Diamond Jubilee: Celebrating 75 years of the Military Engineering Corps

The 75th anniversary Diamond Jubilee of the Military Engineering Corps was celebrated at the Transit Camp in Nay Pyi Taw on Saturday, with the attendance of Chairman of the State Administration Council Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

After the formal opening of the celebration by a ceremonial ribbon-cutting ceremony, the Senior General unveiled the commemorative signboard for the 75th anniversary of the Military Engineering Corps.

In the subsequent ceremony, the Senior General gave a speech, recognizing the dutiful performance of the members of the Military Engineering Corps under the motto “To move, To fight, and To live”. He added that the Military Engineering Corps is serving humanitarian demining tasks, forming EOD Squads in the Field Military Engineering Units.

During times of natural disasters, the members participate in relief and rescue measures and rehabilitation efforts. A significant record has been made for participating in the construction of the Buddha Park and conveying the marble rocks to be carved as the Maravijaya Buddha Image.

The Senior General urged all to strive for a capable unit, making constant learning on engineering technologies to be on par with the changing trend of the age. This was followed by the screening of a documentary video and the performance of a commemorative song.

The Chief of the Directorate of Military Engineering presented the commemorative gift to the Senior General, who later toured the commemorative booths. The Military Engineering Corps was originally formed as the Burma Sapper Miners after separation from the Madras Sapper Miners in 1937.

After successive reformations during the Independence struggle, the Military Engineering Corps participates in serving defence and field engineering duties. A very first Myanmar woman who was conferred the Thura title emerged from the Military Engineering Corps during the battle with the KNDO who raided May Myo (PyinOoLwin) in February 1949.

During that battle, Ma Chit Po, the wife of Corporal HlaMaung from the Training Engineering Unit, sacrificed her life for the country. Due to her courage and bravery, the government conferred the Thura Title in 1950. The day the military conquered PyinOoLwin, the 24th February in 1949, was designated as the Military Engineering Corps Day.