US teams train Sri Lanka navy, army

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 August 2002, 11:30 GMT]
A team from the US Navy special forces, the SEALS, will provide combat training for Sri Lankan Navy commandos this month whilst a US Army team has completed a course for Sri Lanka Army troops, the state-owned Sunday Observer reported this week.

The course for the SLN from be held from August 5 to 24 at Hambantota and Uva Kuda-Oya, the Sunday Observer reported. The SEALs (named because they conduct operation from sea, air and land) will conduct a course on combat and sniper firing.

Twenty five Sri Lankan Navy personnel including officers have been selected to undergo the course, which will be an annual feature, defence sources told the paper.

The SLN’s commando force, the Special Boat Squadron (SBS), has largely been trained by the US Navy.

Meanwhile, soldiers from the SLA 53 Division have successfully completed a course in Colombo conducted by the US Army on psychological operations and civil affairs , the Sunday Observer reported.

The elite 53 Division was established under the guidance of the US Special Forces and operates under the latter’s tutelage. Comprising special forces commandos, an air mobile and a mechanized infantry unit, the 53 Division has spearheaded all major offensive operations against the Liberation Tigers.