Major General Devinda Kalupahana, RSP, USP, psc, SLAC was a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n army general, who was the former GOC, 3 Division; GOC, 2 Division; Director Operations,

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

and Commandant,

Sri Lanka Military Academy The Sri Lanka Military Academy () (SLMA or SLMA Diyatalawa), commonly known simply as Diyatalawa, is the Sri Lanka Army's training centre where officer cadets are trained for getting commission. It is located in the garrison town of Diyatalawa ...

. Educated at

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

, Kalupahana joined the army in 1966 as a cadet officer, undergoing training at the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

. While at Sandhurst, his cadet intake for the winter training exercise were sent to Cyprus when the Cypriot intercommunal violence broke out and the Sandhurst Cadets were deployed until they were relieved by regular units In 1968, he was commissioned into the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment,

Ceylon Armoured Corps The Sri Lanka Armoured Corps (SLAC) provides the armour capability of the Sri Lanka Army, with vehicles such as the T-55AM2, and type 80/88 main battle tanks; the BMP infantry fighting vehicle; and the BTR-80, and WZ551 armoured personnel carri ...

as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. After serving as a troop leader in the Ceylon Armoured Corps, he became an officer instructor at the Army Training Centre in Diyatalawa and returned several years later as chief instructor of its successor the

. He had also served as a staff officer in the Northern Command Headquarters, Sri Lanka Army Headquarters and the

Joint Operations Headquarters The Office of the Chief of Defence Staff (OCDS) is the Sri Lanka Armed Forces operational level headquarters of the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), responsible for coordinating joint armed force's operations. However the respective service com ...

. He also served as the commandant of the Combat Training School in

Ampara Ampara ( si, අම්පාර, ta, அம்பாறை) is the main town of Ampara District, governed by an Urban Council. It is located in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, about east of Colombo and approximately south of Batticaloa. Hi ...

. Raising the 3rd Reconnaissance Regiment of the

Sri Lanka Armoured Corps The Sri Lanka Armoured Corps (SLAC) provides the armour capability of the Sri Lanka Army, with vehicles such as the T-55AM2, and type 80/88 main battle tanks; the BMP infantry fighting vehicle; and the BTR-80, and WZ551 armoured personnel carri ...

, he became its first commanding officer in 1988, by then a

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 ...

. He then became the commandant of the Sri Lanka Military Academy and went on to take command in the Area Headquarters in

Vavuniya Vavuniya (, romanized: ''Vavuṉiyā'', , romanized: ''Vavuniyāva''). Vavuniya City is the capital of Vavuniya District in the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka and the largest city in the Northern Province. The municip ...

. During Operation Sea Breeze, the first

amphibious operation Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducted u ...

launched by the Sri Lankan military in its history, Colonel Kalupahana led the brigade that landed on the second wave which successfully established the beachhead. Thereafter he went on the become the director of operations at the Army Headquarters; regimental commander of the Sri Lanka Armoured Corps; general officer commanding of the 3 Division and general officer commanding of the 2 Division. He retired from the army with the rank of major general in 1996. General Kalupahana is a graduate of the Armed Forces Staff and Command College in Germany. He was awarded the Rana Sura Padakkama (RSP) for combat bravery, the service medal Uttama Seva Padakkama (USP), the

Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal __NOTOC__ The Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා සන්නද්ධ සේවා දීර්ඝ සේවා පදක්කම ''Śrī Laṃkā ārakśaka sēvā dhīrgha sēvā padakkama'') i ...

, the

Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal The Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal ( Sinhala: සන්නද්ධ සේවා දීර්ඝ සේවා පදක්කම ''ārakśaka sēvā dhīrgha sēvā padakkama'') was a service medal of Ceylon from 1968 to 1972. It was g ...

and the

Purna Bhumi Padakkama The Purna Bhumi Padakkama ( Sinhala: පූර්ණ භූමි පදක්කම ''pūrna bhūmi padakkama'') was a service medal awarded by the Military of Sri Lanka The Sri Lanka Armed Forces is the overall unified military of the Democ ...

. In 2010, he gave evidence to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission.Kalupahana alleges CBK undermined ‘reconciliation process’
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalupahana, Devinda Sri Lankan major generals Year of birth missing (living people) Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Living people Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Sinhalese military personnel Sri Lanka Armoured Corps officers Bundeswehr Command and Staff College alumni