Promotion for a record 14, 617 military personnel

• Promotions given to mark national War Heroes’ Day 

A record number of 14,617 promotions for military personnel have been approved to mark the National War Heroes’ Day tomorrow, the Army said in a statement yesterday.

The commemoration of the end of the conflict has been scheduled at the National War Heroes’ Monument at Battaramulla, Sri Jayawar-denepura Kotte, and will be presided over by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The promotions will also be awarded at the ceremony. 

“The driving force behind the project, Army Commander Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva, said that granting of the long-awaited promotions was to recognise the selfless service of the military personnel during natural disasters, terrorist threats, global epidemics, and whenever Sri Lanka’s territorial integrity is under threat,” the statement added. 

The promotions are effective from 18 May to coincide with the National War Heroes’ Day, a project that would also go into history as the biggest-ever set of promotions granted in one day. 

Earlier 7,210 other military personnel, including 210 Officers were elevated to their next rank to mark the 70th Army Anniversary day on 10 October 2019, too on an initiative taken by the Commander of the Army. The Commander of the Army is pleased to extend his best wishes to all personnel serving across the country, the statement added.