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Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, paying tribute to all those who have so far sacrificed in numerous ways to elevate Army standards, stressed the importance of marching forward as a fully-fledged professional Army in the future too. During his annual address to the troops on Army Day (10) and 63rd Anniversary, the Commander added as follows: “It is with a sense of humble pride I address you today when Sri Lanka Army as the pioneer of all Armed Forces celebrates its 63rd Anniversary and Army Day.
First of all, let me extend my sincere thanks to all those who organized today’s military parade of high standards and colourfulness.
Our Army that inherits a proud history has faced a multitude of different challenges during its journey for defence of the country’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and unitary status.
Defeating maniac passion for terrorism and restoring law and order, we, as one and only Army in the world to do so, stunned everyone through the biggest ever humanitarian operation hitherto carried out in the world in order to salvage hostages. Unflagging and invaluable contribution, made by valiant fallen and disable War Heroes, dedicating strength, courage and labour in the past 63 years, deserves our deep gratitude and remembrance at this moment and let me recall their memories with respect.
In the post-war era of development, you, as members of a professional Army who have been performing a commendable development-oriented role in the past three years to the best of your ability, have come in for praise from all the quarters, and your dedication to make our motherland, the Miracle of Asia, as per the noble vision of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksa, is no doubt held in high esteem by all Sri Lankans. We should not forget the fact that all these things are carried out for the good of our next generation.
Your efforts and contribution in promoting reconciliation and goodwill while simultaneously energetically committed to the revival of country’s development in spheres like engineering, infrastructure building, mega technical and agricultural projects, particularly in the North and East, have received accolades from the international community, too and such commendations should be noted.
‘Defence Seminar’, held for the second consecutive year on the directions of Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Secretary Defence and Urban Development, with the participation of a large gathering of representative foreign delegates, needless to repeat, helped enormously set the record straight and dispelled misconceptions and malicious allegations against our country and the Army since such discussions mirrored a high degree of transparency, which itself is regarded a milestone achievement, as I see.
I intend to promote the image of the Army to suit international standards as a professional organization, and steps have already been taken to found more and more new Army training schools while elevating standards of the existing ones with modern techniques and facilities. The Chinese government, allocating a whopping sum, has come forward to build a fully-fledged new auditorium of international standard at Diyatalawa Sri Lanka Military Academy. These foreign and local training programmes, including non-military ones, needless to mention, help promote the professional standards of our Army on par with armies in the world.
By this stage, openings have been made for senior non-commissioned officers of all Army Regiments to receive foreign training in the Advanced Physical Training courses in the United Kingdom and the number who had thus received the training has increased to twenty by now. I firmly believe our ability to have such a large number of senior Non-Commissioned Officers as Physical Training Instructors after foreign training, is an asset which would largely help in turn raise our physical training standards. Similarly, three slots for this foreign training have already been allocated to Sri Lanka Army Service Corps, Sri Lanka Army Women’s Corps and Sri Lanka National Guard as well.
In addition to the ones in UK, you now have the chance of following the same Physical Instructors Training Course in Pakistan where ten senior non-commissioned officers could follow the course every year.
It is not an exaggeration to note here that the foreign militaries, cognizant of the importance of our ocean of experience in battlefield and fighting terrorism, were very enthusiastic in learning and sharing those experiences, knowledge and anti terrorist tactics that we introduced during humanitarian operations, away from mere facets of theoretical knowledge. As a result, foreign military members and observers from countries like China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Maldives took part in the successfully conducted joint military exercise ‘Cormorant Strike - III’ for the third successive year, bringing international fame and recognition to our organization.
Our year-round sports programmes and events while giving maximum support for promotion of inert sports skills of our members, including those ones, meant for physical and mental well-being of disable soldiers, have fared well and borne fruits. By winning the first ever Para Olympics medal in Sri Lankan history, our Army was able to bring reputation to the country as well as to the organization in the recent Para Olympics, as you know.
With the blessings of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and directions of the Secretary Defence, various War Hero welfare projects have been implemented. War Hero housing loans and granting of individual loans are among the most prioritized ones. Musical programmes, like ‘Ranaviru Real Star’ assist to identify hidden talents of our members, bringing our members closer to the hearts of the public.
In particular, let me pay my gratitude to volunteer welfare roles, being performed by the Seva Vanitha Branch of the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development under ‘Api Wenuwen Api’ theme. Likewise, welfare projects, conducted by Seva Vanitha Army Branch, together with Regimental Units, deserve mention at this assembly.
The Mihindu Seth Medura, the well-equipped most modern wellness resort, constructed through untiring efforts of those Seva Vanitha members, the Abimansala at Anuradhapura, now in full swing, the Kamburupitiya Abimansala, ready to be opened shortly, have received blessings of the government and we feel that we would be able to erect such wellness resorts at provincial levels in the future, too. Moreover, Sri Lanka Army’s Directorate of Welfare has already implemented a series of various welfare schemes, including loan granting, insurance policies, construction of holiday bungalows for all ranks and their family members, etc. I sincerely believe you all will reap the benefits of those welfare programmes collectively.
In conclusion, it is pertinent to remind here, you, as a member of a victorious Army, should always safeguard inherent characteristics of the professional Army, to which you serve as a guardian of the nation and a patriotic warrior at the expense of your own life, I stress with the responsibility. In the same vein, I must underline that Sri Lanka Army is all the time alert to any kind of challenges that would prop up against the country and is ready to work for the best interest of the country.
At the time we mark our 63rd Anniversary as a dignified organization, let me pay my tribute to the memory of all those who departed, went missing and became disable. Family members of those War Heroes as well as members of the families of those serving the Army to-date, members of our civil staff and their families are also remembered at this juncture with heartfelt gratitude. At this moment of pride, let me wish good luck to all of them. May all of them be well and I wish them a prosperous tomorrow.
‘Oba Semata Suba Anagathayak’
