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Sri Lanka Army

Defender of the Nation

01st January 2016 00:23:32 Hours

Commander’s New Year Message

It is with great pleasure that I extend my best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to all Officers and men of the Sri Lanka Army. The past year which has been momentous with both successes and challenges has come to an end.

The year gone by is filled with acts of your bravery and unswerving sense of duty. Be it ensuring the Nation's territorial integrity, fighting the scourge of terrorism or reaching out to fellow citizens during times of natural calamities, the Army has time and again performed its duties with dedication, maturity and professionalism. It is, indeed, with gratitude that I look back upon the past year and commend you for a high standard and duty conscious performance.

In the present day context, the Sri Lanka Army requires trained and ready units with agile and capable professionals and leaders to meet the anticipated challenges. Sri Lanka Army also needs to maintain an effective administrative apparatus with qualified, competent and highly professional Officers and men. Hence, it is critical to decisively and comprehensively implement a new programme to improve their professionalism further.  Therefore, measures will be taken to develop the personnel knowledge and skills in order that our officers and men can be best employed in the future. New international and local training programmes will be introduced to training institutions, whilst training units are being modernized and infused with modern technology.

A plan to affiliate Army training school with local universities has been scheduled to further improve the standard and quality of training programmes in the year 2016.  Such affiliation will expose Officers and men of the Sri Lanka Army to a broader scope in the fields of training and education, which are essential for a professional Army.

The Sri Lankan soldiers are admired world over for their display of humanity, discipline, professionalism and integrity. These attributes of high standard and qualitative training will without doubt enable them to be effective when they embark on UN Peacekeeping Missions. With the aim of strengthening and elevating the standards of the Army to the international level, the year 2016 is named as “The Year of Training and Information Technology.” 

Paying due attention to the basic requirements of soldiers, a number of comprehensive welfare projects such as ‘Suwa Sahana Loan Scheme’ and ‘Api Wenuwen Api Housing Project’, have already been implemented. It is my firm belief that empowerment of our Officers and men’s children through education is important as it opens many avenues of opportunity. Therefore, fittingly, education, capacity building, housing and healthcare are given equal priority in the current agenda of the Army.  

The sole aspiration of the Sri Lanka Army is to protect our motherland, its citizens and to assist in developing the country at all times. What we have gained in the past year must be consolidated. But more than that, a duty rests on the shoulders of all members of the Army to strive to make 2016 the year of achievement.

I urge all members of the Army to remain steadfastly loyal to the Nation, to maintain regimentation, discipline and be professionally competent.

In conclusion, let me pay my tribute to all the war heroes who made the supreme sacrifice, suffered injuries and are recovering from injuries. Moreover, the commitment and perseverance displayed by our serving members of the Army are truly admirable.

I wish, once again, to thank all the Officers, Other Ranks and Civilian Staff for the innumerable contributions they have made in the interest of sustaining peace and security in our Motherland. I wish you continued strength and wisdom in performing the responsible duties of your positions and bringing together all Sri Lankans in the interest of our Motherland.

May peace, happiness, good health and prosperity be with you and your families in the year 2016.