MEDAL PARADE OF 5TH SRI LANKA AVIATION CONTINGENT IN SOUTH SUDAN
The medal parade of 5th Sri Lanka Aviation Contingent of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) was held yesterday (9 June 2021) at the home base in Bor, South Sudan. The Force Commander of UNMISS Lieutenant General Shailesh Tinaikar SM, VSM graced the occasion as the Chief Guest who was welcomed by Group Captain Duleep Hewavitharana, the Contingent Commander of 5th Sri Lanka Aviation Contingent in UNMISS. The United Nations Peace Keeping Medal UNMISS was awarded to the contingent members who satisfied the mandatory requirement stipulated in United Nation Medal Policy. The parade was conducted under the strict COVID-19 guidelines issued by the UNHQ.
On 17 November 2020, the 5th Sri Lanka Aviation Contingent was deployed to UNMISS. After the lapse of a very short time period in the mission, the Sri Lanka Aviation Unit was requested to deploy two (02) Mi -17 helicopters with 53 airmen to MINUSCA, Central African Republic under Inter Mission Corporation (IMC) to empower the mission to assist with the electoral process of the country. This will be written in the annals of UNMISS, MINUSCA and SLAF as the first ever IMC operation of a military aviation unit to occur in their histories. It was an all-out success purely due to the selfless, untiring contribution of pilots, engineers, technicians and all the support given by the rest of the team. This effort was thoroughly appreciated by the leadership of both UNMISS and MINUSCA.
The Force Commander of UNMISS made special remarks on the true professionalism and sheer dedication of the members of the Sri Lanka Aviation during his speech to the troops. The Chief Guest stressed upon the contribution made by Sri Lanka Aviation Contingent showcasing the sheer professionalism throughout their deployment. Further, he appraised all contingent members for displaying the value of team effort in achieving a common goal.
The Sri Lanka Aviation Unit UNMISS has logged a total of 492 flying hours which were utilized to carry 1,693 passengers and 72,250 Kgs of cargo including other types of operational flights such as CASEVAC/MEDEVAC support, VIP transportation, armed escorts, Search and Rescue missions, ISR missions etc. during their incident/accident free tour of duty in both South Sudan and Central African Republic.
On 17 November 2020, the 5th Sri Lanka Aviation Contingent was deployed to UNMISS. After the lapse of a very short time period in the mission, the Sri Lanka Aviation Unit was requested to deploy two (02) Mi -17 helicopters with 53 airmen to MINUSCA, Central African Republic under Inter Mission Corporation (IMC) to empower the mission to assist with the electoral process of the country. This will be written in the annals of UNMISS, MINUSCA and SLAF as the first ever IMC operation of a military aviation unit to occur in their histories. It was an all-out success purely due to the selfless, untiring contribution of pilots, engineers, technicians and all the support given by the rest of the team. This effort was thoroughly appreciated by the leadership of both UNMISS and MINUSCA.
The Force Commander of UNMISS made special remarks on the true professionalism and sheer dedication of the members of the Sri Lanka Aviation during his speech to the troops. The Chief Guest stressed upon the contribution made by Sri Lanka Aviation Contingent showcasing the sheer professionalism throughout their deployment. Further, he appraised all contingent members for displaying the value of team effort in achieving a common goal.
The Sri Lanka Aviation Unit UNMISS has logged a total of 492 flying hours which were utilized to carry 1,693 passengers and 72,250 Kgs of cargo including other types of operational flights such as CASEVAC/MEDEVAC support, VIP transportation, armed escorts, Search and Rescue missions, ISR missions etc. during their incident/accident free tour of duty in both South Sudan and Central African Republic.
