Bangladesh’s First Two Female Combat Helicopter Pilots to Join UN Peacekeeping Mission in Congo

The first two female combat helicopter pilots of Bangaldesh are set to become the first female pilots to join the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo.

According to an Inter Services Public Relation Directorate (ISPR) press release on Monday said their team would leave for Congo on Thursday for the one-year-long peacekeeping mission, Dhaka Tribune reported.

The duo will replace the current members of the mission in Congo. The 115-member first team left Dhaka on November 29 and the remaining members were being deployed in phases, ISPR said earlier.

Speaking with journalists at the BAF Base Bashar in Dhaka on Monday, Flt Lt Nayma said that BAF had been working on the Congo mission for the past 14 years and its female members have worked there in the last seven.

“But for the first time, Tamanna and I are going as female combat pilots in the UN peacekeeping mission from our country. We will have to work in a remote and different environment, and we have been trained for that by BAF.”

She added: “We have received military training. We have training on how to work in a hostile environment. We have already trained in the hilly areas of Bangladesh for carrying out the duties in the similar areas in Congo.”

On December 17, 2014, both female pilots successfully completed the initial phase of primary helicopter flying training.

After completing 65 hours of Basic Helicopter Conversion training, they had also performed duties in different operational squadrons of BAF. The duo later also completed training course on MI-17, MI-171 and MI-171 SH helicopters.

Nayma and Tamanna also performed as operational pilots in Operation Uttaron in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, said ISPR.