14 CBRN Regiment (Chemical Biological Radiology and Nuclear Regiment),

Sri Lanka Engineers The Corp of Sri Lanka Engineers (SLE) is a combat support arm of the Sri Lanka Army which provides military engineering. It is made up of ten regular regiments and one volunteer regiment. Headquartered at Panagoda Cantonment, it is headed by the ...

() is a regiment of the

Sri Lanka Army The Sri Lanka Army (; ) is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. The army was officially established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, though the army traces its roots back in 1881 when Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers was created; ...

that focuses on countering chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (

CBRN Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense (CBRN defense) or Nuclear, biological, and chemical protection (NBC protection) is a class of protective measures taken in situations where chemical, biological, radiological, or nucl ...

) hazards in the country. The

Sri Lanka Navy The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) (; ) is the navy, naval arm of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is classed as the country's most vital defence force due to its island geography. It is responsible for the maritime defence of the Sri Lankan nation and its ...

and

Sri Lanka Air Force The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF; ; ) is the air force, air arm and the youngest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. It was founded in 1951 as the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF) with the assistance of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The SLAF played a major r ...

also maintain CBRN units in addition to the Army's CBRN regiment. The regiment evolved from the first

squadron that Major General Jagath Gunawardena, the current colonel-commandant of Sri Lanka Engineers, established.

History

As the Wanni Humanitarian Operation was gaining momentum against the

LTTE The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam ...

, the Sri Lanka Army embarked on the task of raising additional battalions in support of the operation. In the process, 14 Sri Lanka Engineer Regiment was raised on 15 July 2016 at Thrikonamadu as a reinforcement (RFT) battalion after the completion of battalion training at Infantry Training Centre,

Minneriya Minneriya ( Sinhala: මින්නේරිය) is a small town in Sri Lanka that is famous for two things — the great Minneriya lake built by King Mahasen and Minneriya National Park which is a hot spot for safari lovers because of its abun ...

in June and July 2008. At the inception, 9 officers and 356 other ranks were posted to the unit from other units of the Corps of Engineers and Major S. R. Dias RSP SLE (later Lieutenant Colonel) assumed duties as the first Commanding Officer. On 16 July 2006, the unit was

airlifted An airlift is the organized delivery of supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft. Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material long distan ...

to Wanni and placed under the command of the 571 Brigade in the elite 57 Division. The Battalion Headquarters was located at Periyamadu and the unit strength was increased with the arrival of new recruits. Due to operational requirements, within a very short period of time the unit was assigned to several formations including 571, 572, 574 and 573 Brigades respectively, before being assigned to Task Force 3 in November 2008. In December 2008, the unit was again placed under command of the 573 Brigade before being transferred to 53 Division for a short period. Meanwhile, unit headquarters was shifted to Maankulam. During the period, troops from the unit actively engaged in Small Group Operations alongside the infantry. The initial confrontations provided valuable experience from which the regiment's troops gained confidence, enabling them to contribute to the final success of the operation. In establishing a

regiment Major General Jagath Gunawardena, the current colonel-commandant of Sri Lanka Engineers, played a major role. He established the first CBRN squadron of the Sri Lanka Army, which later became the 14 CBRN Regiment, Sri Lanka Engineers. The regiment also contributed personnel to the Sri Lanka Army Rescue Operations Contingent that responded to the

April 2015 Nepal earthquake The April 2015 Nepal earthquake (also known as the Gorkha earthquake) killed 8,962 people and injured 21,952 across the countries of Nepal, India, China and Bangladesh. It occurred at on Saturday 25 April 2015, with a magnitude of Moment magni ...

Training

The

Sri Lanka School of Military Engineering Sri Lanka School of Military Engineering is located at Embilipitiya, Sri Lanka. Established as the Ceylon School of Military Engineering in 1958 by the Ceylon Army The Sri Lanka Army (; ) is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forc ...

conducts basic and advanced CBRN courses for Army and Navy personnel. Personnel receive local and foreign training from the National Authority for the Implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The regiment provides personnel to support the Basic Training Course on Emergency Response at Chemical Incidents.

Structure

The regiment consists of the following sub-units: * 140 HQ Squadron * 141 Field Squadron * 142 Field Squadron * 143 Field Squadron * 144 Field Squadron

References

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External links

Sri Lanka Army

Sri Lanka Engineers

Role of CBRN Response Squadron, Sri Lanka Army Possible Threats and future challenges -Journal
Sri Lanka Engineers Military units and formations established in 2008 NBC units and formations