The Indian Military is on a streak with several women from the tri-services creating history this year. Major Ponung Doming has created history by being the first lady officer in the Indian Army from Arunachal Pradesh to be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Hailing from the East Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh, Lt.Col Doming is the eldest of four siblings. She had done her schooling from the Government Daying Higher Secondary School, clearing her 12th boards from the IGJ Higher Secondary School at Pasighat. Doming went on to do her Civil Engineering from Walchand College of Engineering in Maharashtra.

Following her graduation, she started her career as a fresher at Larson and Toubro in Kolkata, while simultaneously preparing for the Combined Defence Services Examination (CDSE) and working on her Officer Like Qualities (OLQ’s) for her five-day assessment at the Services Selection Board (SSB).

Doming cleared her SSB and was recommended to train at the Officers Training Academy, Chennai. She was commissioned as a freshly minted Lieutenant in September 2008 after the completion of her training at OTA. She swiftly rose through the ranks, reaching the rank of Major in only four and a half years. during her less than five years service she served as a peacekeeper on a United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Congo.

Lt. Col Doming’s landmark achievement has paved the roadmap for countless other women in the military aspiring to reach the higher rungs of military leadership.