KAMALIKA PIERIS

 In 2005,  When Karannagoda became Commander of the navy, the navy was mostly engaged in escort  functions for the army and merchant vessels, said Karannagoda in his  book The Turning Point”.

Karannagoda turned the navy into a successful fighting force. To do so, he had to  improve many aspects of the navy service.  The navy’s fighting capabilities were insufficient, there was a lack of leadership and a lack of confidence in senior officers, he observed.[1]  To create a fighting force,  the navy needed a  major shift in its operating pattern, mindset, attitude and morale.[2]

Firstly, Karannagoda succeeded in increasing the strength of the navy.  Navy cadre increase from 27,000 in 2005 to 55,000 by 2009.  Navy intake from 3000 personnel per  year, to 9000 personnel per year.[3] Government land was obtained to establish new camps.  Abandoned government buildings ‘all over the country’ were obtained to set  up new training facilities.  Cabinet responded positively to this, recalled Karannagoda .[4]

The Special Boat Squadron  (SBS) was strengthened. Recruitment   was increased by 50%  in 2006. The presence of the SBS gave the rest of the navy  in the camp  great confidence , said Karannagoda in his book . SBS  was highly trained and could face any situation  at sea. They were trained in land warfare as well.    One SBS sailor was  as good as  having 8-10 normal sailors, and SBS sailors were used to train others. Producing a fully trained SBS was not easy . The standard of physical fitness is extremely high and the drop out rate was also high.[5]

 The  Rapid Action  Boat squadron  (RABS)was created to absorb the highly motivated sailors who had to drop out of the SBS training due to their inability to meet the high fitness standards. They were given special training in small boat handling and on  fighting at sea in small boats.  A separate training center was set up for this squadron at Kalpitiya. The sailors  were deployed on  Wave Rider and Arrow boats. They helped to  combat the asymmetric warfare of the LTTE . [6]A separate directorate  was created   for  the Special Boat Squadron and the Rapid Action  Boat squadron.  [7]

A Volunteer navy force was created, or strengthened, I am not sure which. Those with nationalist feelings  who wanted to contribute to the war effort were  accepted. Undergrads from University  of Moratuwa  who had performed well and were  awaiting final year results were  recruited,  specially those with an aptitude for invention .The Volunteer service was very successful, said Karannagoda . [8]    

Karannagoda  found the morale of the sailors very low.  One reason was the shabby treatment meted out to them. They lacked  accommodation and basic facilities .  Junior  sailors  were sleeping in vehicles, buses and corridors .  Sailors  did not have a locker to keep their belongings safely or a bed, mattress and pillow to sleep on. Uniforms were  in short supply and sailors were using their own  money to buy them. The  toilets   for junior sailors were totally inadequate[9].

 After  Karannagoda took over, within a short period, a bed, locker, mattress and pillow were made available to each sailor. Uniforms  were initially  stitched  only at one center. He increased this to four sewing centers .New accommodation  for senior and junior sailors and officers were constructed in  locations  within 6-8 months by the newly created civil engineering group working almost round the clock.[10]  

There were sufficient bunkers, in the Naval dockyard, Trincomalee ,for all personnel to take shelter during an attack. When Jetliner was attacked at Trincomalee in August 2006, sailors were killed while running to the bunkers.[11]

Karannagoda  connected  directly to the navy employees at all levels. This is described fully in the book. He  encouraged communications upward and downward and encouraged juniors to speak during discussions. [12]He  tried to provide solutions to problem of sailors within 48 hours.[13]  When there was threat of an attack, the entire navy was brough to  the action stations. [14] 

 Karannagoda enforced discipline, appreciated  good work and punished  negligence. Promotions were given strictly on merit.   Some officers were made to retire from service. Officers were court martialed for negligence of duty , irrespective of rank . The book  describes such instances.[15]

 Karannagoda also increased computer literacy in navy.  All officers and sailors were encouraged to  own a laptop through an instalment payment scheme  with no interest. Karannagoda was able to obtain a US  made computer  at a concessional price. The Army and Air force also started to buy  through the navy as this was much cheaper.[16]  

Before Karannagoda’s time, the navy was not engaged in intelligence. That was left to army and police. Karannagoda  created a Navy intelligence branch .Officers were given training  in intelligence by army and police.  Whenever the army or police interrogated  captured  LTTE ,  navy intelligence personnel were also sent to gather information. The naval intelligence  directorate, played a crucial role in the protection of the Colombo harbor and in providing location for the floating warehouse. [17]

The navy   had  good  intelligence, regarding LTTE attacks, despite its  limitations. It  had  reliable information on the Sea Tigers  and   the  new LTTE naval camps in  the north eastern lagoons, with  boats hidden in the jungle. The navy was able  therefore ,   to anticipate  to some degree, what the LTTE would do next. Intelligence reports showed that the LTTE planned to weaken the navy  and take control of Trincomalee harbor[18]  and the navy was not prepared to allow this.

In addition to  radio and radar, the navy had informal sources of intelligence. The Fisheries Corporation worked very closely with the navy . The navy  helped to  rescue    fishermen in distress and bring sick fishermen back to shore.[19]  In return Fisheries Corporation  helped the navy by reporting suspicious ships seen at sea. Fisheries Corporationhad   20 signal offices to   for  communication with  fishing trawlers. All multi day fishing trawlers had to call the  signal offices at specified times.[20]  

Navy  conducted training for  selected fishermen from the south  on basic intelligence work,   how to identify a suspicious ship, trawler,  boat . Sailors also disguised themselves as fishermen to gather intelligence. The system worked well.. Navy received valuable information which  helped the navy to keep a large area of the northeastern and eastern seaboard under close surveillance.[21]

The book draws attention to aspects which we did not read about in the media, such as the naval civil engineering Department . The Naval Civil Engineering Department had well qualified engineers   and skilled sailors. It  was under utilized. Before Karannagoda , the Department  was  mainly supervising the outsourced civil engineering contracts and maintenance work of buildings. Since the outside contractor never completed the work on time,  awarding  civil engineering contracts to private contractor was totally stopped. [22]

Instead the   Department  was  given  the work. They rose to the challenge and went on to built multi story burling piers, jetties, slipways,  within a very short period. Jetties were  built to accommodate   Jetliner and Sayura.[23]  .

The strength of the Civil Engineering Department increased almost six fold. Civil engineering sailors were encouraged to acquire knowledge, technology and expertise from foreign contractors, who were working on major work such as pier construction and jetty construction. .They were  exempt from other service duties .Many incentives, including additional food, unlimited tea, coffee an soft drink were given when working at construction sites and their hard work was given due recognition.. [24]

 Sailors in other branches were detailed to assist in construction work in rotation so that  everybody got the feeling they were contributing to the construction of their accommodation and other facilities. [25]

Masons, carpenters, plumbers and others needed for civil engineering work were enlisted to the Volunteer Navy, with  the required  minimum basic education qualification . They were   trained in  naval discipline and handling weapons,  to add  strength to navy in the quickest possible time.  Later they were given a normal training .[26]

  It was difficult to obtain certain  spare parts, due to high prices, the time needed to obtain them and the sanctions impose on  their purchase by certain  western countries.  The spare parts section and the R&D section of the  Sri Lanka Navy  became important .  Several new workshops  with facilities for repairing   navy craft, including FACS ,FGBs  (Fast Gun Boat , )Arrow and  Wave Rider were built at several large naval bases. These workshops could also be used for testing. [27]

The majority of those working  in the Naval dockyard in Trincomalee  as skilled workers were Tamils  from Trincomalee town. When the war began, the navy reduced the employment of Tamil civilians, but there were still about 150 in the workshops. They were under security clearance and could not remain in the Naval Dockyard after 5 pm.[28]  

The  workshop best  known  to the public  is the Welisara naval boat  building yard.  Its  navy fiberglass workshop    manufactured the Arrow and Wave Rider boats. Welisara also made armored personnel  carriers  using lorry chassis   for the  land transport of sailors. Welisara produced four armored personnel carriers a month, said the book. [29] ( continued)

---

[1] Karannagoda, The Turning Point p  167

[2] Karannagoda, The Turning Point p  171.

[3] Karannagoda, The Turning Point p  176.

[4] Karannagoda, The Turning Point p  176.

[5] Karannagoda, The Turning Point p  175.

[6] Karannagoda, The Turning Point p  175, 176.

[7] Karannagoda, The Turning Point p  175, 176.

[8] Karannagoda, The Turning Point p  174.

[9] Karannagoda, The Turning Point p  167

[10] Karannagoda, The Turning Point p  168, 169

[11] Karannagoda, The Turning Point p  254

[12] Karannagoda, The Turning Point p  169

[13] Karannagoda, The Turning Point p  169

[14] Karannagoda, The Turning Point p  178

[15] Karannagoda, The Turning Point p  178

[16] Karannagoda, The Turning Point p  177

[17] Karannagoda, The Turning Point p   174

[18] Rohan Gunaratne .foreword to The Turning point p xvi

[19] Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 94.

[20] Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 93.

[21] Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 175.

[22] Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 167.

[23] Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 172.

[24] Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 168.

[25] Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P 168.

[26] Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P  167 ,168.

[27] Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P  173

[28] Wasantha Karannagoda , The turning point. P  257

[29] Karannagoda, The Turning Point p  189