About Us

VISION

          To be the nation’s resilient and credible, deterrent force with innovative, versatile, capabilities , capacities, dedicated and ready to proactively respond to all forms of threats to national security.

MISSION

          Be prepared to conduct diversified operations including pre-emptive actions across the full spectrum of conflict while retaining the agility and adaptability through robust sustenance and mission oriented training as the strategic Reserve Strike Force of the Sri Lanka Army in order to deter all forms of threats.

ROLE

          Is to be the Army Commander’s strike force to achieve strategic objectives

TASKS

Primary Tasks

          Be ready for swift pre-emptive response to deter all forms of adversaries and threats to national security by rapid deployment conducting all forms of combat operations upon the direction of the Commander of the Army and:

1. Maintain readiness of the 1 Corps in all ops.
2. Employ Special Operations Forces to execute special operations in order to achieve strategic objectives.
3. Execute Counter Insurgency Operations (COIN Ops) Counter Terrorist Operations (CT Ops) and Counter Violent Extremism Operations (CVE Ops) as directed.
4. Execute Internal Security (IS) duties.
5. Conduct ops to dominate foreshore, inland waterways and territorial waters as directed.
6. Be ready to assume United Nations Peacekeeping Operations.

Secondary tasks

1. To perform diversified tasks assigned by the Commander of the Army in multifaceted operation environments to facilitate Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) actions during emergencies by:
2. Rapidly responding to disaster situations and to assist civil authorities in order to provide humanitarian assistance.
3. Fill capability and capacity gaps in support of military aid to civil authority (MACA).
4. Conducting combat search and rescue operations.
5. Performing any other task assigned by the Commander of the Army.

OBJECTIVES

1. Constant review and develop understanding of the strategic environment in order to identify threats ,challenges and anticipate likely missions.
2. Ascertain risk and uncertainty in the operational environment to reduce vulnerability of the force during all operations.
3. Acquire innovative capabilities and capacities to develop versatility, resilience, relevance and credibility of the force in order to effectively respond to changing nature of the warfare and new trends in the battlefield.
4. Pursue technological advancement, update knowledge and skills to modernize the force to guarantee combat readiness.
5. Mission oriented training shall be the training philosophy.
6. Readiness shall be the driving tenet of the force.
7. Force shall be prepared for traditional and none traditional war fighting.
8. Develop versatile, adaptable and agile special operations forces capabilities and capacities.
9. Develop 1 Corps operations doctrine and field manuals.
10. Develop joint and interoperability operations capabilities.
11. Intelligence led pre-emptive operations.
12. Develop career growth development of officers and Other Ranks to build professionalism and credibility.
13. Transparent, effective and efficient use of budget and resources by forecasting priorities for force modernization.
14. Research and Development based review of the force structure, concepts, tactics, techniques, procedures and technology.

CONCEPT OF THE 1 CORPS

Contemporary security dynamics have necessitated the strengthening and unifying elite forces (Reserve Divisions and Special Operations Forces along with elements of other arms) of the Army to form a formidable reserve to respond current and future threats. The concept of the 1 Corps being a brain child of the Commander of the Army is clearly promulgated as a guidance in Sri Lanka Army Way Forward Strategy 2020-2025 as indicated below:

“…Sri Lanka Army shall organise, equip, train and maintain a highly adaptable reserve force ready to undertake contingency tasks as a force of deterrence for the defence of the nation. The force will be aptly grouped with combat, combat support and combat service support elements to conduct combined and joint operations. As a secondary role, the force shall also be organised to assist during regional or global disaster situations”

- SLAWFS, Chapter 5 -