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| Sunday, 16 November 2003 |
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Infantry Operation Course inspires bravery by ANTON NONIS Ninety-one soldiers and four officers who completed the Special Infantry Operation Course (SIOC) had their passing out ceremony at the Palali Air force base in Jaffna last week. They were the first batch of soldiers to be trained under the SIOC, a new training programme introduced by the Army for soldiers of the Infantry batallion. The first such course to be incorporated in the Army training programme, the SIOC, will enable the soldiers to face the enemy with greater courage.Originally it was confined only to infantry soldiers serving in the North, but now it has been extended to those in the Eastern and Vanni areas as well. The course will include many new aspects on training in contrast to those used under the standard conventional methods practised so far in the Army. Jaffna Security Forces Commander, Maj. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, who introduced the two-and-a-half-month long SOIC, told the `Sunday Observer' that the new course would inspire bravery among soldiers to face dangerous situations. Fonseka said the training rendered was tough and demanding and the course was essentially prepared to promote and enhance the psychological capacity and physical talents of the candidates among other accrued benefits. Only those men who could really withstand strenuous exercises in the Infantry Battalion were selected for training.Another three batches of soldiers are being trained at present, while the second batch is due to complete the course on December 5. It has been arranged to make the SIOC an ongoing process, with a new batch being enroled for training every month. According to Fonseka, SIOCs in Jaffna will be conducted till December, 2004. A special infantry cadre of about 3000 soldiers and 100 officers will emerge in the North by that time. |
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