Army must sustain status quo: Commander

Army Commander Daya Ratnayake said the Sri Lanka Army should sustain the status quo in relation to national security concerns and always be well-geared to take on any future challenge against the country or her people, as the most prominent defender of the nation.

The Commander said this in a statement published in the Army website, in view of the joint military exercise  ‘Cormorant Strike IV - 2013’ to be held in the eastern province, from September 11-23.

Cormorant Strike IV - 2013, with more than 2698 tri-service personnel, together with over 40 foreign military participants and observers from six countries, would be held in the eastern areas in Kadiraweli, Vakarai, Thrikonamadu, Thoppigala, Narakamulla and Batticaloa.

According to Army Headquarters, this mock Field Training Exercise (FTX), organised by the Army for the fourth consecutive year in close cooperation with the Sri Lanka Navy and Air Force was designed for the deployment of their troops in a war milieu of Special Operations and planned for conduct of joint operations as one team, using a manoeuvrist approach, encompassing planning, execution and command. This year’s theme of Cormorant Strike IV - 2013 is based on a hypothetical scenario with ‘blue forces’ against ‘red forces’ on a possible aggression by an external power.

The 15-day-long exercise with the Army Commando (CR) Regiment and Special Forces (SF) Regiment troops, integrated with Navy and Air Force Special Forces, aims to enhance special operation capabilities and maintain combat readiness at all levels.

It also focuses on planning, preparations, formulations, coordination, command, control, Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTP), execution of Special Operations within given frameworks and is organised by the Army Directorate of Training under the close supervision of Major General A.W.J. Crishantha de Silva, Chief of Staff of the Army.

 This year’s exercise includes mock ‘Raids on boat yards’, ‘Taking of High Value Targets’, ‘Reconnaissance’, ‘Surveillance on Targets’, ‘Airborne Operations’, ‘Seaborne Operations’, ‘Amphibious Landing’, ‘Path-Finding Missions’, ‘Para Jump into Enemy Strongholds’, ‘Ambushes’, ‘Search Operations’, ‘Counter Terrorist Actions And Hostage Rescue Mission,’ etc.