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Found memories of Delft Island –  By Admiral Ravindra C Wijegunaratne (Retired from Sri Lanka Navy) Former Chief of Defence Staff Source:Island In 1986, as a 23-year-old naval officer, I received my first sea command as Officer-in-Charge of P 432; Colombo Dockyard-built Coastal Patrol Craft in Karainagar, Jaffna. It became my third consecutive appointment in the Northern naval area. I thought that someone in Naval Headquarters didn’t like my face! Anyway, I really enjoyed my time in the North and sailed the length and breadth of Northern waters, besides visiting all tiny islands and local channels in restricted waters of the Jaffna lagoon and gathering information about amphibious landing sites. That stood me in good stead when I operated with Indian Marine Commandos (MARCOS) during “Operation Pawan” in 1988/89 and subsequently commanded the Special Boats Squadron (SBS), planning and executing “behind-the-enemy-line’ operations. So, as a very junior naval officer, patrolling the ...