03rd June 2022 17:05:15 Hours
Major General Chandana Wickramasinghe is the 49th Military Secretary (MS) of the Sri Lanka Army. He assumed office this morning (3) during a brief ceremony. He succeeded Major General Ajith Kolambathantri who just retired from the service.
On arrival at the new office, the new Military Secretary signed an official document to signify the acceptance of new responsibilities, amid 'Pirith' chanting and traditional military formalities at his new office. Several Senior Officers and Officers attended the occasion. Prior to his present appointment, he was serving as the General Officer Commanding of the 51 Division under the Security Force Headquarters - Jaffna.
After completion of his basic military training at the Indian Military Academy (IMA) (Regular Intake 87) and Sri Lanka Military Academy (Intake 31), he received his graduation as a commissioned Officer in the Rank of 2nd Lieutenant, and was subsequently posted as an Infantry Officer in the Gajaba Regiment of the Sri Lanka Army.
He also served as a Military Staff Officer in the United Nations mission in Haiti during 2007 - 2008 and also as a UN Civil-Military trainer.
In recognition of his commitment to the defence of the country and bravery in the war for peace, he was awarded gallantry medals, Rana Wickrama Padakkama (RWP), Rana Sura Padakkama (RSP), each medal twice. He also has served as a Brigade Commander in the 511 Brigade in Jaffna.
In addition, he has also held the office of Dean of the Faculty of Defence and Strategic Studies at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) and had the privilege of becoming the first Research Coordinator of the Department of Strategic studies in the same University.
Major General Chandana Wickramasinghe has also earned a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Colombo. He is also a graduate at the Army Command and Staff College (DSCSC No 4) Sapugaskanda, having obtained the Passed Staff College (psc) degree. Currently, Major General Chandana Wickramasinghe is reading for his MPhil/PhD in International Relations at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University.
He was awarded the Asia’s Education Leadership Award - 2015 at the Asia’s Education Excellence Awards ceremony, held in Singapore in 2015. In addition, he has also conducted lectures on national security strategies, personal development modules and soft skills both at home and the Maldives.
Being a proud product of Matale Vijaya College and Kandy Dharmaraja College, Major General Chandana Wickramasinghe is considered a professional military officer and multi-disciplinary researcher in International Research (IR) domain, specialized in Geopolitics, Leadership, Strategic Studies, etc with special focus on National Security.
He was the 17th Director of Media cum the Military Spokesman several months ago.
