Dog Handlers receive their graduation

Seven Mine Detecting Dogs (MDD) and eleven Army personnel trained as Dog Handlers received their graduation recently at Sri Lanka School of Military Engineering (SLSME) in Thunkama, Embilipitiya at a colourful ceremony, graced by a top-ranking US delegation.

This MDD training, a continuation of US Humanitarian De-mining assistance to Sri Lanka, is a direct result of a US agreement signed with the Government of Sri Lanka to provide US assistance in the field of humanitarian de-mining training to the Army at a cost of about US$ 2.2 million, following an initiative taken by the Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army, Lt Gen L. P Balagalle. The large scale US training, begun at SLSME continues throughout the year 2004 under the said agreement. This was the first time an MDD Course was conducted in the Army.

One Officer and ten Other Ranks (one kennel master, one assistant kennel master, seven dog handlers and one reserve), who followed this three-month long training course, received their graduation during this ceremony, graced by the officials from the US Department of State, US Embassy in Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Embassy in US, RONCO Consulting Corporation, the US Marshall Legacy Institute, US-Sri Lanka Association of Washington DC, UNDP (Mine Action), National Steering Committee for Mine Acton and Ministry of Defence and the aforesaid donors.

These Mine Detection Dogs along with their handlers will be deployed in the north in humanitarian de-mining operations, now being conducted by the Army. They will expedite national de-mining efforts, aimed at the Government's programme for resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP).

Major Gen D. S. K Wijesooriya, Commander, Security Forces, Wanni in his address at the graduation ceremony thanked the US Department of State, US Embassy in Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Embassy in US, RONCO Consulting Corporation, the US Marshall Legacy Institute, US-Sri Lanka Association of Washington DC, UNDP (Mine Action), National Steering Committee for Mine Acton and Ministry of Defence and others for their gesture of goodwill and generosity.

The seven high-quality dogs, namely, Trusty, Wyoming, Blek Hannah, Lehigh, Tessa, Berry Galleon, and CC that underwent training and graduated are worth about US$ 120,000, and the donation is considered a combined gesture of goodwill from the donors namely, the Sri Lankan Association of Greater Washington, the school children of Wyoming under the Children Against Mines Program (CHAMPS), Billie and Don McCoy, Hilda Davis, the Martin Trust Family Foundation, the citizens in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, Caterpillar Incorporated, the Chubb Corporation and the Galleon Group. This initiative was coordinated by the US Marshall Legacy Institute in cooperation with the Embassy of Sri Lanka and the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.

Brigadier Ananda Chandrasiri, Brigade Commander, Engineers Brigade addressing the gathering at the ceremony claimed that both the LTTE and the Security Forces, during the two decades of northeast conflict have laid at least 1.5 millions of anti-personnel mines in the north & east province. “Although the statistics and records relevant to the LTTE minefields are yet to be known, it is assumed that they too have used a considerable number. We have also provided the other organizations involved in de-mining all our minefield records available with us, except those relevant to the existing high Security Zones,” he added.

The US Government is the first donor to work with the Army on this need and her assistance has enabled the Army to meet the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) through the excellent training conducted by the US RONCO Consulting Corporation in the spheres of Mine Action Management, Basic and Advanced Trauma Life Support, and Manual De-mining. Under this programme which commenced in October last year, 40 Officers, 42 Senior Non-Commissioned Officers, 35 Paramedics and 280 Manual De-miners have been trained and equipped to-date, and they are utilized exclusively for humanitarian de-mining operations going on in the North and East. The Army has planned to increase the strength of its de-mining force capacity to 600 de-miners within this year. With the mechanical assets and MDD teams fielded shortly under this programme, the Army de-mining tool box will be made versatile and self-sufficient.

The Army Engineers, pioneers in Sri Lanka's humanitarian de-mining activities started their work way back in March 2001 and have, to their credit, by 15th May 2004, single-handedly cleared an area of 18,957,443 square meters, unearthing in the process 93,085 Antipersonnel Mines (APM), 309 Anti Tank Mines and 5763 Unexploded Ordnance (UXO). These figures indicate that the Army is the major force in the country's de-mining activity and its contribution has far-outweighed the collective contribution of all other non-governmental de-mining agencies.