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 Special Forces Regiment (SF) (Sinhala: විශේෂ බලකාය Visēsha Balakāya;) is a special forces unit of the Sri Lanka Army. Founded in 1986 as a combat tracker team, it was established as a regiment in 1988, and later expanded into a brigade. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terrorism, direct action and covert reconnaissance. Much like the British Army Special Air Service, much of the information about the SF is highly classified due to the secrecy and sensitivity of its operations.
The Sri Lanka Armoured Corps (SLAC) provides the armour capability of the Sri Lanka Army, with vehicles such as the T-55AM2, and type 80/88 main battle tanks; the BMP infantry fighting vehicle; and the BTR-80, and WZ551 armoured personnel carriers. It comprises five regular armoured regiments, a volunteer regiment, and a regimental band. It has an independent Armoured Brigade and is headquartered at Rock House Army Camp, Colombo.
The Sri Lanka Artillery (SLA) is the artillery arm of the Sri Lanka Army. It is made up of ten regular regiments and two volunteer regiments. The SLA is headquartered at Panagoda Cantonment, Panagoda.
The Corp of Sri Lanka Engineers (SLE) is a combat support arm of the Sri Lanka Army which provides military engineering. It is made up of ten regular regiments and one volunteer regiment. Headquartered at Panagoda Cantonment, it is headed by the Centre Commandant.
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 Sinha Regiment (SLSR) is an infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army; it is the second oldest infantry regiment in the army.
The Gajaba Regiment (GR) is an elite infantry regiment of the Sri Lankan Army. Formed on 14 October 1983 at the Saliyapura Camp in Anuradhapura, it is named after the famous Sinhalese King Gajabahu the First. It consists of 14 regular battalions and 6 volunteer battalions.
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.
General Deshamanya Don Sepala Attygalle, was a Sri Lankan army officer, 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.
The Rajarata Rifles was a former rifle regiment of the Sri Lanka Army. It was one of only three geographically based regiments in the Sri Lanka army. The cap badge of the Raja Rata Rifles show the figure of a Bherunda Pakshiya.
Major General Anton Muttukumaru, OBE, ED, ADC was the first native Ceylonese to serve as the Commander of the Ceylon Army, a post he held from 1955 to 1959. He also served as Ceylon's High Commissioner to Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Ambassador to Egypt.
Major is a Senior Officer rank in the Sri Lanka Army. The rank insignia for a major is the Sri Lankan emblem. It ranks below lieutenant colonel and above captain. The equivalent is Lieutenant-Commander in the Sri Lanka Navy and Squadron Leader in the Sri Lanka Air Force.
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.
G. D. H. Kamal Gunaratne, WWV, RWP, RSP, USP is a retired Sri Lankan army general. He is the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and the State Ministry of National Security and Disaster Management. A retired career officer of the Sri Lanka Army, Gunaratne had served as the former Commander Security Forces Headquarters - Wanni, general officer commanding (GOC), 53 Division and was a former Deputy Ambassador to Brazil. He was the GOC of the 53 Division which killed the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran at Nandikadal, Mullaitivu.
Major General Chulabhaya Lakshman 'Lucky' Wijayaratne RWP, RSP, M.Sc, LI was a Sri Lankan army officer, who was one of the most distinguished Generals in the Sri Lanka army. Major General Wijayaratne died on 18 December 1990 at the 10th milepost along Trincomalee-Anuradhapura road due to a landmine explosion. He was the commander of 22 brigade based in Trincomalee at the time of his death and played a pivotal role in the government’s counter terrorism offensive in the district. Major General Wijayaratne was the senior most Sri Lankan military officer to die from a LTTE attack up to that time.
Major General Jagath Dias, WWV, RWP, RSP, USP is a Sri Lankan general, who served as the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army. He was the General Officer Commanding, 57 Division and 56 Division. He was the Sri Lankan Deputy Ambassador to Germany, Switzerland and the Vatican.
Lieutenant General Henry Vijaya Athukorale, VSV, psc, FBIM was a Sri Lankan senior army officer. He served as Commandant, Volunteer Force and Commander, Task Force Anti Illicit Immigration.
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.
