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Sri Lanka Army Womens Corps

The powerful Mind is the strongest weapon

History of 1 SLAWC

On 09.11.1984, the Headquarters of SLAWC was stationed at No.30, Kinsey Road, Borella.

On 14.12.1984 the 5th batch of female recruits were taken in and were trained at the Boossa camp and were given training on using light machine guns as well. They were the 1st batch of recruits to obtain weapon training.

On 12.05.1987, the 4th batch of Lady Officer Cadets comprising 5 cadets were recruited. They were trained at the Sri Lanka Military Academy, Diyatalawa. They were:-

1. Second Lieutenant LL Bandaranayake 2. Second Lieutenant ANSPK Aththanayake 3. Second Lieutenant C Kurakulasooriya 4. Second Lieutenant KD Kumarage 5. Second Lieutenant KAG Jayathilake

On 29th April 1989, the quarters for nurses were opened at the Army Headquarters. This has eased the burden of accommodation at the soldier’s barracks at Borella. The soldiers who worked at the Army Headquarters and the nurses were accommodated in the new barracks.

1 Lady Officer, 3 nurses and 4 other female soldiers participated at the Vadamarachchi operation which lasted from 27.05.1987 to 11.06.1988. This was the 1st time that the SLAWC participated in combat operations.

As there was no proper accommodation for Officers, a quarters for Officers was opened at the SLAWC Headquarters at Borella,

As there was no residence for the Warrant Officers and Sergeants, a Warrant Officer’s, Mess was opened at SLAWC Headquarters, Borella in May 1988.

In 1988, a batch of 11 female soldiers participated in the Physical Training Instructors Course for the 1st time, at the Army Physical Training Centre.

On 23.06.1989 the 5th batch of Lady Officer Cadets were recruited. They were; Officer Cadet A RS Silva, Lady Officer Cadet ML Wijesekara, Officer Cadet KJ Gamlath and Officer Cadet KAKM Amarasinghe.

The 10th Anniversary of the unit was held under the patronage of Lieutenant Colonel JL Lowson, who inspected the Guard of Honour at the Army play ground.

A significant event was the awarding of colours by Lieutenant Colonel JL Lowson to women soldiers who have excelled in sports.

For the 1st time, the following Non Commissioned Officers Corporal Samawickrama GHNK, Corporal Pushpakumari SL, Corporal Liyanage SM and Lance Corporal Dissanayake DM participated in the Drill Instructors course conducted by the Sri Lanka Military Acadamy at Diyatalawa.

The 6th batch of Lady Officer Cadets was enlisted on 25th March 1991. They were Lady Officer Cadet KD Sooriyapperuma, Lady Officer Cadet FP Subramaniyam, Lady Officer Cadet TSK Mapalana, Lady Officer Cadet MDK Perera, Lady Officer Cadet GGC Ganehela and Lady Officer Cadet DD Liyanage.

On 19.04.1991, the 13th batch of 136 female recruits was taken in. These recruits were given training on clerical duties, computer data entry operation and other vocational training. They received the basic training at the Boossa camp.

On 10.07.1991, Warrant Officer HK Sumithra was appointed as the first Regimental Sargeant Major of the SLAWC.

On 06.02.1993, Major KC Weerasekera was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. She was the 1st Officer to hold the rank of Lieutenat Colonal in the Women’s Corps and was the 1st female Commanding Officer of 1 Women’s Corps.