A commander-in-chief or supreme commander is the person who exercises supreme command and control over an armed forces or a military branch. As a technical term, it refers to military competencies that reside in a country's executive leadership, a head of state or a head of government.
The title chief of staff identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide-de-camp to an important individual, such as a president, or a senior military officer, or leader of a large organization.
The chief of the Defence Staff is the professional head of the Canadian Armed Forces. As the senior military position, the chief of the Defence Staff advises the Cabinet, particularly the minister of national defence and the prime minister. The role is a Crown-in-Council appointment made by the viceroy on the advice of the prime minister.
The Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. Established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, it was renamed when Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972. In 2010, the Army had approximately 200,000 regular personnel, between 20,000 and 40,000 reserve (volunteer) personnel and 18,000 National Guardsmen and comprises 13 divisions, one air-mobile brigade, one commando brigade, one special forces brigade, one independent armored brigade, three mechanized infantry brigades and over 40 infantry brigades. From the 1980s to 2009, the army was engaged in the Sri Lankan Civil War.
Field Marshal Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka, commonly known as Sarath Fonseka, is a retired Sri Lankan army officer and politician. He was the eighteenth Commander of Sri Lanka Army, and under his command the Sri Lanka Army ended the 26-year Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009, defeating the militant group, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam; he thereafter briefly served as the Chief of Defence Staff. After retiring from the Army with the rank of General, he entered politics as the common opposition candidate in the 2010 presidential election contesting against President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Air Chief Marshal G Donald Perera VSV, USP is a Sri Lanka air officer who served as commander of the Air Force from 2002 to 2006 and Chief of the Defence Staff from 2006 to 2009. He served as Sri Lankan Ambassador to Israel.
The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) is the most senior appointment in the Sri Lankan Armed Forces, and the highest-ranking military officer in service, outranking the heads of each service branch. The CDS does not, however, have operational command authority over service branches, but rather oversees inter-service co-operation and develops and implements the joint operations doctrine of the Sri Lankan armed forces. Coordination of inter-service joint operations are handled by the Office of the Chief of the Defence Staff formally known as the Joint Operations Headquarters.
General Tissa Indraka Weeratunga, VSV was a Sri Lankan senior army officer. He was a former Commander of the Sri Lankan Army and first General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Joint Operations Headquarters (JOH), he was later Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to Canada.
The Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters or the RTARF HQ, is the "mostly ornamental" joint headquarters of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, which is composed of the Royal Thai Army, the Royal Thai Navy and Royal Thai Marine Corps, and the Royal Thai Air Force. Formerly the Supreme Command Headquarters, the name was changed in February 2008. The headquarters is divided into two branches: the "Command Group" and the "Joint Group". The headquarters is headed by the Chief of Defence Forces, currently General Chalermpol Srisawat of the Royal Thai Army. The chief is supported by several departments and directorates, including four deputy chiefs. The headquarters is under the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence of Thailand and the Defence Minister.
General Jagath Jayasuriya, VSV, USP is a retired senior Sri Lanka Army officer; he was the Chief of Defence Staff of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and Commander of the Sri Lankan Army. 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.
The Sri Lanka Armed Forces is the overall unified military of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka encompassing the Sri Lanka Army, the Sri Lanka Navy, and the Sri Lanka Air Force; they are governed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The three services have around 346,700 active personnel; conscription has never been imposed in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka Coast Guard is also under the purview of the Ministry of Defence and its members are all from the Sri Lanka Navy.
General Rohan De Silva Daluwatte, WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP was a senior officer of the Sri Lanka Army. He served as Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and Chief of the Defence Staff. Following his retirement from the army, he served as Sri Lankan Ambassador to Brazil among other appointments.
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 Hamilton Wanasinghe, VSV was a Full General in the Sri Lanka Army. He served as the 11th Commander of the Sri Lankan Army (1988–1991), third General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Joint Operations Headquarters (JOH) (1991–1993) and Defense Secretary.
General Lionel Piyananda Balagalle RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, VSP was a senior Sri Lankan army officer. He served as Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and Chief of the Defence Staff.
The Defence Headquarters Complex is a complex of buildings currently under construction at Akuregoda, Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte to house the Sri Lanka Armed Forces headquarters and offices of the Ministry of Defence.
The Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters is the highest level of command in the Swedish Armed Forces. Established in 1994, its primary task is to command operations, but is also involved in areas such as military strategy, the overall development of the Swedish Armed Forces, and acting as a channel of contact with government. It's located at Lidingövägen 24 at Gärdet in Stockholm.
Department of Military Affairs (DMA) is the department in charge of military matters within the Indian Ministry of Defence. Headed by the Chief of Defence Staff, as its ex-officio secretary, the DMA provides integration between the armed forces of the Union and the Ministry of Defence.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces is the ultimate commanding authority of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces, an executive role vested in the President of Sri Lanka.
Integrated Theatre Commands of the Indian Armed Forces are varying degrees of synergy and cross–service cooperation between the military wings of the Indian Armed Forces. Following Independence, in 1949 a joint educational framework was set up starting with the first tri-service academy in the world, the National Defence Academy, and over the years this joint educational framework has been expanded to bring officers from the different services together at different stages of their careers.
