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Sri Lanka Army

Defender of the Nation

18th June 2016 19:44:31 Hours

Grand PoP Ceremony at SLMA Commissions 58 More Officer Cadets

Sri Lanka Army's prestigious seat of learning, Diyatalawa Sri Lanka Military Academy (SLMA) on Saturday (18) gifted the Nation with one more group of professionally-qualified officers who are capable of becoming decision-makers in the organization as time advances during a colourful and dignified ceremony, graced by Engineer Karunasena Hettiarachchi, Secretary Defence as the Chief Guest at the invitation of Lieutenant General Crishanthe De Silva, Commander of the Army.

Those 58 Cadet Officers who underwent the SLMA training in Regular Intakes 81A and Lady 14 were awarded their formal commissions by the day’s Chief Guest during the ceremony amid best wishes of their instructors, parents, next of kin and a gathering of well-wishers including senior officers and other invitees.

The Chief Guest was warmly received at the entrance to the SLMA premises by the Commander of the Army, together with Major General R.W.W.A.D.B Rajaguru, Commandant, SLMA before he was ushered to the parade ground where the day’s main spectacle got underway.

A few seconds later, the Chief Guest, together with his host, laid a floral wreath at the SLMA war memorial, situated a few meters away from the venue as the first segment in the day’s agenda and honoured the memory of fallen service patriots in a solemn minute of silence as everybody stood up in reverence.

As patriotic melodies began rendering the air, Eng. Karunasena Hettiarachchi afterwards commenced the ceremonial presentation of ornamental Commissioning Swords to the graduates, symbolic of their formal commissioning in the Sri Lanka Army as the stage was getting ready to receive the colourful salute from those newly graduated officers.

Best Achievers in separate Intakes were also felicitated at the same occasion, awarding special mementos.

Saturday’s ceremony saw 18 Cadet Officers in the Regular Intake 81A, 29 Cadet Officers in the Volunteer Intake 56, 7 Cadet Officers in the Lady Regular Intake 14 and 4 more Cadet Officers in the Lady Volunteer Intake 13 thus received their commissions before they are formally deployed for service across the island as Lieutenants.

In a separate assembly at the SLMA gymnasium, along with the SLMA Commandant soon after the commissioning parade, parents of the new graduates got together and adorned the shoulders of their brave and beloved ones with the insignia of the President’s Commission as one more customary feature in the day’s spectacle.

It was a moment of rejoice, filled with eternal memories for those beloved ones of the new graduates who had hitherto missed them so much during the training.

The customary final presentation of those undergraduates in the previous evening occurred at Colonel Fazly Laphir Memorial auditorium in the presence of the Commander of the Army.

The final presentation of those Cadet Officers centered largely on the theme, "Special Operation Forces in the modern battlefield”.

Typical Guest Night of the new graduates, a tradition in the PoPs at the SLMA were to take place this evening (18) at the Officer Cadets’ Mess with the day's Chief Guest and Lieutenant General Crishanthe De Silva.