Sri Lankan Army must be 'more professional'

By Nirupama Subramanian

COLOMBO, AUG 25 Sri Lanka's new Army commander, Lt. Gen. Balagalle, today said he expected commitment and professionalism from his officers so that they could work as a ``team'' to meet the challenge of preserving the country's territorial integrity.

Gen. Balagalle, who has taken charge of the Army at a difficult time for the country's security forces, said efforts were on to improve preparedness, through the purchase of modern equipment and attention to the welfare of soldiers.

``In return, I expect the Army to continue to improve their professionalism. I expect the junior and senior officers to carry out responsibilities entrusted to them with commitment and professionalism. I expect everyone to maintain unity and co- operation, so we all work as a team,'' he said in an address to the ranks on his first day in office.

The new commander also stressed the need to improve discipline among men and their loyalty to senior officers and the Army. As post-mortems of military debacles over the last one year have shown, these are issues of real concern for the Sri Lankan Army.

Gen. Balagalle took over yesterday from Lt. Gen. Srilal Weerasooriya.

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Section  : International
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