The Sri Lanka Army Pioneer Corps (SLAPC) is a (

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

) regiment of the Sri Lanka Army. Established as manpower reserve to be utilized in times of strikes and union action to maintain the functionality of essential services and other state functions, other such units that existed then and has since been disband include the

Post and Telegraph Signals Ceylon Post and Telegraph Signals Corps was a departmental corps of the Ceylon Defense Force from 1943 to 1945 and of the Ceylon Volunteer Force 1955 to 1956. It was formed in February 1946, from the Post and Telegraph Signals Unit of the Ceylo ...

(PTS) and the Ceylon Railway Engineer Corps (CREC). With the escalation of the Sri Lankan Civil War the regiment has taken up combat duties.

History

The Ceylon Army Pioneer Corps was raised on 5 July 1959 with a large strength of 14,000 men. The unit is part of the

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

and was based on the Ceylon Pioneers. Lt Col M.W.F. Abayakoon of the

Cadet Corps A corps of cadets, also called cadet corps, was originally a kind of military school for boys. Initially such schools admitted only sons of the nobility or gentry, but in time many of the schools were opened also to members of other social classes. ...

was appointed its commanding officer. The main reason to raise this unit with a large strength was the frequent breakdown of essential services at that time due to workers unrest and strikes. Members of the corps used to handle harbour duties and driving of public transport. The Pioneer Corps brought back normalcy in the harbour and other establishments, and the country was saved from starvation as foreign ships were threatening to bypass the Colombo harbor due to delays in unloading as a result of constant trade union action. When the workers’ unrest in the city was settled, in 1962 the Pioneers were employed in the Kantale Sugar Corporation to perform duties when the workers their went on strike. In 1964 the pioneers assisted the field engineers of the

Sri Lanka Engineers The Sri Lanka Engineers (SLE) is a combat support arm of the Sri Lanka Army which provides military engineering. It is made up of ten regular regiments and one volunteer regiment. Headquartered at Panagoda Cantonment, it is headed by the Centre C ...

in constructing the Dambulla – Galewela Road and Katunayake Airport Road. Since the 1971 Insurrection, the Pioneers have also been employed in internal security duties all over the island. Pioneer Corps was employed in building the New Defence Headquarters Complex.

Units

Volunteers

*1st Bn Sri Lanka Army Pioneer Corps (Formed on 5 July 1959) *2nd Bn Sri Lanka Army Pioneer Corps (Formed on 28 March 2016)

Order of precedence

References

External links and sources