Sri Lanka Air Force Regiment

Sri Lanka Air Force Regiment
Crest of the SLAF Regiment
Active	1960-Present
Country	Sri Lanka
Branch	Sri Lanka Air Force
Type	Air Force Infantry
Role	Force Protection, Ground-Based Air Defence, Air Assault
Part of	Sri Lanka Air Force
Nickname(s)	The Regiment
Motto(s)	Constant Protection
March	Quick - Holyrood
Engagements	1971 Insurrection Insurrection 1987-89 Sri Lankan Civil War
Commanders
Director Ground Operations	Air Vice Marshal K Yahampath

The Sri Lanka Air Force Regiment is a specialized ground combat corps within the Sri Lanka Air Force, responsible for capturing and defending airfields and associated installations. Its members are the SLAF Regiment Officers and the airmen of operations ground specialization. The SLAF Regiment is fully capable of protecting all its air bases, installations by itself using infantry and light armored units as well as launch air assaults with Airborne Infantry elements (paratroopers). Ground based air defense of vital military and civil installations around the country is carried out by the SLAF Regiment along with combat search and rescue missions (CSAR). The corps itself is simply known as the 'regiment'.

The first RCyAF Regiment Squadron was formed under Flt Lt Gerry W. Weeraratne in 1956 to provide ceremonial guards and security for bases and airfields of the Royal Ceylon Air Force based on the RAF Regiment of the Royal Air Force. However the ground defence of the air bases and civil airports were supplemented by the Ceylon Army. This limited the ability of the army to deploy it troops in offensive operations and made the air force dependent on the army. This was seen specially during the 1971 JVP Insurrection.

With the start of the Sri Lankan Civil War the SLAF Regiment underwent a large expansion due to the SLAF increasing the number of airfields and the threat to these from the LTTE. In 1971 SLAF Regiment was formed with 101 squadron, 102 squadron and the only one volunteers suqdron was formed as 106 squadron.In addition to that special squadron was formed as SLAF Commando Unit with elite 52 commandos commanded by Flt. Lt. J.E.Peiris. Later, The Regiment formations increased to a total of 25 Field Wings by 2000 and later to 45 Field Wings. When the Sri Lanka Artillery disbanded its Anti-Aircraft Regiments in 1962, the air defence role of Sri Lanka has been taken up by the SLAF Regiment which it provides today, by the Land Based Air Defence Wing.