Lt Col Sophia Qureshi, a young woman officer of the Indian Army, is leading the country's contingent at Force 18, the largest ever foreign military exercise hosted by India, which began in Pune today.
Ten members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN,) plus eight observer states - India, Japan, Korea, China, Russia, United States, Australia and New Zealand - are participating in the eight-day exercise with themes 'Humanitarian Mine Action' and 'Peacekeeping Operations'.
In its first phase, over 28 foreign trainers were trained by the Indian Army from February 24 to March 1. These trainers will form the training backbone for the conduct of the exercise.
A grand opening ceremony was held at Aundh Military Station which was presided over by Lt Gen Bipin Rawat, Army Commander of Pune based Southern Command.
In his address, Rawat highlighted the importance of ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) Plus forum to meet the regional aspirations of peace, security and addressing issues related to mitigating the effects of mine menace in many of the South East Asian countries.
The foreign participants also witnessed martial skills performed by the Indian Army, including drill by soldiers from the Mechanised Infantry Regimental Centre.
Lt Col Qureshi, who is leading an Army contingent of 40 soldiers, is an officer from the Corps of Signals who has the rare distinction of becoming the first woman officer to lead an Indian Army training contingent in such a large multinational exercise.
The officer also happens to be the only woman officer Contingent Commander among all ASEAN Plus contingents present for the exercise.
