Y. Balaretnarajah

Last updated
Major General

Y. Balaretnarajah
Born(1939-07-22)July 22, 1939
DiedMay 29, 2022(2022-05-29) (aged 82)
AllegianceSri Lanka
Service/branchFlag of the Sri Lankan Army.png  Sri Lanka Army
Years of service1959 – 1992
Rank Major General
Unit Ceylon Armoured Corps
Commands held Chief of Staff, Sri Lanka Army
Commandant of the Volunteer Force
1 Division
Battles/wars 1971 Insurrection
Sri Lankan Civil War
Insurrection 1987-89
Awards Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya bar.svg Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya
Uttama Seva Padakkama Bar.gif Uttama Seva Padakkama
3by2white.svg Sri Lanka Army 25th Anniversary Medal
Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal.png Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal
Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service.jpg Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal
3by2white.svg President's Inauguration Medal
3by2white.svg Purna Bhumi Padakkama

Major General Y. Balaretnarajah, VSV, USP, ndc is a retired Sri Lankan army officer. He had served as Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army, Commandant of the Volunteer Force and Commander - Jaffna Security Forces. He has commanded the 1 Division, Armoured Brigade, 21 Brigade and 24 Brigade.

Contents

Education

Born July 22, 1939 he was educated at St. John's College, Jaffna and at the Jaffna College. Joining the Ceylon Army in November 1959 and he received his basic officer training at Sandhurst. He completed the Armour Young Officers Course of the British Army at the Royal Armoured Corps Training Centre, and Advance Armour Officers Course of the Indian Army. Later he graduated from the National Defence College, India.

Military career

After completion of basic officer training, Balaretnarajah was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Ceylon Armoured Corps on December 21, 1961. He served as a troop leader of the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment, officer instructor at the Army Training Centre, Diyatalawa and a staff officer at the Army Headquarters and Northern Command Headquarters during the 1971 Insurrection before returning to the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment as a squadron commander with the rank of captain. Promoted to the rank of major, he was appointed deputy commandant at Diyatalawa before becoming a staff officer in the Logistics Command with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

As a colonel he headed the Logistics Command as Director Logistics and was promoted to the rank of brigadier in 1986. With the outset of the Sri Lankan Civil War and the second JVP insurrection he raised and commanded the 24 Brigade based out of Puttalam, and then appointed brigade commander of the 21 brigade based out of Jaffna, before becoming the commander, Security Forces Headquarters – Jaffna (SFHQ-J). During this period he also raised and commanded the armoured brigade.

In 1989, he was promoted to the rank of major general and was appointed the general officer commanding (GOC)- 1 Division. He was then appointed commandant, Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force before becoming the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army, also serving as the regimental commander of the Sri Lanka Armoured Corps.

Balaretnarajah retired from the army with the rank of major general in October 1992. He was the president of the Armour Veteran's Association and Vice Patron of the St Johns College Jaffna Old Boys Association South Sri Lanka.

Personal life

Balaretnarajah was married to Sarojini (née Somasundaram), and had three children- Anusha, Arjuna and Brahman. [1] He died May, 27, 2022 at the age of 82. [2]

Related Research Articles

The Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC) is situated at Batalanda, Makola (South) 12 Kilometers away from Colombo and its aim to develop the professional knowledge and understanding of experienced officers of the Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy & the Sri Lanka Air Force to prepare them for the ranks of junior field officers in the army and the respective ranks of the Navy and Air force. The DSCSC was formerly known as the Sri Lanka Army Command and Staff College (ACSC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Lanka Armoured Corps</span> Military unit

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Lanka Engineers</span> Sri Lanka Armys Engineers Corps

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Lanka Signals Corps</span> Military unit

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment</span> Military unit

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tissa Weeratunga</span> Sri Lanka Army general and diplomat (1930–2003)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jagath Jayasuriya</span> Sri Lanka Army officer

General Jagath Jayasuriya, VSV, USP is a retired senior Sri Lanka Army officer; 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">G. A. Chandrasiri</span> Sri Lankan army general, politician

Major General Gammanpila Arachchige Chandrasiri, RWP, USP, ndc, psc, SLAC was a Sri Lankan senior army general and a provincial governor. He is the Governor of Northern Province. He was the former Commander Security Forces Headquarters - Jaffna ; General Officer Commanding, 52 Division;, Director General - General Staff, Joint Operations Headquarters; Brigade Commander Armoured Brigade, and Commander, Area Headquarters Mannar.

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.

Major General Sumith Balasuriya, VSV, USP is a retired Sri Lankan army general, who was the former Commandant of the Volunteer Force; Vice Chancellor, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University and GOC, 23 Division.

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.

Major General C.H. Fernando, VSV was a senior Sri Lanka Army general, who was the former Director of Operations, General Staff; GOC, 2 Division; Commander, Northern Command.

Major General T. N. De Silva, USP is a former Sri Lanka Army general, who was the former General Officer Commanding, 21 Division;, Commandant, Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force, Brigade Commander Armoured Brigade and Director, National Cadet Corps.

Major General Devinda Kalupahana, RSP, USP, psc, SLAC was a Sri Lankan army general, who was the former GOC, 3 Division; GOC, 2 Division; Director Operations, General Staff and Commandant, Sri Lanka Military Academy.

Brigadier M. H. Gunaratne, VSV, psc, SLAC was a Sri Lankan military officer, former Commander Security Forces Headquarters - East, Commander, Task Force I and Task Force III and Commandant, Army Training Centre

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lionel Balagalle</span> Sri Lankan army general (1947–2023)

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 Chandrika Srilal Weerasooriya or 'C.S. Weerasooriya', RWP, RSP, VSV, USP is a retired Sri Lankan Army General. He was the 15th Commander of the Sri Lankan Army (1998-2000) and a former Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan (2000-2007)

General N.U.M. Mahesh W. Senanayke, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP is a retired Sri Lankan Army senior officer who served as the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army from 2017 to 2019. Senanayake had previously been the Commander, Security Forces Headquarters – Jaffna, General Officer Commanding, 52 Division and Brigade Commander, Special Forces Brigade. Having started his military career as a military engineer, Senanayake became a special forces officer and is a veteran of all four phases of the Sri Lankan Civil War, he has served in both its Northern and Eastern theaters. Following his retirement, he contested the 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election and came fourth after the three candidates of the three major political parties in the island.

Major General Jagath Gunawardena, RSP, VSV, USP was a Sri Lankan senior army general. He was the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lankan Army, having served as the Commandant of the Volunteer Force, Commander, Security Forces Headquarters – Wanni and Master General of Ordnance. He served as the Colonel Commandant of the Sri Lanka Engineers.

Major General Gamini Hettiarachchi, WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP is a retired Sri Lankan Army officer who served as the Commander, Security Forces Headquarters – East, General Officer Commanding, 21 Division and Brigade Commander, Special Forces Brigade. Having founded the Special Forces Regiment of the Sri Lankan Army, he is known as the "Father of the Special Forces Regiment".

References

  1. ↑ "BALARETNARAJAH SAROJINI". Srilankanobituaries.com. Sri Lankan Obituaries. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  2. ↑ "Military Honours Salute Late Major General Y Balarathna Raja (Retd) During Final Journey". Sri Lankan Army. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
Military offices
Preceded by
 Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army
1992		Succeeded by


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.