“ The Ex-NDA Girls “ Beyond the Headline: The Conversation the Army Needs By Capt Shikha Saxena
Date:- 23rd October 2026
EDITOR’S FOREWORD :
In this thoughtful, research-informed article, Capt Shikha Saxena, a veteran lady officer, builds on the discussion initiated by Col N. S. Dahiya’s articles published by MVI on 17 and 19 October 2026. She takes the discussion beyond the headline, highlighting the need to understand the long-term implications of women’s military careers and prepare the institution to address them.
Drawing on her experience, she traces the journey from women’s induction through OTA, Chennai, to the commissioning of the first NDA-trained women officers at IMA in June 2026. She explains why this generation’s training, career opportunities and service environment require a fresh assessment, informed by the experiences of its predecessors.
The article calls for an informed discussion on the second- and third-order impacts of women’s military careers—on their physical and psychological well-being, families, fellow officers and organisational effectiveness. Drawing on firsthand experience and international research, it invites the Army to anticipate these challenges and shape policies, infrastructure and support systems that enable women officers to serve effectively throughout their careers.
MVI welcomes candid, constructive contributions from serving and veteran officers, women and men alike. Readers are encouraged to share their experiences and suggestions on the MVI website and respond to the questionnaire accompanying Col Dahiya’s article dated 21 October 2026, linked below.
Col Vinay B. Dalvi
Editor, MVI
With “Who Will Marry the Ex-NDA Girls?”, the attempt at a provocative headline backfired. Its framing and sweeping assumptions drew understandable criticism, overshadowing the stated intent: examining the second- and third-order impacts of women’s military careers.
That discussion deserves attention, even where the arguments used to introduce it deserve challenge.
We can question assumptions about women’s personalities, relationships and personal choices while still asking how prepared the institution is to support them through an entire military career.
I restrict my observations to the Indian Army, where I have served and experienced some of these realities firsthand.
The commissioning of NDA-trained women marks a shift towards integration built into the Army’s full career structure from the outset. Earlier generations navigated fixed tenures, piecemeal policy changes and battles over permanent commission. Their experiences offer valuable lessons but cannot serve as a direct benchmark for this generation.
For many of us, the immediate battle was recognition: establishing that we belonged, could perform and deserved meaningful professional opportunities. In that environment, speaking about difficulties could feel like supplying ammunition to those already questioning our presence. Consequently, discussions remained largely confined to entry, capability and acceptance, leaving little room to examine the second- and third-order impacts of a life in uniform.
What Lies Beyond Entry and Commissioning?
Second-order impacts include the effects of deployments, separation, injury and loss on an officer’s physical health, psychological well-being and relationships. Third-order impacts emerge as these pressures extend into parenting, family stability, career decisions and, ultimately, the Army’s ability to retain experienced officers.
These concerns affect men and women alike. I have listened to young officers returning from Kargil describe the anguish of losing friends, buddies and men they commanded—the pain and hollowness that accompanied them back home. Returning from the battlefield did not mean leaving its emotional burden behind.
Families, particularly Army wives, alongside networks such as AWWA, have long helped officers and their families carry these burdens. As women’s military careers become more firmly embedded, we must examine how dependable support will be available to them, especially in dual-service marriages. When both partners face service pressures, separation and loss, who provides the emotional and practical stability on which military life has traditionally relied?
Family support matters deeply, but it cannot carry every responsibility. These questions connect individual well-being to family resilience and institutional preparedness.
Acknowledging such pressures does not diminish the fulfilment of military service. The two can coexist. The UK Parliament’s 2021 Defence Committee inquiry illustrates this: among 4,106 serving women and veterans who responded, approximately 62% reported bullying, harassment and/or discrimination during service, yet approximately 84% rated their overall military experience as good or very good. These figures describe the respondents, rather than establish prevalence across the entire force. The inquiry also identified childcare barriers affecting career sustainability, particularly for single parents and dual-service households.
Pride in service should give us the confidence to discuss its difficulties honestly.
Why This Generation Requires a Different Assessment
Three differences make a direct comparison with earlier women officers inadequate.
First, a different training exposure—and potentially different long-term effects. Earlier women officers like us underwent six or nine months of pre-commission training. This generation completes the much longer NDA-to-IMA journey. Its sustained physical and psychological demands mean that our experience cannot adequately predict their long-term well-being.
The relevant questions extend beyond whether they can complete training. What resilience does that training develop? What cumulative strain might it produce? How effectively are injuries recognised, recovery supported and psychological pressures addressed? These outcomes require assessment across their own training and service trajectory.
A Canadian study drawing on the perceptions of 503 servicewomen recorded positive views of women’s participation alongside concerns about physical demands, organisational culture and expectations of toughness. An American study of thirteen military women living with chronic pain described its persistent burden and the tension between “mission first” and acknowledging pain. Neither compares Indian training pathways, but both reinforce the importance of looking beyond successful completion of training.
Second, an earlier life choice requires a fuller picture.These women choose military life around eighteen, before the civilian college experience of graduate entrants. Yet the public narrative largely celebrates pride, achievement and opportunity, with far less discussion of potential long-term physical and psychological challenges.
Young women and their parents need both sides of that picture to make an informed choice. That fuller discussion remains insufficient, and the author’s intent to encourage it deserves appreciation, even where his framing and assumptions invite disagreement. The same honesty should inform young men’s choices also.
Third, a different career framework and command perspective. Earlier women officers served on fixed tenures and were often not considered part of the competitive pool for promotion to higher ranks, career courses and key assignments. This generation enters with a full career ahead, under commanders who have served alongside women and witnessed how family responsibilities and service pressures intersect with postings and progression.
Their opportunities, challenges and institutional responses will therefore unfold in a different context. Earlier careers should inform preparation without becoming a template for predicting their future.
International experience offers further questions worth examining. Canada’s parliamentary report, Invisible No More: The Experiences of Canadian Women Veterans, addresses equipment fit, pregnancy care, childcare, family reintegration and military sexual trauma. A study of twenty American and Israeli women veterans examines combat trauma, military sexual trauma, the pressure to prove professional worth and difficulties during transition to civilian life.
These studies reflect different militaries and circumstances; they cannot predict outcomes for Indian women officers. They do, however, identify concerns we should examine rather than leave unexplored.
The Indian Experiences We Need to Revisit
We also have experiences of our own that deserve systematic attention.
One experience worth examining is women officers seeking premature release or retirement following Operation Parakram deployment. From my recollection, the eligible pool was small—perhaps forty to fifty officers only. This is a personal estimate, not an official figure, and establishes neither an exit rate nor a causal link with the operation. However, my one-to-one conversations with a few women officers from that pool gave me sufficient reason to believe that their decisions, the pressures behind them and the support available deserve closer examination.
It does, raise questions worth investigating -who sought to leave, why, what support was available, and whether different arrangements might have influenced their decisions.
I also recall accounts shared by women officers with young children, particularly in dual-service marriages. These included children being left locked in cars while their mothers attended morning parade because dependable childcare was unavailable and they did not feel able to trust the available arrangements.
What stays with me is the absence of dependable support that could make an officer feel compelled to choose such an unsafe arrangement. These accounts deserve to be heard and investigated, even though they cannot establish how widespread the difficulty was.
Childcare concerns have also reached the courts. A reported 2019 petition by an Army officer concerned inadequate childcare facilities.
Such experiences help us identify the connections that need examination. A childcare gap may lead to a posting request. An unresolved posting conflict may affect access to a course, career progression or the decision to remain in service. An apparently private difficulty can therefore acquire consequences for the organisation.
Posting adjustments also have consequences for male officers—for their own postings, field tenures and workloads. These effects deserve open discussion, as perceived unfairness can strain working relationships and affect organisational efficiency. Policies must balance individual needs, equitable service obligations and operational requirements.
The infrastructure needed to accommodate women officers in forward areas also requires deliberate planning. Suitable accommodation, sanitation, privacy and safety arrangements carry resource and logistical implications that must be assessed as part of their operational integration.
From Experience to Evidence—and Action
I have not seen a comprehensive, publicly accessible Indian longitudinal study tracing these relationships across women officers’ entire careers. That does not mean no research or internal information exists. It means our public debate should acknowledge the limits of its evidence.
Personal accounts can identify problems. International research can suggest areas for investigation. Neither can replace a systematic assessment of Indian service conditions.
We need research covering women officers, comparable male officers, dual-service couples, single parents and those who leave early. It should account for entry route, arm or service, appointments, deployments and access to support, following outcomes through service and into retirement.
Alongside that research, we should examine practical arrangements: dependable childcare suited to military working hours; transparent posting policies; appropriate equipment, healthcare and rehabilitation; psychological support; fair career management through parenthood; and confidential channels for raising concerns.
Operational readiness, unit staffing and colleagues’ workloads must remain part of that assessment. Sustainable policies require clear rules, resources and accountability.
Women officers must be able to discuss hardship without having to defend their right to serve each time they speak. Silence leaves both individuals and the institution less prepared.
With NDA-trained women beginning their careers, we have a responsibility to draw honestly on earlier experience, examine what remains unknown and build dependable support for the journey ahead. Their place in the Army must be matched by preparation for their lives within it.
NOTE - The contents of this article contains the author's personal views based on her study , research and experience of the subject and linked issues .The pictures are for symbolic representation only .
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