General AWJC De Silva RWP VSV USP ndu psc
General A.W.J.C DE SILVA RWP USP ndu psc was appointed as the Chief of Defence Staff on 15 June 2015 on relinquishing the Command of the Sri Lanka Army. He is the 6th Chief of Defence Staff of Sri Lanka defence forces.
General A.W.J.C De Silva RWP USP ndu psc, was appointed as the 21st Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, effective from February 22, 2015 by His Excellency the President Maithripala Sirisena as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
Enlisted to the Army on 6 February 1980 and commissioned to the 1 Field Engineer Regiment of the Corps of Sri Lanka Engineers as a 2 Lieutenant on 18 July 1981, he was subsequently promoted to the ranks of Captain (1985), Major (1989), Lieutenant Colonel (1994), Colonel (1997), Brigadier (2003) and Major General on 30th November 2009. Upon his assumption of the Commander's Office on 22 February 2015, he was elevated to the rank of Lieutenant General.
General De Silva who counts over 35 years of distinguished service in the Army, took office as the Chief of Staff on 1 August 2013 before he undertook an overseas assignment as Deputy Chief of Mission to the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Moscow on 16 May 2014.
General De Silva who has wide-ranging experience in various command, staff and instructional appointments, commanded the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force (SLAVF) as its Commander before he was appointed the Chief of Staff.
He was also the Commander-Security Force Headquarters, Kilinochchi, Commander-Forward Maintenance Area (East), Commander-Engineer Brigade and has commanded 512 and 562 Infantry Brigades.
He was also the Commander-Security Force Headquarters, Kilinochchi, Commander-Forward Maintenance Area (East), Commander-Engineer Brigade and has commanded 512 and 562 Infantry Brigades.
He has served a number of staff appointments at the Army Headquarters as the Military Secretary, Director Operations, Additional Military Secretary, Director Plans and Colonel (Administration) at the Directorate of Personnel Administration.
In addition, he was the Commandant and the Chief Instructor of the Army Command and Staff College and the Chief Instructor of the Sri Lanka Military Academy at Diyatalawa.
As one of the most distinguished Officers in the Regiment, General De Silva commanded 6 Field Engineer Regiment and later served as the Colonel Commandant of the Corps of Sri Lanka Engineers.
He has actively contributed to counter insurgency operations against the LTTE and was awarded the gallantry medal, Rana Wickrama Padakkama (RWP) and the Uttama Seva Padakkama (USP) for his unblemished military career.
To his credit, he has attended a number of local and foreign courses of academic and professional value, including the Young Officers' Course at the prestigious Military College of Engineering Risalpur, Pakistan, his first overseas course.
He is also a graduate of the Army Command and Staff College Camberley, UK and Higher Command College Nanjing, China. He has also obtained a Masters Degree in Defence Studies from the National Resilience Institute (Lembaga Ketahanan Nasional), the equivalent of National Defence University of Indonesia.
In addition, he has attended the Higher Command Course at the College of Combat Mhow India, Bomb Disposal Course at the College of Military Engineering Pune, India, Engineer Company Commanders' Course at the Military College of Engineering Risalpur, Pakistan and the Advanced Security Cooperation Executive Course at the Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies, Hawai, USA.
General De Silva is an old boy of the prestigious Royal College, Colombo. He is more popularly known as 'Crishanthe' in the organization and among his associates and married to Nayana and blessed with twin boys.
