Formation
When the Special Task Force (STF) was formed in 1983, it comprised mainly existing policemen. It was headed by the 1960 Rome Olympian and existing Senior Superintendent of Police, Dharmasiri Weerakoon. The STF were trained by the Sri Lankan Army in the handling of Infantry weapons and were given basic training in Jungle warfare. They deeply resemble a para-military organisation and later separate training facilities for the Special Task Force have been established in Kalutara, 42 kilometers south of Colombo. The first platoons formed were deployed in the North of Sri Lanka to provide additional support for Police Stations and to stem the LTTE separatists.
The STF was enhanced considerably in 1983 when former British Special Air Service (SAS) crack teams were brought in to provide specialized training in all aspects of Counter Terrorism and Counter insurgency operations. The SAS experts trained the STF troops at Katukurunda wing of the Police College, after making the training school into a sophisticated training complex. Later, the STF experts took over from the SAS in 1988. Today the STF has a fully-fledged training wing, regarded as one of the best in South East Asia. August 11, 1984, that the Israel Security Agency Shin Beth was involved in the training of the Sri Lankan armed forces. Many officers belonging to Israel were also involved in the training of the Sri Lankan soldiers in Colombo.
Recently, the STF has received from Indonesia P2 APCs made by Sentra Surya Ekajaya to help the unit conduct their counter insurgency operations against the LTTE.
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