New Deputy Chief of Staff, Major General Sampath Kotuwegoda Takes Office

Major General Sampath Kotuwegoda of the Sri Lanka Artillery (SLA), the newly appointed Deputy Chief of Staff (DCOS) assumed office on Wednesday (8) at the Army HQ during a simple ceremony.

Symbolizing the assumption of his new office, he signed an official document after observance of Buddhist religious rituals. Major General Sampath Kotuwegoda, prior to this new appointment served as the Commandant Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force and succeeded Major General Wasantha Madola, just retired from the Army.

Major General Shiran Abeysekara, Director General Finanace Management, Major General Samantha Silva, Quater Master General, Major General Indu Samarakoon, Commander Logistic Command, Major General Sanjaya Wanasingha, Adjutant General, Major General Ajith Kolambathantri, Military Secretary, few directors of the Army Headquarters, Staff Officers in the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff (DCOS) and Other Ranks joined the occasion.

Here follows the brief profile of the Major General Sampath Kotuwegoda

Major General Sampath Kotuwegoda is a proud product of the prestigious Wickramabahu Central College, Gampola and was enlisted to the Sri Lanka Army on 17 March 1986 under the Officer Cadet Intake SSC 11. Upon successful completion of his military training, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and passed out as the fifth in order of merits. He opted to join the Sri Lanka Artillery and was subsequently posted to the 06th Regiment Sri Lanka Artillery on 21 February 1987.

During his illustrious military career, he held many Command, Staff and Instructional appointments. The Senior Officer has held the offices of Troop Commander, Gun Position Officer, Forward Observation Officer, Battery Captain and Battery Commander of the 6th, 7th and 10th Sri Lanka Artillery Regiments. He was fortunate to command the 11th Artillery Regiment and the 8th Medium Regiment of Sri Lanka Artillery. Further, he was appointed as an Instructor of Gunnery at the School of Artillery in Minneriya after which, he was appointed as the Commandant of the School of Artillery Sri Lanka.

He held Grade I and Grade II General Staff Officer appointments at the Quarter Master General’s Branch, Directorate of Operations at Army Headquarters, 23 Divisional Headquarters and in Area Headquarters, Welioya. In addition, he was appointed as the Colonel of the Quarter Master General’s Branch, Director Army Quartering at the Army Headquarters, now named as the Directorate of Real Estate and Quartering, Director of Movement (Officiating) and Senior Military Adviser to the Ministry of Defence.

Major General Kotuwegoda has commanded 612 and 663 Infantry Brigades during the Humanitarian Operations and later, he was appointed as the General Officer Commanding of the 55 Division and subsequently held the Office of Commander Security Forces- Kilinochchi. Prior to his present appointment, Major General Kotuwegoda served as the Commandant of the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force. Concurrently, he is the Colonel Commandant of the Sri Lanka Artillery.

Major General Kotuwegoda has followed many local and foreign training courses in various fields, such as Platoon Commanders’ Course (Infantry Training Centre/ Combat Training School), Mid Career Course, Potential Unit Commanders’ Course (Maduru Oya), the Young Officers’ Course (India), Combat Air Assault Staff Operation Training with US Special Forces, Mid Career Course - Artillery (Pakistan), Officers’ Gunnery Staff Course (Bangladesh), Unit Commanders’ Course - Artillery (Pakistan), College of Security Studies Comprehensive Security Response to Terrorism Course at Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies (USA) and Disaster Management Workshop - Multinational Cooperation Programme in the Asia-Pacific 2012 (Japan). Further, he has earned Master of Science in Management from General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University and graduated from the National Defence College Philippines with Master of Arts in National Security Administration.