Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Dampath Fernando is a retired Sri Lankan army general. He was the 52nd Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army and a former

Colonel of the Regiment Colonel (Col) is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below brigadier, and above lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not usually field commanders; typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalio ...

of the

Gemunu Watch The Gemunu Watch (GW) ("King Dutugemunu's Own") is a infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army, formed with troops from the Ceylon Light Infantry and the Ceylon Sinha Regiment in 1962. It has been deployed in many major operations against the LTTE ...

Education and military career

On finishing his schooling at

De Mazenod College __NOTOC__ , motto_translation = Courageously and faithfully , founder = A. Y. Keegerat , established = 1914 , type = Government-aided private school , affiliation = , grades = 1–13 , principal = Janaka Fons ...

Kandana Kandana ( si, කඳාන, ta, கந்தானை) is a suburb of Colombo in Western Province, Sri Lanka, north of the Colombo city centre. Due to the proximity to Colombo, Negombo as well as the Bandaranaike International Airport, the subu ...

, Fernando enlisted in the

Sri Lanka Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

through its 18th Officer Cadet Intake on 27 April 1983. Completing basic training at

Diyatalawa Diyatalawa (දියතලාව, meaning “the watered plain”) is a former garrison town in the central highlands of Sri Lanka, in the Badulla District of Uva Province. It is situated at an altitude of and has become a popular destina ...

, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on 7 November 1984 and posted to the

. Operational commands he has held include: *Battalion Commander, 5 Gemunu Watch *Battalion Commander, 8 Gemunu Watch *Brigade Commander 533 Brigade *Brigade Commander, 512 Brigade *General Officer Commanding, 23 Division (at the rank of

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

, in which role he oversaw the disarmament of the

Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) ( ta, தமிழ் மக்கள் விடுதலைப்புலிகள், en, Tamil Peoples Liberation Tigers), previously known as the "Karuna Group", is a political party in Sri Lanka. It ...

in 2009) *General Officer Commanding, 65 Division *General Officer Commanding, 54 Division He has also held a number of staff appointments, having been General Staff Officer II at the Directorate of Training, Army Headquarters, Brigade Major of 521 Brigade, Director Psychological Operations, Director Sports, Director General Operations & Systems at the office of the Chief of the Defence Staff, Officer Instructor at the

General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) ( Sinhala: ජෙනරාල් ශ්‍රිමත් ජෝන් කොතලාවල ආරක්ෂක විශ්ව විද්‍යාලය ''General Sir John Kotelawala'' ''Ar ...

(KDU), Commanding Officer at KDU and Commandant of the Army Training School in Maduruoya. Following the end of the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Fernando was forced into retirement by Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse in a reshuffle of senior officers in the army, due to his associations with- and loyalty to-

Mahinda Rajapakse Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...

's presidential rival

Sarath Fonseka Field Marshal Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka ( si, ගාර්දිහේවා සරත් චන්ද්‍රලාල් ෆොන්සේකා, ta, சரத் பொன்சேகா; born 18 December 1950), commonly know ...

, whom Fernando had served under for the length of

Eelam War IV Eelam War IV is the name given to the fourth phase of armed conflict between the Sri Lankan military and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Renewed hostilities began on the 26 July 2006, when Sri Lanka Air Force fighter jets ...

. He was reinstated by newly elected President

Maithripala Sirisena Maithripala Yapa Sirisena ( si, පල්ලෙවත්‍ත ගමරාළලාගේ මෛත්‍රීපාල යාපා සිරිසේන; ta, பல்லேவத்த கமராளலாகே மைத்திரி� ...

in February 2015 and appointed Commander, Security Force Headquarters- Mullaitivu (SFHQ-MLT). On 4 August 2017, Fernando was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff, and promoted to Chief of Staff on 27 March 2018 and served till January 2019 when he retired from the service.

Personal life

Fernando has represented Sri Lanka in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, and played

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

for the Defence Services. He is a devout Roman Catholic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernando, Dampath Living people Gemunu Watch officers Year of birth missing (living people) Sri Lankan major generals Sinhalese military personnel Sri Lanka Military Academy graduates Sri Lankan Roman Catholics