KAMALIKA  PIERIS

Eelam War IV was won due to the dedication of those who participated in it. The commanders of the armed forces were confident of victory and, for the first time, the forces experienced a firm political commitment to win. Their morale went up  and they fought with great dedication.  Unlike in previous years, there were no large scale desertions and disobeying of orders.

Gotabhaya Rajapakse said, the soldiers realised their responsibility to the nation and fought without complaint. They fought day and night, under continuous fire.  They did not ask for anything extra as a reward for their sacrifices.  They knew their country depended on them.  Their perseverance and sense of national duty won us the war”.   This came at a price. 6000 troops died, 5000 were disabled and 20,000 were injured. Some soldiers are shell shocked and out of their minds. 

There were numerous acts of heroism which the public do not know. A monk who worked with injured soldiers said that soldiers, even when disabled declared that they wished to return to the front. They were ready to sacrifice their lives in the final battle. There was a high standard of discipline. There was not a single instance where the army was found wanting in its conduct towards women. Soldiers have never been accused of rape. The LTTE had raped many of its women. (Stephen Long.  Island 5.10.09 p 4).

Troops suffered untold hardships in the battlefield. There was thirst and exhaustion. The Malaysian army faced insurgents armed only with rifles.  The Sri Lanka soldier faced an enemy equipped with sophisticated weapons. Army got its new ammunition only in 2008,   even then they never had all the ammunition necessary. Soldiers fought in heavily mined territory and .many lost their limbs.  There were no mine plucking machines   and the engineers had to de-mine the area.working ‘blind’, while LTTE fired at them.  Touching slowly with their hands, they detonated the mines using   S-Lon tubes.   This was done under fire almost every day.  Many engineers sustained injuries, most lost eyes, arms and legs.

Air Force declared that it had been stretched to the limit  and   that what it had had achieved with available resources was tremendous. The Indian Air Chief had admired the way they had used its limited resources.    The Air Force fought the war by itself. Pakistani pilots were not involved. Pilots performed under trying conditions. They carried out 1000 missions in the Vanni, amidst civilians. They had to airlift 500 army personnel using helicopters meant for 30 persons.

They underwent much hardship. When they were short of pilots, available pilots went up 3 and 4 times a day. ‘This is very tiring for a pilot.’ Surveillance pilots risked safety to obtain real time imagery. They burnt the midnight oil peering into the screen to catch enemy moves on the grounds.  They were on surveillance for 6-7 hours at a stretch. Pilots bravely  went as low as 7000 feet to attack targets. Around 38 pilots and 430 other officers and rankers died, around 350 were wounded.

The engineers and technicians also responded magnificently.They forgot about 24 hours notice. In an emergency, the time available for the technician was counted in seconds.  Aircraft were returned to the flight lines in record time. If a plane was to fly at 6 am the technicians started loading bombs around midnight. For each jet they had to load eight bombs each weighing 500 kg. Technicians worked round the clock to patch up damaged aircraft.  They sometimes worked continuously for 3-4 days. They innovated when spare parts were delayed. Battle damage and unserviceability did not deter them. They once took a badly damaged helicopter which was going to be destroyed and repaired it within a few hours. They coaxed tired engines back into fighting mode. They took a life expired engine, stripped it, and put it together again.

The electronics specialists kept the electronic systems going despite logistical and maintenance problems.

The navy also showed considerable dedication.  During the final blockade off Mullaitivu, Navy staff did not want to go on leave till they had finished off the LTTE.  The sailors had to stay in great discomfort on the seas, in small boats filled with equipment, with hardly any room to move. They had to swim to get there and stay in their wet clothes all night. They endured all this discomfort willingly.  

Military personnel injured in the war were treated at the government hospitals of Colombo, Anuradhapura, Sri Jayawardenapura, Kalubowila and Kandy. Anuradhapura teaching hospital had the biggest load. Anuradhapura staff nursed thousands of injured soldiers with great dedication. The army gave them a special upahara award. Anuradhapura sent its difficult surgical cases to Kandy.  They were looked after by the Kandy hospital staff with no additional assistance. Routine operations were cancelled   and surgeons worked round the clock.   All worked willingly, no one grumbled, though their security was also under threat. The minor staff had their leave cancelled but did not complain. The injuries were gruesome  and required complicated surgery. In the orthopedic wards,   no one had to have a higher amputation, no one died and there were no serious infections in spite of the severely contaminated wounds. At times there were over 100 seriously injured soldiers. Five beds in each ward were set aside for them and none of them were ever put on the ground.

The dedication of the Home Guards, now known as Civil Defence Force should not be forgotten.  This   was a force made up   of youngsters from remote areas, who were given a single barrel shot gun and asked to provide security for their villages, which had become soft targets for the LTTE. Though poorly armed and outmanned the home guards refused to budge and paid with their lives while trying to protect others from the LTTE .615 home guards both male and females were been killed. ( CONTINUED)