New Delhi, 01 August (HS): Lieutenant General Sadhana Saxena Nair on Thursday took over as Director General of Medical Services (Army). She is the first woman to be appointed to this prestigious post. Earlier, she was the first woman to take over the post of Director General of Hospital Services (Armed Forces) on getting promotion. She has received training in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear warfare with the Israeli Defense Forces and in military medical ethics with the Swiss Armed Forces.

Lieutenant General Sadhana Nair started her schooling from St. Mary's Convent in Prayagraj and completed it from Loreto Convent in Lucknow. Meanwhile, she studied in schools in Tezpur, Gorakhpur, Kanpur and Chandigarh. She graduated with a distinguished academic record from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune and was commissioned into the Army Medical Corps in December 1985. Lt Gen Nair graduated with a distinguished academic record from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune. She holds a postgraduate degree in Family Medicine and a Diploma in Maternal and Child Health and Health Care Management.

She has completed a two-year training programme in Medical Informatics at AIIMS, New Delhi. She was trained in Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Warfare with the Israeli Defence Forces and in Military Medical Ethics with the Swiss Armed Forces at Spiez, Switzerland. She is also the first woman Principal Medical Officer of the Western Air Command and Training Command of the Air Force. She was nominated as an expert member of the prestigious Dr Kasturirangan Committee to draft a part of the Medical Education component of the National Education Policy-2020.

For her meritorious service, she has been awarded the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Air Command and Chief of Air Staff Commendation as well as the Vishisht Seva Medal by the President. Three generations of her family have served in the armed forces over the last seven decades. The General Officer is married to fighter pilot Air Marshal KP Nair (Retd). Her father and sister have also been military doctors. Her son is serving as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force.

Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar / Manoj Kumar Tayal