Sadhna Saxena Nair
Lieutenant General Sadhna Saxena Nair, AVSM, VSM was a serving general officer of the Indian Army. She served as the Director General Medical Services becoming the first woman officer to be appointed to the position. She was the seventh woman officer to be promoted to three-star rank in the Indian Armed Forces. Prior to that, she was also the first woman to hold the post of Director General Hospital Services, in the rank of Air Marshal. She and her husband Air Marshal K P Nair became the first couple of the Indian Air Force
being promoted to Air Marshal. Their younger son is a fighter pilot in the IAF .
The ranked officer graduated from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune with a distinguished academic record. She holds a Post Graduate degree in Family Medicine, Diploma in Maternal & Child Health and Health Care Management, and has undergone a two-year training programme in Medical Informatics at AIIMS, New Delhi. She was trained in Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Warfare with the Israeli Defence Forces and in Military Medical Ethics with the Swiss Armed Forces in Spiez.
Military career
Lieutenant General Sadhna Saxena Nair was commissioned into the Army Medical Corps in December 1985 from Armed Forces Medical College, Pune. She has served as the first woman Principal Medical Officer of Western Air Command and Training Command of the Indian Air Force. On promotion to the rank of Air Marshal, she took over as the Director General Hospital Services on 23 October, 2023 becoming the first woman officer to hold this position. On 1 August, 2024 she took over as the Director General Medical Services making her the first woman officer to hold the appointment of DGMS.
Awards and decorations
The General officer has been awarded with the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2025 and the Vishisht Seva Medal. For her meritorious service, she has been awarded the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command and Chief of the Air Staff Commendations.