This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2016) |
Ariyaratne Ariyapperuma † | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Ariya |
Born | Ballantudawa, Raigama | 8 December 1933
Died | 19 November 1984 50) Tellippalai, Jaffna | (aged
Allegiance | Sri Lanka |
Service | Sri Lanka Army |
Years of service | 1957–1984 |
Rank | Brigadier (posthumous) |
Unit | Gemunu Watch |
Commands | Northern Command, Operations Command Colombo, 1st Gemunu Watch |
Battles / wars | Sri Lankan Civil War |
Brigadier Ariyaratne "Ariya" Ariyapperuma, psc, GW was a Sri Lankan Army officer, who was the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army Northern Command.
Ariyapperuma joined the army in the first batch of cadet officers to undergo training at the newly established Army Training Centre and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 1st Battalion of the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment in 1958. In 1962, now Captain Ariyapperuma was transferred to the 1st Gemunu Watch. Having attended Staff College, Camberley, he served as the Commanding Officer of the 1st Gemunu Watch from December 1977 to January 1980 with rank of lieutenant colonel. [1] [2]
In 1983, as a colonel he was serving as Commander (Operations), Colombo when the Black July riots broke out in the city and surroundings. In September 1983, he took over as Commander, Northern Command in the Jaffna Peninsula. There he was killed on 19 November 1984, when his jeep hit a landmine on the Vallai-Tellipalai-Araly road in Tellippalai, Jaffna. At the time he was the most senior officer of the Army to be killed in the line of duty and was promoted to the rank of Brigadier posthumously and the Brigadier Ariyapperuma Memorial Hall at the Kuruwita Army Camp was named in his honor at the Regimental Headquarters of the Gemunu Watch. [3]
Lieutenant General Denzil Lakshman Kobbekaduwa, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP was a senior Sri Lankan Army officer who served in the 1971 Insurrection and the Sri Lankan Civil War.
Major General Vanigamuni Indrajith Vijeyakumar Mendis Wimalaratne, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer. One of the most distinguished field commanders in Sri Lanka, Wimalaratne raised the Gajaba Regiment, he commanded the 1st Brigade during the Vadamarachchi Operation, he commanded the Amphibious Task Force Commander during Operation Balavegaya and was the Commander Security Forces – Jaffna at the time of his death in a land mine explosion at Point Arali in the Kayts Island while making preparations to re-capture Jaffna.
Lieutenant General Parami Sudammika Bandara Kulatunga, RSP, VSV, USP was a Sri Lanka Army general. He was serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army and its third highest-ranking officer at the time of his assassination. On the morning of 26 June, he was killed by a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber who drove an explosives-laden motorbike into his staff car as it was driving to a military base at Pannipitiya near Colombo.
The Commando Regiment is the commando formation of the Sri Lanka Army. The unit specializes in various roles including hostage rescue, counter-terrorism, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, counter-insurgency, and personnel recovery. It was formed in 1980 and is based in Ganemulla, a suburb of Colombo.
The Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment (SLSR) is an infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army; it is the second oldest infantry regiment in the army.
The Gemunu Watch (GW) ("King Dutugemunu's Own") is a infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army, formed with troops from the Ceylon Light Infantry and the Ceylon Sinha Regiment in 1962. It has been deployed in many major operations against the LTTE. It is made up of 14 regular units and 9 volunteer units. Headquartered at Kuruwita Army Camp, Ratnapura. It is named after one of the most famous Lankan Kings, King Dutugemunu.
The Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force (SLAVF) is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the Sri Lanka Army. The SLAVF is separate from the Regular Force which consists of personal who are professional soldiers and its Regular Reserve, which comprises personal who have a mobilization obligation following their service in the regular army. The SLAVF consists of the volunteer force and the volunteer reserve; administration and recruitment of reserve personal is carried out by the Volunteer Force Headquarters in Shalawa, Kosgama which is headed by the Commandant of the Volunteer Force. It has a current strength of about 55,000 personnel. The SLAVF was known as the Ceylon Volunteer Force from 1949 to 1972 and the Sri Lanka Volunteer Force from 1972 to 1985.
The Sri Lanka Military Academy, commonly known simply as Diyatalawa, is the oldest military academy in Sri Lanka, and trains commissioned officers for the Sri Lanka Army. It is located in the garrison town of Diyatalawa in the central highlands of Sri Lanka. It has capacity to train more than 300 cadets.
General Tissa Indraka Weeratunga, VSV was a Sri Lankan general. He was the Commander of the Sri Lankan Army from 1981 to 1985 and the first General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Joint Operations Headquarters (JOH), he was later Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to Canada from 1986 till 1990.
Major General Deshamanya Alexander Richard Udugama, was a Sri Lankan soldier, politician and diplomat. Former Army Commander (1964–1966), he was elected as Member of Parliament for Matale from 1970 to 1977 and served as Sri Lankan Ambassador to Iraq from 1979 to 1982. He was accused of an alleged coup d'état in 1966.
Major General Gemunu Kulatunge, RSP, USP, ndc, psc (1941-2003) was a Sri Lankan army general, who was the former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army.
Brigadier Tuan Samayraan Buhary Sally was a Sri Lanka Army officer, who served as the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army and was the first Malay and Muslim in the country to reach this rank and post.
General Lionel Piyananda Balagalle,, was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer, who served as the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and the Chief of the Defence Staff. He is known for formalising military intelligence operations within the Sri Lanka Army, having founded the Directorate of Military Intelligence and the Military Intelligence Corps.
General Gerard Hector "Gerry" de Silva, RWP, VSV, USP was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer. He is the 5th Chancellor of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University since 20 January 2020. He was the 13th Commander of the Sri Lankan Army and Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan.
Brigadier Rohitha Neil Akmeemana RSP, USP was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer who served as Brigade Commander, 54-2 Brigade which was attached to the 54 Division during the Second Battle of Elephant Pass in April 2000.
Major General Priyanka Fernando, RWP, USP, is a former senior Sri Lanka Army officer. He has served as the Director General of General Staff (DGGS); General officer commanding (GOC), 58 Division; Commandant of the Ranaviru (veterans) Resource Centre; Director of Rehabilitation; and the Director of Real Estate and Quartering. He served as the Colonel of the Regiment of the Mechanized Infantry Regiment and was the Sri Lankan Minister Counsellor (Defence) in London.
Brigadier John Fredrick Halangode, VSV was a Sri Lankan army officer. He founded of the Gemunu Watch, having served as the first commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Gemunu Watch.
Brigadier Jerome Gautier "Lyle" Balthazar was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer who served as Commander, Security Forces Jaffna and Chief of Staff of the Army.
Brigadier S. B. Miyanadeniya was a Sri Lankan military leader, he served as the Director Training, Sri Lanka Army.
Brigadier Edirimuni Tennison De Zoysa Abeysekara was a Sri Lankan military leader, who served as the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army.