Countries are striving to reach higher profiles in diplomacy, informational, military and economic spears and therefore Sri Lanka needs its military to achieve the highest possible standards attainable without any exception, Defence Secretary Maj. Gen. (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne said. He also said armed forces should always be geared to support the Government mechanism in the nation building process to revive the country that was ruined for three decades owing to LTTE activities. “Wisdom and knowledge intertwined with professionalism for an officer is considered foremost, and therefore, we are in desperate need of highly qualified, skilled and professional military officers to guide our forces towards a future which will be challenging and demanding,” he said. The Defence Secretary expressed these views while addressing the Graduation Ceremony of the Course Number 14 of Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC) at the Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre yesterday. Stating that military leaders are expected to perform in all spheres, he said “ the government will expect an officer to lead their men to safeguard people against any threat whether it is manmade or natural, since current threats are mostly spinning as natural disasters endangering human life”. Citing the Coronavirus pandemic as one of the cases which has demanded the commitment and dedication towards safeguarding people, Maj. Gen. Gunaratne asserted, “Our military along with the Police and Civil Security Department extended a noteworthy service to the nation in combatting COVID 19 while saving people and it is still in progress”. At the graduation ceremony, the graduates received their parchments from the Chief Guest and special awards were also presented. Accordingly, 132 young officers of Sri Lankan tri-forces and 18 officers of 11 friendly foreign nations were conferred the graduation. Foreign student officers of Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia and Sudan were the alumnus of the DSCSC for this year. The Chief Guest, Maj. Gen. Gunaratne, awarded the ‘Golden Pen’ to Maj. BGNI Karunathilaka for presenting the Best Commandant’s Research Paper.