An essential requirement arose to upgrade and streamline the administration and the rehabilitation of the Sinha Regiment’s personnel who had received injuries on and off the battle field. To meet this requirement the Regiment formed its first Support Company in 1993of which one task was tohandle the administration matters of such personnel.
With the escalation of the war, the number of persons needing such assistance increased thereby creating the need for a much more efficient system of handling issuesrelated to such personnel. This led to the forming of an independent battalion in all Regiments of the Army which were tasked to be responsible for handling all administration as well as welfare matters of those killed and/or injured and needing rehabilitation. The Battalion so formed was named as the Headquarter Battalion (HQ Bn) and is made up of the Confinement Company, Documentary Company, Command and Admin Company.
Accordingly, the Headquarter Battalion of the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment was formed as an independent battalion on 25th November 1999.
At the time of forming of the HQ Bn, it consisted of 21 officers and 744 other rankers; all who had received injuries both in and away from the battle field. As an administrative requirement, the names of those men killed in action (KIA) and those listed as missing in action (MIA) were also listed under the Battalion's strength. At the time of forming of the Battalion the number of officers both KIA and MIA stood as 50 while the number of other rankers (both KIA and MIA) was 1490.
As at present the Headquarter Battalion has under its command a total of 25 officers and 1279 other rankers. Also, it has in its posted strength 143 officers & 3719 other rankers; all KIA, and 18 officers & 656 other rankers who have died due to non-battle reasons.
The organization structure of the Headquarter Battalion differs from other infantry battalions in a way that it specializes in the administration and rehabilitation of the wounded and those KIA/MIA. Hence, it's made up of the Casualty Holding Company, Documentary Company and the Command & Admin Company.
The Battalion works closely with the Sinha SevaVanitha Unit in providing assistance to the Battalion's personnel and their families.
