Major General H.C.P Goonetilleke assumed office as the 12th Colonel Commandant of the Sri Lanka Corps of Engineers on Monday (15) during a brief ceremony at the Sri Lanka Engineers (SLE) Headquarters at Panagoda.
He succeeded Major General Udaya Nanayakkara who went on retirement after a distinguished service to the Army.
Major General H.C.P Goonetilleke on arrival at the premises reviewed a Guard Turnout and saluted the SLE war memorial before he was ushered to take the salute in a Guard of Honour parade.
In his office, Major General Goonetilleke symbolically signed a formal document and signified the acceptance of the new Colonel of the Regiment appointment before a gathering of senior officers and staff officers.
Major General Goonetilleke enlisted to the Sri Lanka Army on 31 August 1981 after having completed his primary and secondary education at St Benedict’s College, Colombo 13 and Royal College Colombo 7.
He followed the Basic Officer Cadet Course at the Sri Lanka Military Academy Diyatalawa passing out as the Best All Round Officer Cadet winning the Sword of Honour. He was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers as a Second Lieutenant on 17 July 1982.
Major General Goonetilleke has engaged explicitly in National Security, Human Resource Management, Training, Humanitarian Emergency Relief, Disaster Risk Reduction, Youth Development, Administration and Logistics at tactical, operational and strategic levels.
Some of the key appointments, held by him include Security Force Commander - Central and Military Secretary Army Headquarters, Security Force Commander - Kilinochchi, General Officer Commanding of 56 Division and General Officer Commanding Mannar Area during the Humanitarian Operations from 2006 to 2009, Commander 551 Brigade, Commander 533 Brigade, and Commanding Officer 7 Field Engineer Regiment (secondary role) during high intensity counter insurgency operations, Director Training Army Headquarters and Directing Staff Army Command and Staff College Sri Lanka.
He is a graduate of Defence Services Command and Staff College Bangladesh and National Defence College Pakistan. He holds a Masters’ Degree in Defence and Strategic Studies from the National Defence University, Pakistan. He has been awarded a Diploma in Personnel Management by the National Institute of Business Management Sri Lanka. He was conferred with the HR Leadership Award at the Asia Pacific Human Resource Management Congress Awards 2014.
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