18th November 2020 09:25:29 Hours
It was exactly 37 years ago, the incumbent Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva as a dynamic and promising youth, hailing from Matale joined the Army on 5 March 1984 and began his near 18 month long military training at the Sri Lanka Military Academy (SLMA) under the Intake 19, together with his batchmates. The Officer Cadet after receiving his commissions in 1985 on a day like today (16 November) as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army passed out with 27 of his Batchmates and was subsequently posted to the Gajaba Regiment as the first Gajaba Regiment Officer to be originally posted to the Regiment after its raising. No sooner than he joined the 1st Battalion Gajaba Regiment, the Commanding Officer, perhaps prophetically, made him to be a Platoon Commander in a Company of Special Service Group (SSG), which later was developed to be a Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) which is now reputed as elite Special Forces (SF) of the Army.
During his 37 years of illustrious military career, he held a number of staff, instructional, command and diplomatic appointments in various capacities. Some of the key appointments he held most prominently included the office of the Director General Operations and Adjutant General of the Sri Lanka Army, prior to taking office as the Chief of Staff. He who has graduated with the passed staff college (psc) degree as the first Commander of the Army to have done so at the Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC) was appointed the Commander of the Army on 18 August 2019. Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva is one of the highest decorated military officers with different varieties of medals and he was the first Second Lieutenant of the Sri Lanka Army to receive three different types of gallantry medals, namely the Weera Wickrama Vibushanaya (WWV), Rana Wickrama Padakkama (RWP), Rana Soora Padakkama (RSP) for the first time and Vishishta Seva Vibhushanaya (VSV) and Uththama Seva Padakkama (USP) for his distinguished service.
Being a personage with exceptional humane qualities, he at this turning point of his military career fondly recalls innumerable memories and prioritizes paying tribute to several of his batchmates who made the supreme sacrifice while defending the unitary nature of the country. Supreme sacrifices of his Intake 19 Batchmates, Second Lieutenant Anura Mallawaarachchi (Gajaba Regiment) who lost his life in 1986, barely three months after commissioning while fighting against terrorists in Kilinochchi, Major Vipula Alawathugoda (Gemunu Watch) in 1990 while fighting against terrorists in Eelam War 11 in Ampara, Lieutenant Colonel Sumith Perera (Gemunu Watch) who laid his life in Jaffna during 'Riviresa' in 1996, Lt Colonel Chandima Gunaratne (SLEME) who lost his life in Mankulam, Wanni during 'Jayasikuru' in 1998 and severely injured Brigadier Sarath Embowa (Special Forces) who passed away in 2019, were noteworthy for him, although a few other Batchmates have also joined the majority due to different other reasons.
His batchmates, most of who are highly respected and admired as war veterans and have already etched a name for themselves as legendary War Heroes in the military annals consider their batchmate's accession to the highest seat in command was not something unpredicted, but a result of completion of a hard-trodden course of professionalism. At that time itself, the Officer Cadet, Shavendra Silva had the rare privilege of being selected to the Colour Squad as a well-refined junior officer with reserved and prominent manners and high degree of politeness and courtesy who was also promoted as a Cadet Corporal during training at the SLMA. Showing his penchant for sports, the young Officer turned a keen cricketer in the Cadet team, brought victory to the team and was brilliantly good at drills. At this milestone of his career, all his Batchmates, Officers and Other Ranks take pleasure in wishing him best of luck with all his national undertakings at this critical juncture of our Nation ! Asics footwear | Klær Nike
