The sense of comradeship, fellowship and collective consciousness among comrades-in-arms in the Army, received a heartening fillip on Monday (10) evening at Panagoda Army cantonment when a representative regimental gathering of thousands of soldiers met together with their Army Chief over a sumptuous dinner, a feature that has been introduced to the Army anniversary arrangements after Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, Commander of the Army, assumed office two years ago.
The fellowship dinner, introduced in the 60th Army anniversary soon after the victory over terrorism in 2009 has since then served as a mass transit platform to all ranks in the Army where they are able to meet one another in a friendly milieu once a year for an exchange of pleasantries and views on life in the Army.
This year’s dinner treat has been jointly arranged for both disable and all Army personnel with the objective of further boosting understanding and friendliness among all sections in the Army.
This year’s dinner arrangement, made on the basis of all twenty-four Army regiments had representations from the Colonel of the respective Regiment to a recruit/soldier in the line of command since it would not be practically possible for us to host each and every member in the Army to dinner at the same time at one venue.
Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, Commander of the Army joining the dinner as the Chief Guest, accompanied by a host of senior officers and Colonels of the Regiments made a brief address to the occasion.
During his speech, the Commander paid a glittering tribute to the sacrifices that have been made by our War Heroes at the risk of their lives in defence of the country.
‘Sri Lankans are a nation who knows gratitude and gratefulness. We are also members of that nation and that was why we were able to sit together in this manner to share a common meal. We opposed only the vicious cycle of terrorism and we had never been communal-minded under any circumstances. We rescued the lives of thousands of fleeing innocent civilians and many others who were held as hostages. Therefore, it is our bounden duty to safeguard that hard-earned reputation,’ the Commander told the gathering.
The Army Chief before the dinner met representatives of those regiments after visiting specific places and shared a couple of thoughts with them as a gesture of goodwill and fellowship.
The fellowship dinner, introduced in the 60th Army anniversary soon after the victory over terrorism in 2009 has since then served as a mass transit platform to all ranks in the Army where they are able to meet one another in a friendly milieu once a year for an exchange of pleasantries and views on life in the Army.
This year’s dinner treat has been jointly arranged for both disable and all Army personnel with the objective of further boosting understanding and friendliness among all sections in the Army.
This year’s dinner arrangement, made on the basis of all twenty-four Army regiments had representations from the Colonel of the respective Regiment to a recruit/soldier in the line of command since it would not be practically possible for us to host each and every member in the Army to dinner at the same time at one venue.
Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, Commander of the Army joining the dinner as the Chief Guest, accompanied by a host of senior officers and Colonels of the Regiments made a brief address to the occasion.
During his speech, the Commander paid a glittering tribute to the sacrifices that have been made by our War Heroes at the risk of their lives in defence of the country.
‘Sri Lankans are a nation who knows gratitude and gratefulness. We are also members of that nation and that was why we were able to sit together in this manner to share a common meal. We opposed only the vicious cycle of terrorism and we had never been communal-minded under any circumstances. We rescued the lives of thousands of fleeing innocent civilians and many others who were held as hostages. Therefore, it is our bounden duty to safeguard that hard-earned reputation,’ the Commander told the gathering.
The Army Chief before the dinner met representatives of those regiments after visiting specific places and shared a couple of thoughts with them as a gesture of goodwill and fellowship.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
