entral Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Saturday inducted women commandos in its anti-Naxal Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) unit which will undergo training and then will be sent to Naxal-hit areas.
According to the CRPF, on the occasion of the 88th all-women battalion Raising Day, these women commandos have been inducted along with the introduction of all Mahila brass band which will make CRPF the first force to have a women brass band.
These women personnel from CRPF’s 6 Mahila Battalions will undergo a strenuous CoBRA pre-induction training for three months, the force said. “The training will reinforce their physical capabilities and tactical acumen by imparting next level training in firing and special weapons, tactical planning, fieldcraft, explosives, jungle survival skills etc,” CRPF said in the release.
The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) was raised under the CRPF in 2009 for undertaking intelligence-based jungle warfare operations.
It has been an all-male affair for this unit till now.
The majority of CoBRA teams, whose commandos are expected to have tough mental and physical attributes, are deployed in various Maoist violence affected states while a few are based in the northeastern states for undertaking counter-insurgency operations.
These 34 women personnel were inducted in the elite CoBRA wing during the 35th Raising Day of the force’s 88th Mahila Battalion, the first all-women battalion in the world, CRPF said in a release.
88 Mahila battalion has completed 34 glorious years in service of the nation. The battalion has served across the length and breadth of the country and abroad in the UN peacekeeping missions. Seven brave hearts of the battalion have made sacrifices at the altar of duty. The women warriors of this battalion are proud recipients of several gallantry medals including the highest peacetime gallantry award-The Ashok Chakra
