REPORTS - Nigerian Air Force gets first female Air Warrant Officer

Grace Tabawa Garba has made history as her recent promotion from a Master Warrant Officer to the rank of an Air Warrant Officer, making her the first female Senior Non-Commissioned Officer (SNCO) to be promoted to the highest rank in the Non-Commissioned Officers’ cadre in the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

Garba's promotion which was approved by the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, was confirmed in a statement released by the NAF's Director of Public Relations and Information Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola. 

“With the promotion, MWO Garba becomes the first female Senior Non-Commissioned Officer (SNCO) to be promoted to the highest rank in the Non-Commissioned Officers’ cadre in the Armed Forces of Nigeria,” the statement read in part.

According to the Air Force spokesman, the “promotion demonstrates the commitment of the current NAF leadership in paying adequate attention to the empowerment of female personnel to realize their full potentials.”

Daramola believes that Garba’s promotion “would serve as a motivation and spur other airwomen in the Service to strive for excellence and aspire for such rare elevation.”

Born on February 14, 1966, in Garkida, Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State Garba joined the NAF in 1986 as a member of Basic Military Training Course (BMTC) 10. She holds a Certificate in Nursing from School of Nursing, Maiduguri, Certificate in Midwifery from Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, a certificate in Public Health Nursing from School of Health Technology in Kaduna State respectively.

The newly promoted MWO who will be decorated with the new rank on October 15, also holds an Advanced Diploma in Public Administration at the Federal University of Technology, Yola. She is currently the Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) of the NAF School of Medical Sciences and Aviation Medicine (NAFSMSAM), Kaduna