Sri Lanka Signals Corps

Sri Lanka Signals Corps
ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංඥා බලකාය
Crest (top) and entrance to the Signals Corps HQ (bottom)
Active	19 October 1943 - Present
Country	Sri Lanka
Branch	Sri Lanka Army
Type	Signal corps
Role	Military communications Electronic warfare Information technology support
Size	1 signal brigade 9 regular regiments 1 volunteer regiment
Regimental Headquarters	Panagoda Cantonment, Homagama
Nickname(s)	SLSC
Motto(s)	ස්ථීර ක්‍ෂණික Sthira Kshanika (Sinhala: Swift and Sure)
Colors
March	Begone Dull Care
Anniversaries	19 October
Engagements	Sri Lankan Civil War United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti Insurrection 1987-89 1971 Insurrection World War II
Website	army.lk/signaller
Commanders
Centre Commandant	Brigadier P.A.J. Peiris
Regimental Sergeant Major	Warrant officer M.G.N. Amarasiri
Colonel of the Regiment	Major general B H M A Wijesinghe USP ndu psc
Notable commanders	Lieutenant colonel D.V. Brohier (First Commanding Officer) Major general W.J.T.K. Fernando Major general C.J. Abayaratne Major general A.M.C.W.B. Senewiratne Major general Y.S.A. de Silva Major general T.F. Meedin
Insignia
Flag

The Sri Lanka Signals Corps (SLSC) (Sinhalese: ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංඥා බලකාය Shri Lanka Sana Balakaya) is a combat support corps of the Sri Lanka Army,^[1] responsible for providing military communications, information technology and electronic warfare support. The corps is made up of a signals brigade, nine regular regiments and one volunteer (reserve) regiment. It is responsible for installing, maintaining and operating all types of telecommunications equipment and information systems. It is headquartered at the Panagoda Cantonment.

The Colonel Commandant of the SL Signals is Major General B H M A Wijesinghe USP ndu psc, who is also the Chief Signal Officer of the Sri Lanka Army. Brigadier M.T. Waidyaratne is Commander Signals Brigade, operationally in charge of all units and sub-units in the field.

The flag and cap badge feature Mercury, the winged messenger of the gods, who is referred to by members of the corps as "Jimmy".

History

Established on October 19, 1943 as a part of the Ceylon Defence Force ^[2] it was reformed as a troop of signals February 9, 1950 following the formation of the Ceylon Army in 1949. The initial task of this troop was to provide communications between Army HQ and its branches. In 1949, the Volunteer Signals unit was commanded by Lt Col CR De Silva. By the end of 1950 this troop had 1 Officer and 17 other ranks and their tasks included establishing a signals office at Army HQ, provision of a signal dispatch service, manning a switch board and the construction and maintenance of underground as well as field cables. In May 1951 another Signals Office was established in Diyatalawa to serve the Garrison HQ which was just formed at that time. By October 1, 1951 the troop was raised to a squadron with a strength of 4 Officers and 142 other ranks.

In 1951 formal approval was granted to wear the Royal Signals badges with the additional scroll "CEYLON" on it and to adopt the Royal Signals march Begone Dull Care as the regimental march of the Ceylon Signals Corps and in 1959 the 1st Regiment of the Ceylon Signals was formed with Lt Col DV Brohier was appointed as its first Commanding Officer. In 1962 following the attempted military coup the 2nd volunteer signal regiment was disbanded and its remaining personnel transferred to form the National Service Regiment (NSR).

In 1972 with Sri Lanka proclaiming itself a republic, the Corps was renamed as the Sri Lanka Signals Corps. In 1980 a new Volunteer squadron was raised. The Corps has expanded to a level of a Signals Brigade with integral signals units under HQ Chief Signal Officer at the highest level of command in performing the classic role. The Signals Corps provides support to the combat and support arms by providing communications, electronic warfare and information technology support in the battle field and at the rear. All these signal units and sub-units administratively come under the aegis of the Regimental Centre located at Army Cantonment, Panagoda.

Organization

The Corps also runs a School of Signals^[3] in Kandy, established on 15 July 1991. The School is currently under the command of Colonel I H M R K Herath USP psc, with Lieutenant colonel R.C. Wijekoon serving as Chief Instructor. The Sri Lanka Army established a Directorate of Information Technology under the Signal Corps on 1 March 2010; its current Director is Brigadier K.M.R.P. Karunathilaka.

Past command staff

Notable members

• Lieutenant Colonel DV Brohier - First Commanding Officer, Ceylon Signals Corps
• Lieutenant Colonel Basil R. Jesudasan - former Commanding Officer, 2nd Volunteer Signals, Ceylon Signals Corps & accused conspirator in the 1962 coup d'état attempt
• Major General Piyal Abeysekera (also known as E.P. de Z. Abeysekera) USP, MSc - former Deputy Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army
• Lieutenant Colonel Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, RWP, RSP- former Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Public Security, Law & Order
• Major General W.J.T.K. Fernando psc - former CO, 1SLSC
• Major General C.J. Abayaratna VSV, USP - 1st Colonel Commandant, SLSC, former Signals Brigade Commander & former CO, 1SLSC
• Major General A.M.C.W.B. Senewiratne VSV, USP, psc - 4th Colonel Commandant, SLSC & former CO, 3 SLSC
• Major General Y.S.A. de Silva USP - 5th Colonel Commandant, SLSC, former Sig Brigade Commander & former CO 4 SLSC
• Major General Tuan Fadyl Meedin RSP - 6th Colonel Commandant, SLSC, former Chief Signals Officer (CSO), Chief Innovations Officer (CIO), Signal Brigade Commander, Chief Controller- Centre for Research & Development (MOD), Centre Commandant & former CO- 1 SLSC

Alliances

•  United Kingdom - Royal Corps of Signals

Order of precedence

Abbreviation

• CSO - Chief Signal Officer
• PWV ^[4]- Parama Weera Vibhushanaya
• WV - Weerodara Vibhushanaya
• WWV - Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya
• RWP - Rana Wickrama Padakkama
• RSP - Rana Sura Padakkama
• VSV - Vishista Sewa Vibhushanaya
• USP -Utthama Sewa Padakkama
• psc - passed staff college
• ndu - national defense university
• IT - Information Technology
• CS - Cyber Security
• CT - Communication Technology

References

External links

• Sri Lanka Army
• Sri Lanka Signals Corps