was a 1995 batch science student of Mehr Chand Mahajan DAV College for Women. [1] Both Sharma and her father, an Indian Army officer, are alumni of Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai. [2] Sharma joined the army in 1996 [a], when she was 20 years old, [3] as a Short Service Commission officer and was commissioned to the Army Ordnance Corps. [4] She volunteered to become a paratrooper. [5] In an interview to Femina magazine she remembers that during training they were made to jog for 40 km with a 10 kg load. [6] Her first jump was in 1997. [6] About her first jump she says, "The first jump is like your first love"; in an Indian Express article she is quoted saying, "I was screaming my parents' names, telling them that I love them,” and adding, "but when I landed, my 'ustad' burst my bubble saying the enemy will know my position if I screamed so much everytime I jumped." [1] Sharma went on to earn the maroon beret and serve in areas such as Ladakh. [5] In 1999, she won the "General Oberoi Trophy" for "Best Women Adventurer" from her corps, and later on went on to be awarded the "Presidents Gold Medal". [5]
Captain Sharma retired in 2003. She says that if the policy of permanent commission for women had been there back in her days, she would have opted for it. [7] In 2020, on the occasion of International Women's Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s made a social media appeal to bring forward inspirational stories. [2] One of the stories was highlighted was that of Captain Ruchi Sharma. [2] In 2003 she left the forces so as to be able to look after her daughter. [1] Ruchi Sharma, now an educationist, [7] is married to an army officer, and they have a daughter. [1]