Army Contingent, Ready for Mali Inaugurates Mega Field Training Exercise (FTX)

The mega Field Training Exercise (FTX) of the Sri Lanka Army ready to undertake the forthcoming UN Combat Convoy Tasks in MINUSMA - Mali started on Tuesday (21) after a brief military ceremony at Kankasanthurai, Jaffna.

The hypothetically-designed FTX, cognizant of prevalent ground realities and challenges in Mali is comprised of a Combat Convoy Company (CCC) of 15 Officers and 185 Other Rankers, in addition to more than 82 vehicles, troops of the Infantry with Armour, Mechanized Infantry and other logistic elements and poised to encounter simulated threat conditions en route during the Exercise, launched exclusively to improve the UN mission competence capacity of the CCC of the Army.

The FTX convoy during the span of the assignment will pause at Nawaladi, Vidattaltivu, Oyamadu, Minneriya, Puttalam, Maduruoya, Buttala and Sooriyawewa areas to match with hypothetical scenarios of the Exercise settings during the course of its tour from Kankesanthurai to the South and the execution part will start on coming Monday (27).

The Planning and Preparation of the FTX of the CCC focused on combat and supply practices, command and leadership, emergency contingency plans, combat convoy tasks, decision-making during emergencies, application of convoy drills, protest controls, disposal of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), administration and logistic sustenance, maintenance of communication and other techniques and procedures in UN peace enforcement operations, logistics and planning process, unique to UN Combat Convoy Tasks in MINUSMA - Mali, etc.

A mega Field Training Exercise (FTX) of the Sri Lanka Army to undertake the forthcoming UN Combat Convoy Tasks in MINUSMA - Mali will start off from Kankesanthurai cover a distance of about 1166 km across the country.