Army chief Gen Shafiuddin becomes Colonel of East Bengal Regiment

Chief of Army Staff General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed became the 16th 'Colonel Commandant of the East Bengal Regiment' of the Bangladesh Army.

The traditional reception program was held at the Shahid MR Chowdhury parade ground of East Bengal Regimental Centre at Chattogram Cantonment on Wednesday.

When Gen Shafiuddin Ahmed reached the parade ground, a smartly turned out contingent of the East Bengal Regiment gave him a guard of honour.

The senior superintendent of East Bengal Regiment and the master warrant officer adorned the army chief with the rank badge of "Colonel of the Regiment", said a release issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

After decoration as the colonel commandant, General Shafiuddin Ahmed gave a speech addressing the 34th Annual Commander Conference of the East Bengal Regiment and gave directions to all the commanders on the development of the regiment and enhancement of professional skills.

The army chief also placed a wreath at the 'Ojana Shaheed Samadhi' a memorial monument constructed to the memory of martyred heroes of the East Bengal Regiment during the War of Independence in 1971.

At that time, He also paid high tributes to the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 

Senior military officials of the Army Headquarters and local formations were also present at the event.

Gen Shafiuddin said, with the initiatives of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, 10 more battalions have been added to the East Bengal Regiment. To meet the challenges of the 21st century, the regiment was equipped with state-of-the-art armoured personnel carriers (APCs), missiles, heavy weapons, ground surveillance radar, modern infantry gadgets and combat equipment.

The army chief urged all the members of the regiment to be ready to face the challenges of the 21st century by acquiring skills through modern and time-befitting training programmes.