“The more you reach higher in the ladder; the more you are expected to act responsibly” he also said.
Gen. Gunaratne expressed these remarks while gracing a vibrant Commissioning Ceremony of the Navy’s Midshipmen, as the Chief Guest, held at the prestigious ‘Naval and Maritime Academy’ (NMA) in Trincomalee. Chairperson of the MOD Seva vanitha unit Mrs. Chithrani Gunaratne was also present at the occasion.
Further addressing the new young officers he went on saying “Navy will always trust you with its assets at your hands and you must ensure the proper utilisation of those to attain desired aims while preserving the same for the long run”.
Gen. Gunaratne was received by the Navy Chief Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne and the Commandant of the NMA Commodore Damian Fernando, upon his arrival at the Navy’s highest seat of training and education situated at the vicinity of enticing port city of Trincomalee.
Afterwards, the Chief Guest was accorded a ceremonial Guard of Honour in keeping with the long held naval traditions. The glamorous turn out of the night passing out parade saw the commissioning of 36 Midshipmen.
The dignified ceremony held in keeping with time honoured naval traditions saw another batch of dynamic naval officers being commissioned and pass out at the NMA main parade ground, amidst cheers of their parents and a galaxy of distinguished guests.
The batch of commissioned officers is comprised of 11 midshipmen of the 35th (Technical) Intake and 25 midshipmen of the 36th Intake of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU).
The climax of the day’s events began with the presentation of special awards by the Defence Secretary in recognition of outstanding performances of the Midshipmen.
Accordingly, Midshipman HASV Hapuarachchi was adjudged the best Technical Officer of the 35th Intake of the KDU.
Meanwhile, Midshipman IS Weerasinghe of the 36th Intake of KDU won the Sword of Honour, having been adjudged the Best Midshipman, and the award for the Best Sportsman as well.
Midshipman SN Abeywarna secured two awards for achieving the highest aggregate in both professional and overall subjects. The award for the Best Marksman of the Intake was won by Midshipman RPPS Rajapaksha.
Customarily, Midshipmen are elevated to the commissioned rank of Acting Sub Lieutenant with pride, following the successful completion of their military training, and commissioning swords are given in a colourful ceremony by a distinguished nominee of the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, who is also the Head of State.
Further speaking to navy’s new leaders he stressed “Your loyalty towards the nation is never to be questioned and it is mandatory that you respect the rules and regulations which you are bound to obey in addition to the civil law; in your case, the Navy Act”.
On the same note recalling the Navy’s contribution during this three-decade long conflict against ruthless terrorism, which is commendable, he emphasised to the newly commissioned officers to uphold the excellence of their predecessors, the same or even a higher extent of devotion is expected from them to ensure the security and sovereignty of the nation and to skirmish the non-traditional challenges faced by the country in the Indian Ocean Region, such as people smuggling, drug peddling, other transnational crimes and also many other threats such as natural disasters.
Religious dignitaries including Ven. Maha Sanga, Senior State Officials of the Eastern Province, Navy’s Chief of Staff, Commander of the Eastern Naval Area, Defence Advisors and Attachés of friendly foreign countries, senior military and Police officers, distinguished invitees and relatives of the passing out officers were also present to witness the glamorous night Passing Out ceremony.
