Meet Puja Thakur, the officer who led Guard of Honour for Obama

Wing Commander Pooja Thakur became the first woman to lead the ceremonial tri-service guard of honour inspected by U.S. President Barack Obama at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Wing Commander Thakur, from Rajasthan, belongs to the administrative branch of the Indian Air Force and is currently posted at ‘Disha,’ the publicity cell at the Air Force Headquarters.

She was commissioned into the IAF in 2001. She has been active in para-jumping and adventure sports, Air Force sources said.

 Wing Commander Thakur said: “It is a very proud moment for me and the Indian Air Force, to be creating history, to present the guard of honour to the most powerful man in the world”

“The message it sends is that we all are equal. In the Indian Air Force, men and women receive the same training. It is not a job, but a way of life,” she added.

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