15th December 2018 20:52:22 Hours
The pride of the Nation, 'Rata Rakina Jathiya' (community defending the country) on Saturday (15) during a colourful ceremony at Diyatalawa Sri Lanka Military Academy (SLMA) was once again blessed with 234 youthful Officer Cadets who upon successful completion of their military training passed out amidst pomp and pageantry in the presence of a distinguished gathering, including HE the President Maithripala Sirisena, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces as the Chief Guest.
Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, Commander of the Army welcomed the Chief Guest, HE the President for the Passing out Parade (PoP) ceremony and HE Cheng Xueyuan, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) who has been invited to the ceremonial opening of the new state-of-the art SLMA auditorium complex, a gift awarded by the People's Liberation Army to the Sri Lanka Army. (See separate story).
The day's agenda for the PoP got to a start with the customary tradition of commemorating the departed ones. Paying the highest tribute in flowers, the Chief Guest for the occasion in the company of the Army Chief laid a floral wreath at the SLMA war memorial and recalled invaluable past sacrifices of fallen War Heroes in a solemn moment with the Commander of the Army and the SLMA Commandant, Brigadier H.H.A.S.P.K Senaratne.
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 backyard to suit the day’s perfect event, then turned to be a hive of activity as the Parade Commander, Major B.G.M.T.D Weeraratne 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 ceremonial proceedings in accordance with military formalities.
As patriotic melodies began renting the air, the Chief Guest after review of the formal parade awarded most prestigious Commissioning Swords to the Officer Cadets, their much-admired symbolic commissions before he received the salute from those new graduates gracing the eye-catching parade.
Those Cadet Officers who underwent the SLMA training in the Regular Intake 85, 86, 86 (B), the Volunteer Intake 58, Regular Lady Intake 16 and Volunteer Lady Intake 15 upon receipt of their commissions in the formal PoP will take up duties around the country to serve as dedicated sons/daughters and defenders of the Nation.
"Our War Heroes from time immemorial have laid their precious lives to safeguard the territorial interests of this island-nation, irrespective of the magnitude of the threat of our invaders. Our armed forces, being one of the bests in the world have assured the safety of our people all the time and fulfilled their responsibilities to the best of their ability. They as true sons of the soil laid their lives in the most recent fight against LTTE terrorism and enabled us to live in peace. I am sure these new Officers, well geared to face modern day security threats and challenges are fully-fledged to take on any task for the country and move ahead, consolidating our security needs further, "President Sirisena remarked in his brief address to the PoP.
Amidst scores of greetings and best wishes, Battalion Under Officer A.K.K.K De Silva (Sword of Honour) of the Intake 85, the Company Under Officer R.S.D.N De Zoysa of the Intake 85 (1st in order of merit), the Company Under Officer R.A.D.H.S Ranasinghe of the Intake 86, Company Under Officer V Parameshwaran of the Intake 86 B, Platoon Under Officer I.K.E.D Senevirathna of the Lady Intake 16, Platoon Under Officer K.V.V Gayantha of Volunteer Intake 58, Platoon Under Officer K.A.C.D Dodandeniya of Volunteer Lady Intake 15 respectively received their honours, inclusive of the Sword of Honour for the Best Overall Performance (1st in order of merits) for achieving the highest aggregate marks in their respective Intakes. The Cane of Honour was awarded to the Best Foreign Officer Cadet A. Shareef from Maldives.
During their stay at the SLMA, 26 Cadet Officers in the Regular Intake 85 pursued their extensive training at the SLMA for more than 36 months after they received admission to the SLMA on 22 December 2015. Similarly, 34 more Cadet Officers in the Regular Intake 86 with 6 Maldivian Officer Cadets underwent their training at the SLMA for more than 33 months after they were admitted to the SLMA on 23 March 2016. Meanwhile, 96 Cadet Officers in the Regular Intake 86 (B) at the SLMA followed the training for more than 11 months after they received admission to the SLMA on 04 January 2018.
42 Cadet Officers of the (Volunteer) Intake 58 completed a 18-month long training at the SLMA before commissioning after they joined the SLMA on July 2017. Similarly, 21 Lady Cadet Officers in the Regular Intake 16 pursued their extensive training at the SLMA for more than 11 months after they received admission to the SLMA on 04 January 2018.
Likewise, 15 Lady Cadet Officers of the (Volunteer) Intake 15 completed a 8-month long training at the SLMA before commissioning after they joined the SLMA on 5 April 2018.
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 Commander of the Army and the SLMA Commandant Brigadier Priyantha Senarathne on all those moments of national significance added more weight to the gathering.
The day’s ceremony reaches another landmark at dusk in the Officer Cadets’ Mess when the Commissioned Officers sit with the day’s Guest of Honour 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 ‘Non-Traditional Threats and Challenges to Sustained Peace in Sri Lanka’ also took place Friday (14) night in the presence of the Commander of the Army, Guest of Honour for the Dinner of the PoP, Senior Army Officers and Instructors were also associated with the arrangement.
To coincide with the final presentation, the Sinhala books written on ‘Reforming the Sri Lanka Army in order to Face Future Challenges’ and ‘The Recurrence and Intensity of Natural Disasters have a Devastating Impact on World Peace and Security : Role of Armed Forces’ were also launched at the Colonel F. Lafir auditorium.
A high level Pakistan Army delegation, Diplomats, Embassy officials, Parents and a large gathering witnessed the day's spectacular event adding their greetings and best wishes.
(Photo Courtesy : President's Media) url clone | Nike Air Max 270
