Sunday Times 2
He will be my Flag Lieutenant until I retire
Twenty-five years ago on January 18, 1993, at Fort Hammenhiel, Karainagar, two officers and forty-two sailors, all volunteers from the Navy, underwent a special training to start a new unit known as the Special Boat Squadron (SBS) or the Naval Commando Unit. The SBS was formed to fight LTTE Sea Tigers in lagoons and waterways. Our training also focused on attacks behind the enemy lines to destroy Sea Tiger installations. Britain’s Royal Marines Special Boat Squadron was our model.
I was fortunate enough to command this unit and train my men to be the “Bravest of the Brave” in the Navy. I was a young Lieutenant Commander at that time and my Second-in-Command was an officer more than 12 years junior and younger than me. He was Acting Sub Lieutenant Samantha Waruna Gallage from Dehiwala. An excellent swimmer and a fearless fighter, Samantha was also an excellent boat handler and a top marksman.
Samantha with his son after receiving two gallantry medals from the then President on Feb 4, 1996 (eight months before his death)
We trained together for eight months in the Karainagar lagoon with the intention of taking over boat operations in the Jaffna lagoon from our small detachment at Nagadevannturai.On November 2, 1993, our naval detachment in Nagadevanthurai and the Pooneryn Army Complex came under heavy attack from the enemy. One by one small detachments around the main Pooneryn Army Complex fell into the enemy’s hand like a house of cards and more than 700 military personnel were trapped in Pooneryn.
As there was no possibility to reinforce the besieged Army Complex from the air, military commanders decided to send in reinforcement through an amphibious landing. My unit SBS, the brand-new Naval Special Force, was tasked to carry out the first wave of landings.Landing on an enemy beach is a suicidal task. If you want to see how it looks like, please watch the first half hour of Steven Spielberg’s award-winning film “Saving Private Ryan”. It’s bloody and chaotic. There is no cover for you until you get some cover by crossing the beach area.
Enemy obstacles and gun positions were there to slow down your advance and there was a 90 percent probability of getting killed or injured during this crossing.
Orders were issued; Samantha and I were commanding two Inshore Patrol Craft (commonly known as Water Jets) which carried fifteen Commandos each, followed by fiberglass boats carrying six commandos each. My orders were very clear to Samantha. I told him that I would land first because I wanted to assess the situation.
Navy gunboats started bombarding the beach early morning with their 37mm guns, and we were given clearance to do the landing with the lull of heavy gunfire. Our two Water Jets raced towards Pooneryn beach. Two enemy machine guns started firing towards us and suddenly Samantha increased the speed of his Water Jet and landed first and nullified enemy machine gun positions with his grenade launchers.
I was very angry with Samantha. My orders were very clear as I told him that I would be landing first. However, I was happy that he destroyed the enemy gun positions in quick sessions with no casualties to us. The landing was successful and we established the beachhead for our landing craft to beach and reinforcements poured in. The rest was history. The Pooneryn landing was successful. The SBS was hailed as the “Bravest of the Brave” in the Navy.
After accomplishing our task successfully, we returned to Karainagar that evening to rest and relax. That night I asked Samantha why he disobeyed my orders and landed first. He said with tears, “Sir, I was afraid that you would be hit by enemy machine gun fire! I did not want you to get killed”.
Rumal
I told him that he would have had the same fate. He said, “Sir,I can die. That’s not a concern. My father and mother will cry. But, not YOU! You have a wife and a son (my son was one year old at that time). You should live Sir! I want to protect you, Sir!” (Incidentally, I was the only married person in the SBS at that time.)
This was the calibre of officers and men with whom we went to war. We were fortunate commanders to have officers like Samantha as our subordinates. They were ready to sacrifice their lives to protect us.
Samantha
One day I saw Samantha going through the Navy List. Navy List is a book which denotes the seniority and qualifications of naval officers. I asked why he was referring the Navy List and he said as per the seniority gap between two of us when I became a Rear Admiral, he would still be a Lieutenant Commander. I promised him if I made it to Rear Admiral one day, I would take him as my Flag Lieutenant [Aide-De-Camp (ADC)]. He was happy and he had mentioned this even to the SBS senior sailors.
Before I embarked on difficult operation, I used to tell my wife Yamuna that I would be away for a few weeks and her only question to me always was “Is Samantha Gallage going with you?”
She had a belief that Samantha would look after my safety and bring me home safely.
In 1995, Samantha got married to Nishika, a young lady naval officer who was a teacher at our Naval pre-school.
Samantha died in an SBS and Army Special Forces joint operation at Nallathannithuduvai in Chalai, Jaffna on October 20, 1996. His only son, Rumal was only eight months old when he sacrificed his life for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our Motherland. He was awarded the Weera Wickrama Vibushanaya posthumously for his valour and bravery during this operation. His wife Nishika died of cancer in 2011, leaving young Rumal alone in this world. Today 25-year-old Rumal is doing his higher Education in Australia.
Keeping my promise to Samantha, I never took a Flag Lieutenant when I became a Rear Admiral on July 15, 2009. Even though Samantha is dead, I kept my promise to him.
The seat and the table of Flag Lieutenant next to my office for last nine years were kept empty as an honour to my buddy who was ready to sacrifice his life for my protection. As the Navy Commander and now as Chief of Defence Staff, a four-star Admiral, I do not have a Flag Lieutenant. I have only Personal Security Officers (PSOs) but not a Flag Lieutenant. Every time I pass his empty chair and table, it reminds me of Samantha, my buddy who was ready to sacrifice his life for my protection. Lieutenant Commander (SBS) Samantha Gallage, WWV, RWP and Bar, RSP will remain as my Flag Lieutenant until the day I retire.
“They will grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the Sun and in the morning
We will remember them”