Army to start profit making ventures : Outgoing Commander tells how wartime force is being turned into a peacetime force

TUESDAY, 23 JULY 2013 

Outgoing Army Commander General Jagath Jayasuriya who will be the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) spoke to Daily Mirror on a wide range of key untapped  developments already underway and responded to a number of allegations levelled against the Army. The second longest serving Army Commander in the country pointed out that no one could criticise the role played by the troops.

By  Supun Dias

Q:What was your role during the war?
Overall we had to coordinate with our main units involved in the war. We adopted small group operations, so there was no need to do a lot of planning. Main detail operations were done by the Divisions and the Task Forces.
They launch from a particular axis and manoeuvres. So controlling on a daily basis was done with proper coordination. Under me were all the divisional commands. So I had the 57 Division led by Major General Jagath Dias, 58 Division led by Major General Shavendra Silva and 59 Division led by Major General Nandana Udawatta. They were the divisions which fought the enemy most of the time along with Task Force 2, 3 and 4.
There were commanders at various stages. But the important part was maintaining essential services and looking after the people who were coming out from LTTE controlled areas and from areas we regained. The main issue was planning for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s).                            Read more..