Chief of Staff of the Army (CoSA) has been the title of the
second in command of the
Sri Lanka Army. The post is held by a regular officer of the rank of
Major General and is the second senior position in the army. Chief of Staff is charged with assisting the
Army Commander in both operational and administrative aspects, functioning as the ''Acting Army Commander'' in his absences or incantation. Chief of Staff is assisted by the
Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army.
History
The post was established in 1949, when
Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
Anton Muttukumaru was appointed as
Chief of Staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
to
Brigadier the Earl of Caithness, the first Army Commander when the
Ceylon Army was formed. The post was thereafter held by one of the senior most officers in the Ceylon Army, usually of the rank of
Colonel. In 1955, Colonel
Gerard Wijeyekoon
Sir Gerard Wijeyekoon (5 May 1878 – 21 September 1952) was a Ceylonese lawyer and a politician. He was the first President of the Senate of Ceylon.
Born Abraham Charles Gerard Wijeyekoon, he was educated at Wesley College, Colombo and Royal ...
held the post and served as Acting Army Commander, while Brigadier Muttukumaru attend
Imperial Defence College. On his return in 1956 Brigadier Muttukumaru assumed command of the army and Colonel Wijeyekoon was transferred to the newly created post of
Commandant of the Volunteer Force which became the second most senior post in the army. Since 1966, it became the third-ranking after that of Army Commander. In the 1970s the post became a Brigadier's posting In the early 1990s the post of
Deputy Chief of Staff was created. The post of Chief of Staff has become a Major General's posting since the early 1980s.
List of Chiefs of Staff
References
External links
Sri Lanka Army
{{Military of Sri Lanka
1949 establishments in Ceylon
Sri Lanka Army appointments
Lists of Sri Lankan military personnel