Army pledges to improve professionalism in 2016

Welcoming the New Year, the Sri Lanka army continued its pledge to protect the country and improve its discipline and competency to promote the nation’s development in 2016. 

“Everyone in the Army should remember that our prime responsibility is to safeguard the territorial integrity and the unitary status of the country while extending our best cooperation towards the nation-building, spearheaded by the President as our Commander-in-Chief. The Army should always be prepared to face any challenge when it matters to the defence of the country,” said Army Commander Lieutenant General Crishanthe De Silva during his first working day address.      

He further reminded that all should bear in mind that discipline is the most vital and central component in the Army and should always be given the first priority. “I expect everyone to work towards minimising the number of lapses on the part of our discipline in the New Year. Ours is an organisation based on discipline - nothing but discipline,” he noted emphatically.   

The Army Commander went on to point out the Sri Lankan soldiers are admired the world over for their display of humanity, discipline, professionalism and integrity. “These attributes of high standard and qualitative training will without a doubt enable them to be effective when they embark on UN Peacekeeping Missions.” With the aim of strengthening and elevating the standards of the Army to the international level, the year 2016 has been named as “The Year of Training and Information Technology.”

A plan to affiliate the Army training school with local universities has been scheduled to further improve the standard and quality of training programmes in the year 2016.  Such affiliation is expected to expose Officers and men of the Sri Lanka Army to a broader scope in the fields of training and education, which are essential for a professional army.

“In the present day context, the Sri Lanka Army requires trained and ready units with agile and capable professionals and leaders to meet the anticipated challenges. The Sri Lanka Army also needs to maintain an effective administrative apparatus with qualified, competent and highly professional Officers and men. Therefore, it is critical to decisively and comprehensively implement a new programme to improve their professionalism further,” the army commander added.  

With this in mind, measures will be taken to develop the personnel knowledge and skills in order that Officers can be best employed in the future. New international and local training programs will be introduced to training institutions, whilst training units are being modernised and infused with modern technology, the Commander went on to say. Observance of a two-minute silence honoured the memory of all those who made the supreme sacrifice for the sake of the country as the clock struck 9.15 a.m.

The formal State Service Allegiance Pledge that reminds state officials’ unfailing duty to serve the public and the State under One country, One nation and One flag was then read out by Director, Personnel Administration Brigadier A. L. S. K. Perera as is the practice in all island-wide state institutions on the first working day of the New Year.