The Ceylon Defence Force (CDF) was established in 1910 by the Ceylonese legislation Ceylon Defence Force Ordinance, which reformed the Ceylon Volunteer Force (CVF) that existed previously as the military reserve in the British Crown colony of Ceylon. At the time of forming it was only a reserve force but soon developed into a regular force responsible for the defence of Ceylon. The CDF was under the command of the General Officer Commanding, Ceylon of the British Army in Ceylon if mobilised. However mobilisation could be carried out only under orders from the Governor.
The Sri Lanka Signals Corps (SLSC) is a combat support corps of the Sri Lanka Army, responsible for providing military communications, information technology and electronic warfare support. The corps is made up of a signals brigade, ten regular regiments and one volunteer regiment. It is responsible for installing, maintaining and operating all types of telecommunications equipment and information systems. It is headquartered at the Panagoda Cantonment.
The Sri Lanka Light Infantry (SLLI) is the oldest regiment in the Sri Lanka Army and the oldest infantry regiment in the army. It is made up of sixteen regular battalions and nine volunteer battalions, and is headquartered at the Panagoda Cantonment, Panagoda.
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.
General Deshamanya Don Sepala Attygalle, was a Sri Lankan army general, civil servant and diplomat. The longest serving Commander of the Sri Lankan Army (1967–1977), he went on to serve as the Permanent secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
General Tissa Indraka Weeratunga, VSV was a Sri Lankan general. He was the former Commander of the Sri Lankan Army and the first General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Joint Operations Headquarters (JOH), he was later Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to Canada.
General Jagath Jayasuriya, VSV, USP is a retired senior Sri Lanka Army general; he was the Chief of Defence Staff, the head of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces as a Full General from 1 August 2013 to 15 June 2015 and Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, the head of the army as a Lieutenant General from 15 July 2009 to 31 July 2013. During the closing stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War, he served as the Commander Security Forces Headquarters - Wanni with overall command of SLA offensives in the Wanni region during the 2008 - 2009 period. He was also the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Suriname from June 2014 to August 2017.
General Ganegoda Appuhamelage Don Granville Nalin Seneviratne, VSV was a Sri Lankan Army general. He was the Commander of the Sri Lankan Army from 1985 to 1988 and first Governor of the North East Province.
Major General Hemachandra Wickrama Gerard Wijeyekoon, OBE, ED was a Sri Lankan military leader and diplomat. He was the second Ceylonese Commander of the Ceylon Army from 1960 to 1963 and formerly Ceylon's High Commissioner to Pakistan and Ambassador to Italy.
General Shantha H.S. Kottegoda, WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP is a retired senior Sri Lanka Army general. He was the seventeenth commander of the Sri Lankan Army from 1 July 2004 – 5 December 2005. He had served as the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Brazil and Thailand. In April 2019, following the Easter Sunday bombings he was appointed as the permanent secretary to the Ministry of Defence.
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 S. Cyril Ranatunga, VSV was a Sri Lanka Army officer. He served as Secretary of Defence, General Officer Commanding, Joint Operations Command and Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army during the 1980s. He was also the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Australia and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
General L. D. E. Cecil Waidyaratne, VSV, USP was a Sri Lanka Army general. He was 12th Commander of the Sri Lankan Army and a former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Thailand.
Colonel Sooriyaratne Douglas Ratwatte, ED was a Sri Lankan army officer. He was the Commandant of the Volunteer Force.
Brigadier Percy Douglas Ramayanayake was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer who was the founder of the Sri Lanka Engineers. He had served as the Commander, Task Force Anti Illicit Immigration.
Brigadier Christopher Allan Hector Perera Jayawardena was a Ceylonese forest conservator and military officer. He was a Senior Assistant Conservator of Forests, Equerry to Queen Elizabeth II, Aide-de-camp to the Governor-General and Chief Commissioner of the Sri Lanka Scout Association.
Brigadier Edirimuni Tennison De Zoysa Abeysekara was a Sri Lankan military leader, who served as the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army.
Major general Prasanna Chandrasekera, is a retired Sri Lankan Army general. He was the former Master-General of the Ordnance of the Sri Lankan Army, During the Sri Lankan civil war he was the Brigade Commander, 65 Division of the Kilinochchi District.
Brigadier Maurice Anthony Jayaweera was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer. He served as the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army and the Commander, Task Force Anti Illicit Immigration.
Major General C. A. Mike N. Silva, VSV was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer who served as the Chief of Staff of the Army and the Commandant of the Volunteer Force. He was the first Commandant of the Kotelawala Defence Academy.
Sri Lanka 
