PANAJI
Wing Commander Maria Ismenia Sancha Pereira, of Gonsua-Betalbatim, has become the first ever Goan woman to be decorated in the wartime history of India.
Serving as an Air Traffic Controller (ATC), Wg Cdr Pereira provided in-depth intelligence inputs from the radars that helped Indian Air Force fighter aircraft seek and destroy vital enemy targets, and also gave early warning of adversary aircraft and missiles aimed at Indian forces.
It is an effort which earned her a Mention-in-Despatch for distinguished service in wartime during actual combat operations of Operation Sindoor.
The daughter of Eustaquio Francisco Pereira and Poma Pereira, Wing Cdr Pereira did her schooling at Mary Immaculate Conception High School in Panaji, followed by Green Rosary Higher Secondary, Dona Paula, and Engineering from Goa Engineering College, Farmagudi.
Another Goan of the diaspora, Major Jacqueline Jacinta Dias, with roots in Bardez, also became one of the first Indian women army officers to be posted as Officer Commanding of the Indian Army Overseas Dental Institution in Bhutan, a coveted foreign assignment reserved only for meritorious officers. She is the daughter of Group Captain Joe Peter Matthew Dias and Anne Elizabeth Dias, who were both born in Mapusa.
