The major international military competition of this summer in Russia for the international teams showing their skills and tactics in different military exercises is finally over. As the grand fireworks display after the Closing Ceremony of the Army Games-2019 flashed in the night sky above Patriot Park following the uniquely choreographed LED light display performed by precision drones, the pleasant memories of these 14 days, full of hard work, determination, disappointments, triumph and most importantly building comraderies', settled in the hearts and minds of all participants and guests of this grand competition.
This year, during the fifth anniversary of the International Army Games-2019, 29 personnel from the Sri Lanka Army took part in this "military Olympics" for the first time. The former Sri Lanka Army Commander, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake attended the Opening ceremony on the invitation of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation while providing great motivation to the Sri Lanka delegation headed up by Major General M.K.D. Perera, who was the Chief referee on behalf of the country. The pioneering teams from Sri Lanka took part in three categories, namely the "Snipers' Frontier," "Field Kitchen," and "Airborne Platoon" competitions. The Sri Lankans managed to win the hearts and minds of the organizers of the Games. The way to successful completion of the tasks for each team was hard and difficult, as the military service is, but the Sri Lanka Armed Forces personnel stood up to the challenge and finished their competitions with honour and dignity, despite the novelty of the rules and tactics, adopting to the new conditions and equipment while gaining the unwritten and often untold experiences for better performance in the games in the future.
The Snipers' team, which participated in the competition hosted by the Republic of Belarus in the town of Brest (where the fiercest fights took place during the WWII), headed up by Lieutenant Colonel K.T.P. de Silva, was highly praised by the organizers for their professionalism and military discipline as well as their adaptability to new challenges. The airborne team, led by Lieutenant Colonel W.B.M.K.G.K. Weerasekara, placed second in their individual landing accuracy segment of the competition. The Field kitchen team, headed up by Lieutenant Colonel G.T.C. Madurawala, was able to compete head to head in the cooking and baking contests with other more seasoned teams, showing some good results, but was edged out of contention of a podium finish by losing some precious points in the marksmanship stage due to their unfamiliarity with the equipment.
The Army Games-2019 had the representation of the SL Army cultural team as well. Corporals Ranga Kumara EA, Beligala BG, and Rajapriya SKD were adjudged the first place for the best performance of a choreographic item in the creativity competition held in the framework of the Army Games, according to the official notification by the organizers.
Following all the formalities of the grand Closing ceremony, which was attended by SL Army delegations who took part in the games in the Russian Federation and representatives of the Sri Lanka Embassy in Russia headed by Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Russia, all members of the Sri Lanka delegation were highly praised by the organizers for their professionalism, adaptability as well as perseverance in the face of unfamiliar challenges.
