A record promotion for 14,617 Other Rankers of the Army, a gesture that would go down in the annals of Army history as hitherto unprecedented and unheard, would occur on National War Heroes’ Day (19 May), the Sri Lanka Army said.
This would take place concurrent with the pinnacle of the day’s state commemoration, scheduled at National War Heroes’ Monument at Battaramulla, Sri Jayawardenepura, headed by the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Tuesday (19).
“The driving-force behind the project, Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army who was keen on turning those long overdue and stagnant promotions of five-digit number of Army Other Ranks, finally to a reality, maintains that granting of long-awaited but inspiring promotions, would inevitably serve a motivating fillip to their untiring, dedicated and life-threatening ongoing national services, and amounts to recognition of their selfless and numerous commitments in times of natural disasters, terrorist threats, global epidemics, and also whenever Sri Lanka’s territorial integrity and unitary state is under threat,” the army said.
Accordingly, Lieutenant General Shavindra Silva who initiated the move on the guidelines of the Army Directorate of Personnel Administration (DPA), led by Brigadier Sisira Pilapitiya, Director, DPA on the guidelines given by the Adjutant General of the Army has elevated those Other Ranks in all Army Regiments to their next rank, effective from 18th May 2020 to coincide with the National War Heroes’ Day, a project that would also go into this Directorate’s history as the biggest ever share of promotions, hitherto granted at one given point on a single day.
It is also pertinent to recall here that a staggering four-digit number of 7210 more All Ranks, including 210 Officers were elevated to their next rank on account of the 70th Army Anniversary day (10 October) last year, too on an initiative taken by the Commander of the Army.
The Commander of the Army at this milestone juncture is pleased to extend his best wishes to all of them serving across the country, the statement said.
