Mind-Blowing Mess Building for Senior NCOs of Special Forces Provides Brand Identity to the Organization

Senior Non-Commissioned Officers (SNCOs), the backbone of the armed forces who are largely entrusted the task of enforcing discipline, managing routine administration, and socializing all recruits under them. The SNCOs attached to the Special Forces (SF) Regiment at Regimental Centre at Naula, were gifted an awe-inspiring and mind-blowing Mess Building which could serve as a brand identity and a model to the whole of the Army in future, thanks to the generosity, fully extended by the Colonel of the Regiment, Special Forces, General Shavendra Silva On Sunday (5).

The seeds for erection of this striking architectural design were sown nearly two years ago with the objective of facilitating the SNCOs in a state-of-the art Dining Hall (Mess) where the fascinating environment could inevitably elevate professional standards, social life styles, dining etiquette, dress regulations and table manners in particular as they would be role models for Other Ranks under them. The SF Regimental Centre, still progressing with its infrastructure development attached greater importance to this need of the SNCOs during SF Council Meetings, chaired by General Shavendra Silva, Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army and the senior most SF Officers, like Major General Harendra Ranasinghe, Major General Senarath Yapa, et al.

Original designs were slightly altered and instead, its architecture was more focused on its interior space as well as how its associated areas, like TV watching area, bar, kitchen and sanitary facilities could be accommodated to match with world-class weird and impressive designs that could inculcate a new sense of vitality and belongingness among the users of this masterpiece of non-traditional architecture. " Do a quality job which others would also admire and follow" was the encouraging remark and piece of advice that was told by Colonel of the Regiment, SF while attending the corner-stone laying, just a few months after General Shavendra Silva was appointed the Commander of the Army and Colonel of the Regiment, SF.

The space inside the main hall carries the photos of successive Regimental Sergeant Majors of the SF Regiment as a tribute and recognition since its founding as well as notices that remind them of their other exclusive rules and regulations, specific only to these warriors in the Army who are greatly admired by many.

With the blessings of General Shavendra Silva and members of the Regimental Council, SF Regiment HQ's Centre Commandant, Brigadier Nissanka Eriyagama took the cue from there, mobilized troops of the Corps of Engineer Service and SF soldiers and began the construction in earnest. The new Mess Building, just opened on Sunday (5) at SF Regimental Centre can easily facilitate 300 SNCOs for dining needs or otherwise and its socializing features inside bring soothing and revitalizing flavour, quite different from stereotype mess buildings elsewhere.

The Army funds enabled the SF to provide a decent Mess facility of unique standards in this way as a tribute to the hard work of those elite SF troops.