SLMA in Colourful PoP Ceremony Gifts 60 More New Officers for Nation’s Service

Amidst scores of greetings and best wishes, one more group of 60 Officer Cadets upon successful completion of their military training at Diyatalawa Sri Lanka Military Academy (SLMA) passed out on Saturday (17) during a colourful ceremony.

State Minister for Defence, Hon Ruwan Wijewardene as the Chief Guest graced the Passing out Parade (PoP) ceremony at the invitation of the Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Crisanthe De Silva.

Those Cadet Officers, who underwent the SLMA training in the Regular Intake 83 and the Volunteer Intake 57 upon receipt of their commissions in the formal PoP will take up duties around the country to serve as dedicated sons and defenders of the nation.

Not forgetful of invaluable past sacrifices of fallen War Heroes, the Chief Guest for the occasion laid a floral tribute to the SLMA war memorial in the premises and paid his solemn respect to their memory as the first segment on the day’s agenda after he was warmly received by the Commander of the Army on arrival at the main entrance to the SLMA, together with the SLMA Commandant.

The SLMA parade ground, well poised in a setting of a very magnificent spectacle of national importance with fluttering multi coloured military flags in the background to suit the day’s perfect event, then turned to be a hive of activity as the parade commander, Major H.R.A.J.K.K Basnayake of the Sri Lanka Light Infantry (SLLI), sought the formal permission from the day’s Chief Guest, now on the special dais, to continue the proceedings.

After the formal review of the parade, the Chief Guest awarded most prestigious Commissioning Swords to the Officer Cadets, symbolizing their much-admired commissions before receiving the salute from the new officers in the colourful parade.

Battalion Under Officer D.U.I.L Godakumburegedara of the Intake 83 and the Platoon Under Officer A.C.P Kumara of the (Volunteer) Intake 57 were respectively honoured with the Sword of Honour for the Best Overall Performance (1st in order of merits) for achieving the highest aggregate marks in their respective Intakes at the parade ground.

36 Cadet Officers in the Regular Intake 83 pursued their extensive training at the SLMA for more than 30 months after they received admission to the SLMA on 12 November 2014.

24 Cadet Officers of the (Volunteer) Intake 57 completed a 18-month long training at the SLMA before commissioning after they joined the SLMA on 04 January 2016.

A few minutes later during a special ceremony, held at the SLMA gymnasium, parents of the newly-commissioned Officers in a moving gesture adorned shoulders of their beloved sons with insignia of the President’s Commission as a symbol of recognition of their commissioning which was also a highlight of the day’s itinerary. The presence of the SLMA Commandant Brigadier Priyantha Senarathne at the occasion added more weight to the gathering.

The day’s ceremony reaches its apex at dusk in the Officer Cadets’ Mess when the commissioned Officers sit with the day’s Chief Guest Hon Ruwan Wijewardene and Commander of the Army together with distinguished Senior Officers for the sumptuous and elegant ‘Commissioning Dinner’, one of the much-awaited formalities in the SLMA calendar of occurrences with the graduates.

The presentation of the final academic contribution of Cadet Officers, titled ‘Recurrence and Intensity of Natural Disasters Has a Devastating Impact on World Peace and Security; Role of Armoured Forces’ also took place Friday (16) night in the presence of the Chief Guest of the PoP and the Commander of the Army, accompanied by many Senior Army Officers.