THE destroyer USS Decatur, now anchored off Phuket, has a woman in charge on the bridge. Commander Shanti Sethi oversees 278 sailors, including 45 women officers.

Before her, an Australian, Commander Allison Norris, visited Phuket in charge of the frigate HMAS Melbourne back in 2008.

Oddly, although Thailand was recently hailed for being the place where women could most easily achieve leadership in business, the military - and even the police force - lag behind.

Is it jobs for the boys, or a sense that the men are protecting the women from danger in the frontline?

The US military, sadly much more experience in battle than the Thai military, no longer makes judgements for either of those reasons.

Commander Sethi's rise through the ranks is all the more notable for her Indian-American background, and with India the USS Decatur's departure point for Phuket, there was a great deal of interest in her there.

"Chennai seems more beautiful than my memories of North Indian towns, and I feel proud before my colleagues," Commander Sethi told the Times of India. A native of Reno, Nevada, she describes herself as a "half Indian," with an American mother.

''I just love the people and colors here,'' she told another newspaper, The Hindu. ''The art work and the temples are also fascinating.''

The commander joined the US Navy after completing her degree in international affairs at Norwich University in the US in 1993.

Once the Decatur's short liberty stay on Phuket ends, the crew is bound for its home port of San Diego.

Back in 2008, Commander Allison Norris told Phuketwan: ''If my presence helps to win more Thai women the chance to be in the navy, that's a very good idea.''