Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army explained

Post:Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army
Incumbent:Major General S.P.A.I.M.B Samarakoon
Department:Sri Lanka Army
Type:Very senior army post
Status:Two star general
Abbreviation:DCOS
Reports To:Commander of the Army
Residence:Colombo
Seat:Army HQ
Nominator:President of Sri Lanka
Appointer:President of Sri Lanka
Termlength:Not fixed
Formation:1994

Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army (DoSA) has been the title of the third in command of the Sri Lanka Army created in 1994. The post is held by a regular officer of the rank of Major General and is the third senior position in the army. Deputy of Staff is charged with assisting the Chief of Staff of the Army in both operational and administrative aspects, functioning as the Acting Army Commander in his absences or incantation.

List of Deputy Chiefs of Staff

Nowidth=300pxDeputy Chief of Staffwidth=180pxTook officewidth=180pxLeft officewidth=180pxUnit of commissionwidth= 450pxNotes
11 June 1995Ceylon Armoured CorpsLater Major General Rohan Daluwatte was appointed as 26th Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army and later as 14th Commander of the Army and promoted to Lieutenant General. On his retirement he was promoted to General.
2Major General W. R. Wijerathne 1995 Gemunu Watch
3Major General A. M. U. Seneviratne 199530 April 1996Ceylon Light InfantryLater Major General A. M. U. Seneviratne was appointed as 27th Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army.
41996 October 1996 Ceylon Sinha Regiment
5October 199622 February 1998 Ceylon ArtilleryLater Major General Srilal Weerasooriya was appointed as 29th Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army and later as 15th Commander of the Army and promoted to Lieutenant General. On his retirement he was promoted to General.
6Major General Jaliya Nammuni 6 September 1998 Ceylon Sinha Regiment
76 September 199812 November 1998 Ceylon Light Infantry
8Major General S. T. T. (Sathis) Jayasundera Rajarata Rifles / Gajaba Regiment
9February 1999 1 April 1999 Ceylon ArtilleryLater Major General Lionel Balagalle was appointed as 31st Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army and later as 16th Commander of the Army and promoted to Lieutenant General. On 10 October 2003, he was appointed as Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) as serving army commander.
101999 April 14 June 2000 Ceylon EngineersLater Major General Janaka Perera was appointed as 32nd Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army
11Major General Neil Dias June 2000 1 February 2001Ceylon Armoured CorpsLater Major General Neil Dias appointed as 33rd Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army.
12Major General Lohan Gunawardena1 February 200113 April 2002Later Major General Lohan Gunawardena appointed as 34th Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army.
13Major General A.E.D. Wijendra13 April 200231 August 2003
14Major General Shantha Kottegoda13 August 200323 November 2003Later Major General Shantha Kottegoda was appointed as 35th Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka army and later as 17th Commander of the Army and promoted to Lieutenant General. On his retirement he was promoted to General.
15Major General Chula Seneviratne23 November 200330 June 2004Ceylon Signals CorpsLater Major General Chula Seneviratne was appointed as 36th Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka army.
16Major General Sarath Fonseka1 July 20049 December 2004 Sri Lanka Sinha RegimentLater Major General Sarath Fonseka was appointed as 37th Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army and later as 18th Commander of the Army and promoted to Lieutenant General. At the end of the war he was promoted to General, becoming the first army commander to hold a full General rank. On 15 July 2009 he was the first person appointed CDS under the newly approved Chief of Defence Staff Act. On On 22 March 2015, he was promoted to Field Marshal.
17Major General M.D.S. Chandrapala9 December 2004 6 December 2005
18Major General Parami Kulatunga6 December 2005 24 June 2006Major General Kulatunga was posthumously promoted to the rank of lieutenant general effective from 28 June 2006.
19Major General D.V.S.Y. Kulatunga24 July 20063 February 2007
20Major General N Wijesinghe3 February 2007 5 February 2008
21Major General Upul Perera7 May 2009 29 January 2010
22Major General A.L.R. Wijetunga22 November 2010 11 July 2012
23Major General Piyal Abeysekera12 July 2012 8 May 2014 Sri Lanka Signals Corps
24Major General Mahinda Ambanpola2 June 201415 February 2016Engineer Services Regiment
25Major General K.A.S. Perera16 February 201630 September 2016
26Major General Channa Gunathilaka1 November 201615 December 2016Sri Lanka EngineersLater Major General Channa Gunathilaka was appointed as 49th Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka army.
27Major General R.V. Udawatte15 December 2016July 2017 Sri Lanka Army Ordnance Corps
28Major General Dampath Fernando4 August 201726 March 2018Later Major General Dampath Fernando was appointed as 52nd Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka army.
29Major General Ajith Kariyakarawana18 April 201821 April 2019 Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment
30Major General Vajira PalihakkaraApril 2018June 2019
  • Acting Deputy Chief of Staff
31Major General Kumudu Perera4 July 201929 October 2019Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment
32Major General Nirmal Dharmaratne 22 November 201919 April 2020Gajaba Regiment
332 June 2020 30 September 2020
34Major General Duminda Sirinaga 1 October 2020 8 January 2021
35Major General Wasantha Madola14 January 2021 7 September 2021
36Major General Sampath Kotuwegoda8 September 2021 21 December 2021
37Major General Jagath Kodithuwakku21 December 2021 7 June 2022 Later Major General Jagath Kodithuwakku was appointed as 60th Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka army.
38Major General Channa Weerasuriya16 June 2022 29 November 2022Later Major General Channa Weerasuriya was appointed as 61st Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka army.
39Major General Sujeewa Senarath Yapa14 December 2022 8 June 2023
40Major General Sanjaya Wanasinghe8 June 2023 14 July 2023Sri Lanka Artillery Later Major General Sanjaya Wanasinghe was appointed as 62nd Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army.
41Major General C.D Ranasinghe18 July 2023 27 October 2023Gajaba Regiment
42Major General G.R.R.P Jayawardena21 November 2023 08 December 2023 Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment
43Major General S.P.A.I.M.B Samarakoon15 December 2023 November 2024 Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
44Major General B.K.G.M.L Rodrigo28 November 202430 December 2024 Sri Lanka ArtilleryLater Major General B.K.G.M.L Rodrigo was appointed as 25th Commander of the Army and promoted to Lieutenant General.
45Major General M.G.W.W.W.M.C.B. Wickramasinghe 2 January 2025Gajaba Regiment

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