BY GEORGE BRAINE
In 1978, I was commissioned in the Sri Lanka Air Force as a volunteer officer. After a month of rigorous training at the Diyatalawa combat training unit, I was assigned to the Regiment of the Air Force Base at Katunayake. The Regiment is the ground combat unit of the Air Force.
The Katunayake base is on a large coconut plantation, and sits next to Sri Lanka’s international airport, which was built long after the base was established. The two runways – of the air force and the international airport’s – run parallel. I was given a room at the officers’ mess and meals were served at the dining room, which also had a bar. The sound of jetliners landing and taking off was noisy and was a nuisance at night.