Army
Sri Lanka has a proud and glorious military tradition that spans through both unwritten and written history. The epic poem Ramayana records the titanic battles between the King of Lanka – Ravana and the Indian Rama during the pre-historic period of the island, the struggle ending with the betrayal of Ravana. With the beginning of recorded history in 500 BC numerous chronicles record the martial tradition of the ancient Sinhalese against countless invasions from South India and the heroic struggle against the Portuguese, Dutch and English. Sri Lankans are proud that the last Sinhalese kingdom of Kandy held out against numerous military assaults by the might of the British Empire – eventually becoming part of it only through treaty.
After 1815 up to 1910 numerous units of local troops were raised by the British colonial forces and in 1910 all of these were brought under the common name Ceylon Defense Force (CDF). The officers and men of the CDF served the British war effort in WW I and WW II and after independence from Britain in 1948 the old units formed the nucleus of the modern Army. The modern Sri Lanka Army came in to existence with the passing of the Army Act No 17 of 1949 though at the time it was called the Royal Ceylon Army. With the new republican constitution of 1972 however this force was renamed the Sri Lanka Army.
Over the last 30 years or so the Sri Lanka Army has evolved from a largely ceremonial force to one of the best trained, equipped, experienced and disciplined military forces in the region. The Sri Lanka Army of today is a balanced force of infantry. Armor, artillery and Special Forces regiments upwards of 150,000 men and women. The greater part of military equipment originates from Russian and Chinese sources, though certain specialist equipment has its origins from the western bloc.
The Sri Lanka Army has in over 30 years of almost continuous conflict with separatist terrorism developed its own unique operational doctrine which has proved its mettle in the recent string of military successes against this terror group.
The Sri Lanka Army has also over the years achieved a remarkably high level of discipline among its personnel and this fact has proved a powerful tool in winning the ‘hearts and minds’ of civilians in the war against terror. This same discipline and commitment has allowed contingents of the Army to successful carry out peace keeping operations under UN mandate in different parts of the world while winning acclaim for impartiality and professionalism.
At the beginning of the new millennium the Army looks to a bright and eventful future in fulfilling its duty to defend the national interests of Sri Lanka.
