First Group of Army-produced Women De-miners Ready to Accept Overseas Responsibilities

Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage, Commander of the Army adding a special chapter to the reputed de-mining assignments of the Army this morning (8) awarded Certificates of Proficiency to the first group of 54 Army-trained women de-miners, who followed an internationally-acclaimed Humanitarian De-mining Course of high standards after inviting them to the Army Headquarters.

During the awarding ceremony, the occasion's Chief Guest, Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage, impressed with the training of those 3 lady officers and 51 women soldiers, mentioned that their exceptional skills in this field of expertise would benefit the nation, congratulated them, and commended them for their sustained courage for completion of those Humanitarian De-mining Courses as per time frames, set by the office of the Chief Field Engineer of the Army.

The 1st Course for women soldiers covering more than six months commenced at the Engineers' Brigade Headquarters in Boo Oya on 30 December 2021 and 2nd course commenced on 6 June 2022 at the 10 Field Engineers HQ in Mailaddy, Jaffna comprised of field operations, under the close supervision of the Chief Field Engineer, Major General MK Jayawardena RSP USP ndu.

The Army Chief on arrival at the venue was welcomed by Major General WMGCSB Wijayasundara RSP USP ndu, Commander, Security Forces - Jaffna and the Chief Field Engineer, Major General MK Jayawardena RSP USP ndu. After the lighting of the traditional oil lamp, a short video clip that showcased the progress of humanitarian de-mining work, training sessions, recoveries, and ongoing humanitarian de-mining projects, etc, was screened.

This first group of women de-miners in two teams is expected to be assigned to humanitarian demining effort of Sri Lanka. With this experience, they could gain the potential to be employed in demining assignments under UN Peacekeeping Missions. The Commander of the Army gave away the first set of certificates to those female de-miners during the ceremony. The Director General General Staff, Major General SUMN Manage WWV RWP RSP psc and Commander, Security Forces - Jaffna and Colonel Commandant of Sri Lanka Engineers, Major General WMGCSB Wijayasundara RSP USP ndu respectively joined the award of certificates to the group. A woman de-miner raised the vote of thanks towards the end of the ceremony.