News
Bow-wow wows Army top brass
Teesha the war dog flew 4000 feet through the air in the arms of master-parachutist Major Sujith Siranjeewa, earning the Commando officer an Asian record for his jump.
A proud Teesha with her team mates. Pic courtesy army.lk
Applause thundered around the Uwa Kuda Oya Commando Training School for several minutes as dog and man came safely to earth and a composed Teesha sat up on her hind legs for a photo with the major and his crew.
Major Siranjeewa, the only Sri Lankan to have made 1200 parachute jumps, said when he had broached the idea of making a 4000-foot jump with Teesha the army had been hesitant.
“At first, they were reluctant, thinking it would be a great loss if the jump caused any injury to it,” he said.
But the war dog, which has helped the commandos combat terrorist threats during the civil war by joining operations to search for hidden guerrillas and explosives, took the huge drop from the skies in her stride.
“At the rehearsal, I descended with Teesha from 4000 feet without any problem,” said Major Siranjeewa.
On the day of the public performance – a passing-out parade for 396 commando officers and troops on November 21 – Teesha went calmly to the Air Force MI-17 helicopter to be readied for her jump. “She didn’t show any reluctance,” Major Siranjeewa said. “She was very co-operative.”
Photos show Teesha’s long golden ears drawn back in the slipstream of the aircraft as Major Siranjeewa jumps backwards out of the helicopter into thin air, the dog strapped securely to his chest
“Nothing is impossible”, says the motto of the Sri Lankan Commando Regiment, and the major and the mascot Teesha demonstrated this to much acclaim at the passing-out parade, attended by Defence Secretary Karunasena Hettiarachchi, Army Commander Lieutenant-General Crishantha de Silva and other spectators.
Major Siranjeewa, a parachute instructor, is the only Sri Lankan to have jumped in freefall from 10,000 feet to 3,000 feet before opening up his parachute while carrying a 24’ x 12’ national flag.
Man and dog: And away they go
Speaking of his career, he said, “I joined the army in 1986. When I saw, for the first time, Brigadier Tharik Mohammed, a Pakistani parachute instructor, do free movement parachuting I was full of admiration and determined to do it myself one day.
“Those days it was extremely difficult to get parachute training. When Major Jagath Gamaarachchi and Major Priyantha, commanding officers in the First Commando Regiment, saw my keen interest in parachuting they made all arrangement for me to undergo training.
“The World Defence Services Parachuting Competition in Hyderabad in 2009 and Chinese-Korean World Friendship Parachuting Competition marked a remarkable juncture in my life as a parachutist. Only the officers in the forces took part in them and I was selected as the leader of our troop.
“At that competition I was able to bring the Sri Lankan national flag to the ground in Kaifun. It was the first time a Sri Lankan had put on such a performance with a Sri Lankan flag abroad.”
In 2011, Major Siranjeewa made his record-breaking jump with the national flag.
He is now about to retire from service but has a burning desire to break the world record of jumping with a flag, the current record being with a 110-foot long flag, set by an American.
Major Siranjeewa hopes to realise his dream at the Galle Face Green very soon.