NAVY PILOTS as women

01

The Plane Doesn't Know If You're A Woman Or Man: First Woman Navy Pilot Sub Lt Shivangi

Breaking the glass ceilings by becoming the first woman pilot to join the Indian Naval operations, Sub Lieutenant Shivangi on Sunday arrived at Republic TV studios donning her white naval uniform for the celebration of the 71st Republic Day. "This country's diversity makes me proud as an Indian. It's diverse and yet there is immense support from all corners, we are all so united," she said while speaking to Republic Media Network's Editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami.

Hailing from Bihar's Muzaffarpur, Sub Lieutenant Shivangi dreamt of becoming a pilot at a tender age of 10. At 10, when a minister arrived at her grandfather's town for a rally in a helicopter, she was enthralled to see the fluttering of the helicopter. Later in the fourth year of her M.Tech, a Naval presentation by a Navy team for University entry Scheme solidified her idea and she applied for the pilot entry in the Indian Navy. 

"Fortunately, the navy had started Pilot entry at that time and so my childhood dream came to be true. I always wanted to be a pilot. I never knew I will be the first one."

Sub Lt Shivangi becomes first woman pilot to join Naval operations

Shivangi completed her schooling from DAV Public school, Muzzafarpur. She was inducted into Indian Navy as SSC (Pilot) as part of 27 NOC course in Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala and got formally commissioned by Vice Admiral AK Chawla, in June last year. The Navy's Aviation branch has had women officers operating as air traffic control officers and as 'observers' in the aircraft who are responsible for communication and weapons. The Navy with the induction of Shivangi had its first woman pilot trained by Navy to make first cockpit entry on December 2.

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"If you dream of doing something go forward, luck only favours those who work hard, be focussed," Shivangi said with a smile.

Expressing her euphoria during her first solo flight, Shivangi said: "I was at the lineup, I was a bit nervous. I had questions, maybe there will be an emergency or anything. I will be able to handle it or not. As soon as I got the permission to take-off, I started the engine. At that moment, I heard the noise of the engine, I took off, above the runway, in the sky. I was scared, nervous, excited. I'll never be able to describe that feeling." 

When asked about her feeling of how she felt as a first woman to fly the solo aircraft, The Sub Lt quoted her Captain and said: "My Captain told me that a plane does not know you are a woman or a  man."

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On December 2 last year, in what was a proud moment for the country, she became the first woman pilot to join the Naval operations in the Indian Navy in Kochi. However, she said that with the feat comes a huge responsibility. "I understand that this happiness comes with a lot of responsibility," she said.  Speaking about her father who is a school teacher and her mother who is a house-wife, she said: "I will not be able to express their feeling but they were teary-eyed during the ceremony. They were proud of me, said the Sub Lt who flies Dornier aircraft for sea surveillance. 

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02

After Shivangi, more women expected to be trained as naval pilots: Vice-admiral

Visakhapatnam: The Indian Navy as well as Eastern Naval Command (ENC) is set to induct several naval and aviation assets in the next five years. These include, the Mig 29 squadron unit, new ships and surveillance vessels, INK Vikrant and Vikramaditya, several aircraft, MRH (helicopter), offshore patrol vehicles and so on, said commanding-in-chief of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) vice-admiral Atul Kumar Jain while interacting with the media on Tuesday. The ENC chief also spoke about the various naval social and green initiatives, joint exercises with foreign navies, maritime security, relief and rescue operations, community outreach programmes and upcoming events like Milan 2020. Speaking about the new inductions, the vice-admiral said, “The Mig 29 training and later operational squadron will be based in Visakhapatnam. New frigates such as INS Delhi, INS Mumbai and INS Mysore will be inducted next year. Sea trials of Vikrant will also start next year while infrastructure facilities to base INS Vikramaditya and Vikrant in Visakhapatnam are being readied. We are getting more P8I aircraft, 24 MRH helicopter, which would be a game-changer in anti-submarine warfare. Around seven to eight of these will be based in Visakhapatnam. Among seven Shivalik class ships, which the navy is getting, three of them will be based in Visakhapatnam. More offshore patrol vessels will be procured in the next two-three years. The ENC has recently inducted deep submergence submarine rescue vessel up to a depth of 650 metres.” At present, the navy has 132 ships and 20 submarines, which by 2027, would be enhanced to a total of over 190. “The Indian Navy is combat-ready to tackle maritime terrorism and has totally aligned itself towards Act East policy with enhanced bilateral and trilateral exercises with all Indo-Pacific countries. Coastal security exercises are also regularly conducted,” he said. Speaking about women joining the Indian Navy, the vice- admiral said that 685 women officers work with the navy in key branches such as logistics, ATC, legal, medical, observer role, designing of warships and so on. After Shivangi Swaroop become the first Indian woman navy pilot, more women are expected to be trained as pilots. With Rs 5.85 crore alotted for it, the multilateral exercise Milan 2020, will be held at Visakhapatnam (earlier only held in the Andamans) from March 18-27 to enhance interaction between navies. Already 30 countries have confirmed their participation,” said Jain. Regarding green initiatives, the ENC chief said that apart from massive plantation drive, single-use plastic has been banned across all naval ships and establishment. Solar power projects at three naval stations are in the pipeline, besides setting up seven sewage treatment plants. A 2MW solar power project would be commissioned at Kalinga this month.

03

Navy pilots demand more be armed on bases in letter to lawmakers and military brass

FOX NEWS EXCLUSIVE: Dozens of U.S. Navy pilots have written a letter demanding Capitol Hill lawmakers and top military brass allow more pilots to carry arms on bases, and allow those standing watch at flight schools across the country to be armed in the wake of the deadly shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola by a Saudi officer training there.

The letter, obtained exclusively by Fox News, is a form letter the pilots hope their colleagues will use to write lawmakers to get what they say is much-needed attention — preventing further shootings on U.S. military bases, in part by increasing deterrence.

“It is reprehensible that a military installation, much less its warfighters based there, be at the mercy of off-base, civilian law enforcement when faced with an immediate threat to their lives,” the letter says. The letter was sent to Fox News by two U.S. Navy instructor pilots from NAS Pensacola, in Florida, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the press.

 Air Force Door Attendant Staff Sgt. Siannie Conception closes the door of the transfer vehicle carrying the transfer cases containing the remains of Ensign Cameron Joshua Kaleb Watson, Seaman Mohammed Sameh Haitham, and Seaman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. A Saudi gunman killed the three people in a shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

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The letter comes after Saudi national Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, a second lieutenant at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, opened fire in a classroom on December 6, killing three and injuring several others before being shot dead by officers. In a short manifesto on Twitter, the gunman condemned the United States as a "nation of evil" and said he hated Americans for their supposed crimes against Muslims and “humanity.”

The author of the pilots' letter blames a 1992 law, which “caused military bases across the United States to become ‘soft targets.’ On-base security is often provided by contracted civilians whose physical fitness requirements and specialized training fall far short of the standard servicemember’s,” according to the letter.

Some pilots say it is inexcusable that a weapons expert like one of the three shooting victims was killed while standing duty unarmed.

“ENS Joshua Kaleb Watson was a small-arms instructor and captain of the rifle team at the United States Naval Academy.  Yet when charged with standing the watch, he was equipped with nothing more than a logbook and a pen,” the letter says.

The pilots hope their effort “will discontinue what has become a severe irony burdening our servicemembers: that they can be entrusted to fly multimillion-dollar aircraft over hostile territory, command companies of infantrymen into battle, or captain ships around the world, all while holding the nation’s top security clearances, but when back home are not trusted to carry a simple pistol in order to protect themselves, their families and their fellow servicemembers.”

The main gate at Naval Air Station Pensacola on Navy Boulevard in Pensacola, Fla. (U.S. Navy photo by Patrick Nichols/released)

"Fox & Friends" asked Defense Secretary Mark Esper about base security on the sidelines of the 120th Army-Navy game in Philadelphia Saturday.

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“We're looking at that right now. We can always strive to do better. But at the same time, these are communities. We've got to balance out all those interests. But yeah, we should and can do better. And we're looking at that right now. And I work closely with the service secretaries and the service chiefs to get that right,” Esper said.

At a Pentagon press briefing Thursday, a reporter asked if the Pentagon was considering the Navy pilots' request to be armed.

“I'm not familiar with that request and I'm not familiar with anybody considering that at this time. I would point out that both in Pearl Harbor and in Pensacola, that our armed law enforcement on the bases both were able to respond to the shootings in a very rapid manner and engage with and address the shootings,” said Jonathan Hoffman, chief Pentagon spokesman.

Fox News has previously reported Navy pilots have demanded to be armed, embarrassed that the officer standing watch, Ens. Joshua Watson, former captain of the Naval Academy rifle team, was forced to stand watch unarmed when the shooter arrived at the building he was guarding. Airman Mohammed Sameh Haitham, 19, of St. Petersburg, Fla.; and Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters, 21, of Richmond Hill, Ga., were also killed.

The family of Watson, 23, who had graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy this past May, urged lawmakers and military officers to allow service members to protect themselves on base during an appearance Tuesday morning on “Fox and Friends.”

A vehicle drives by a tribute to victims of the Naval Air Station Pensacola that was freshly painted on what’s known as Graffiti Bridge in downtown Pensacola, Fla., on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Brendan Farrington)

NAS PENSACOLA SHOOTING LEADS NAVY INSTRUCTOR PILOTS TO TELL TOP BRASS: 'ARM US'

“He was well qualified to have a firearm and defend himself. If we are going to ask these young men and women to stand watch for our country, they need the opportunity to defend themselves. This isn’t the first time this happened and if we don’t change something, then it won’t be the last,” said Adam Watson, Joshua’s brother. “My brother was an excellent marksman. If my brother had not had that right stripped from him, this would be a different conversation.”

Joshua’s mother, Sheila, agreed.

“He was my baby. It hurts me. It doesn’t really anger me as much as it hurts me. My baby was standing watch and he lost his life because he wasn’t armed,” she said.

“We trust 18-year-old privates in combat with grenades, anti-tank missiles, rifles and machine guns, but we let service members get slaughtered because we don’t trust anyone to be armed back here in the United States,” a senior U.S. Army officer told Fox News.

“Why are we cowering in our offices? It’s insane,” the officer added.

One pilot called base security at NAS Pensacola and other Navy bases “mall cops,” because protection on the base has been outsourced to private security and many were “fat and out of shape.”

Charles Hogue, a police officer at NAS Pensacola and his partner were the first two law enforcement officers on scene Friday morning when the Saudi gunman opened fire inside the API classroom building.

He was shot in the thigh, his son said, according to the Pensacola News Journal.

The paper said Hogue was able to assist other people in the building before escaping and was one of three law enforcement officers wounded in the shooting.

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The U.S. Marine Corps for years has provided armed Marines known as “Guardian Angels” to watch over training at The Basic School for newly minted Marine officers in Quantico, Va., outside the nation’s capital. The Guardian Angels have watched over the young officers during live-fire training and were ready to respond. Some service members asked for a similar program for the Navy, even for flight school.