Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admir ...

Kapila Veedhiya Bandara Jayampathy WWV, RWP, RSP MSc (Intl Rel), MSc (Def & Strat) is the 16th Commander of the

Sri Lanka Air Force The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) ( si, ශ්‍රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; ta, இலங்கை விமானப்படை, Ilaṅkai vimāṉappaṭai) is the air arm and the yo ...

. After his retirement he is now appointed as Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to Malaysia.

Early life and education

Kapila received his education at Nalanda College Colombo and is a graduate of

PLA National Defense University The People's Liberation Army National Defence University () is a Beijing-based national military university administered by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and funded by the Central Military Commission. The university is the highest milita ...

in Defence Studies. He is the first SLAF officer to be nominated and appointed to the National Defense University of China, where he graduated with distinction and a fellowship. He was presented with Nalanda Keerthi Sri award by Nalanda College in 2016.Nalandians’ Tribute to the Commander of the Air Force
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Military career

Kapila joined

on 5 March 1982 as an Officer cadet and was commissioned as a

Pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

in General Duties branch of

No. 4 Squadron SLAF No. 4 (VVIP/VIP) Helicopter Squadron is a squadron of the Sri Lanka Air Force. It currently operates Bell 412/412EP/212/206JR from SLAF Ratmalana for VVIP/VIP Air transport. History Established on January 15, 1971 as No. 4 Helicopter Squadron wi ...

in 1985. Kapila is a Qualified Helicopter Instructor (QHI) with an exceptional A-2 Instructor grading to his credit and a

VVIP A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples incl ...

Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

. He was the Commanding Officer of the

No. 7 Squadron SLAF No. 7 Helicopter Squadron is a squadron of the Sri Lanka Air Force. It currently operates Bell 212s, Bell 206s from SLAF Hingurakgoda for troop transport, MEDEVAC and training helicopter pilots. History In 1994, No. 4 Helicopter Wing was split ...

at Sri Lanka Air Force Base Hingurakgoda. Later in the year 2000 Kapila was appointed as the Commanding Officer of the

No. 6 Squadron SLAF No. 6 Helicopter Squadron is a squadron of the Sri Lanka Air Force. It currently operates Mil Mi-17s from SLAF Anuradhapura for troop transport. History The squadron was formed on March 15, 1993 SLAF Katunayake with the arrival of Mil Mi-17s. I ...

and he was flying the

Mil Mi-17 The Mil Mi-17 ( NATO reporting name: Hip) is a Soviet-designed Russian military helicopter family introduced in 1975 (Mi-8M), continuing in production at two factories, in Kazan and Ulan-Ude. It is known as the Mi-8M series in Russian servic ...

helicopters. In January 2005 he was appointed as the Defense Advisor to the Sri Lankan High Commission in Islamabad,

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. In December 2009, he took over duties as the Base Commander Sri Lanka Air Force Base China Bay. Latyer when SLAF Base China Bay was upgraded and renamed as the Air Force Academy, he was re-designated as the Commandant of the Air Force Academy. He has followed Bell Helicopter Transition Courses at

Bell Textron Bell Textron Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. A subsidiary of Textron, Bell manufactures military rotorcraft at facilities in Fort Worth, and Amarillo, Texas, as well as commercial helicopters in Mir ...

, Texas, USA- 1986, Joint Air Warfare Course at IAF in India -1992, Junior Command and Staff Course at PAF in Pakistan -1992, Air Crew Instructors Course at RAF, Cranwell, UK -1996, Defense Resource Management Course, Bangkok, Thailand- 1997, Air Doctrine symposium, Guam, USA- 1998, Cobra Gold Combined Exercise, Bangkok, Thailand- 2001, Defense Resource Management Course – Naval Post Graduate School, Monterey, California USA - 2004, National Defense Course, China in 2008/2009, during his service career.

References

External links

President appoints new Air Force Chief

New Sri Lanka Air Force Chief takes over command

Jayampathy new SLAF Chief

Air Marshal Kapila Jayampathi is the Air Force Commander!
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jayampathy, Kapila Living people Sri Lankan Air Chief Marshals Sinhalese military personnel Alumni of Nalanda College, Colombo Sri Lankan aviators Date of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)

Early life and education

Military career

See also

References

External links