Army goes high-tech

Suraj A BANDARA

The Army introduced its own Voice/Data Network covering more than thirty Directorates and Branches at the Army Headquarters, six Security Forces Headquarters, fourteen Divisions/Task Forces and twenty-two Regimental Headquarters.

Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya launched the new Voice/Data Communication Network during a brief ceremony at the Army Headquarters yesterday.

This Voice/Data Communication Network was a concept of Commander of the Army and this will cover islandwide Army formations within a few weeks.

As warfare is moving fast towards the indispensable paradigm of information sharing, situational updates, exchange of intelligence, the Army’s former Chief Signal Officer Major General S.A.P.P. Samarasinghe, fully assisted by Brigadier K.R.P. Rowel, then Commander of Signal Brigade, Directorate of Information and Technology and Centre for Research and Development implemented the project.

The prime objective was to keep pace with new technological advancements as networking governs speed, accuracy, saving of time, cost and labour while commanders at all levels are provided with better data for correct assessments and formalities, voice and video feeds as strategic inputs and security requirements.

Facilities such as live-meetings, audio and video conferencing, on line file transferring, on line file sharing, intranet Emailing, Internet, being provided to the user through this networking.

Lieut Gen Jayasuriya said that this type of networking will accelerate administrative machinery and enable the whole Army to reach result-oriented assignments on day-to-day basis within a short span of time, unlike in the past.