Sri Lanka recently turned down a US call to deploy Air Mobile troops instead of Special Forces or Commandos alongside US personnel for a joint training exercise in the East. The Sri Lanka Army has asserted that there was no point in involving Air Mobile troops in an exercise designed for elite forces.

The US has called for Air Mobile troops, consequent to a decision not to participate in joint training exercises with elite Special Forces and Commandos, who had played a pivotal role in Sri Lanka’s triumph over the LTTE.