Boko Haram: Female soldiers join battle

The Nigerian Airforce (NAF) has deployed air women and female air officers for military operations in the North-East.

Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar explained that are actively involved in the on-going counter-insurgency operation with special forces against Boko Haram terrorists and other criminal elements.

Abubakar told PRNigeria on Sunday that NAF is a gender-sensitive service that encouraged its personnel to explore their potentials without inhibition in the armed forces.

The Air Force Chief said: “We call them Women of War as they are well trained to engage in combat and combat support operations for peace, security and national development.

“The female personnel like their male counterparts, help in neutralizing insurgents during airstrike missions, while also providing tactical supports for the ground troops.

“Some of our air women and female officers are regular combatants who have completed specialised trainings at home and abroad. Some of them regularly fly Beechcraft, a special fighter plane used for gathering intelligence, carrying out surveillance and reconnaissance.

“In the last few months, they courageously flew our aircraft across North-Eastern states, especially in Borno and the fringe of Lake Chad to detect and strike at insurgents’ locations. They fly sometimes between four to six hours on the ISR platform.

“The Women of War have continued to showcase their professional capacity as fearless and courageous military personnel as pilots, loadmasters, aircraft maintenance engineers, aerospace engineers, armament specialists, squad leaders, combatants, loadmasters, Military police, and air traffic controllers among others.”