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Sri Lanka Army

Defender of the Nation

24th March 2018 20:57:32 Hours

Boyagane VIR RHQ Extends Warm Reception to Commander

The Army's Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment (VIR), which has brought recognition and fame as one of most deeply respected ground fighting units extended a warm welcome to the Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake on Saturday (24) when he made his presence at the VIR Headquarters at Boyagane, Kurunegala for the second time after assumption of office as the Commander at the invitation of its Colonel of the Regiment, VIR Major General Ajith Kariyakarawana.

Major General Kariyakarawana in the company of the VIR Centre Commandant Brigadier Srinath Ariyasinghe warmly received the visiting Commander and conducted him to the War Heroes' Memorial and the adjoining Parama Weera Vibushana (PWV) statues, the first of it in a regimental centre after the Commander reviewed the Guard Turn Out salute, accorded to him around the main entrance premises.

Laying of floral wreaths at the VIR war monument and the PWV statutes that had been erected in memory of two VIR War Heroes who made the supreme sacrifice while fighting and were posthumously awarded the highest gallantry award, Parama Weera Vibushana (PWV) set the stage ready afterwards for the day’s Chief Guest to receive the military honours, the ceremonial Guard of Honour in line with military formalities.

After a while, the Commander of the Army posed for a group photograph with the Regimental staff and Officers and inquired into the status quo from the Colonel of the Regiment in the presence of other Senior Officers.

As one more important feature of the day’s itinerary, the Commander was then invited to plant a sapling in the VIR compound as a memory to the occasion.

The day’s proceedings reached its apex as the Chief Guest was next invited to open the new three-storied accommodation complex for Other Rankers, for which the cornerstone was laid in less than a year.

In his address to a large gathering of Officers and Other Ranks at the VIR Gymnasium premises, the Commander praised the good work being meted out by VIR soldiers around the island. He also underlined the importance of dedicated and disciplined services of Army personnel for the betterment of the Nation.

At the same occasion, Major General Kariyakarawana awarded a memento to the Commander as a token of appreciation and his visit to the RHQ.

The visiting Commander also had an interactive session with All Ranks who had gathered at ‘The Salute’ reception hall before he sat with All Ranks for lunch at the same venue.

Boyagane-based VIR Regimental Headquarters, situated in a serene and huge coconut grove, away from the hustle and bustle of the city was established on 23 April 1993 after it was originally raised in Sinhawilluwatta, Puttlam on 22 March 1990. It recently celebrated its 28th anniversary on a grand scale.

Battle-hardened VIR troops with its more than 650 Officers and 16,000 Other Ranks of both regular and volunteer battalions to its credit boast of a series of unique achievements and milestone victories both at combat and other levels.

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