Major General Nandana Udawatta, RSP, USP, psc, SLAC is 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 general. He has served as the Master General Ordnance, Commander Security Forces Headquarters - Jaffna, Commander Security Forces Headquarters - Mullaittivu and was the general officer commanding, 59 Division during the SLA offensives in the

Wanni The Vanni, also spelled Wanni, is the name given to the mainland area of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It covers the entirety of Mannar, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya Districts, and most of Kilinochchi District, and has an area of approximately ...

region during 2008 - 2009 period that led to a major victory for the SLA over the

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

(LTTE) in the Sri Lankan civil war.Two Security Forces Headquarters established in Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi
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 ...

, Udawatta joined the army on August 31, 1981 after leaving school and was commissioned in to 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 ...

in 1982 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 ...

. He was promoted as lieutenant in 1984,

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1986,

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in 1990,

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 ...

in 1997 and colonel in 2000. He went to become the

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

the 5th Reconnaissance Regiment, SLAC and Commander of Armoured Brigade four times playing a major role in operations such as Jayasikuru, Wanni Wickrama and Green Belt. In 2006 he was promoted the rank of brigadier and served as deputy officiating GOC of the 57 Division. On November 13, 2007 he was appointed as officiating General Officer Commanding of the newly formed 59 Division. The 59 Division was tasked with single-handedly fighting its way to recapture the rebel stronghold of Mullaitivu from the welioya sector. The division captured much of the district of Mullaitivu, the major LTTE One Four base and finally the town of Mullaitivu during the Mullaitivu Battle in early 2009. On February 5, 2009 he was promoted to the rank of major general. Thereafter on May 10, 2009 he was appointed briefly as Overall Operations Commander, Anuradhapura prior to being posted as Commander Security Forces Headquarters - Mullaittivu in June 2009. He served as the

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

of the Sri Lankan Embassy in Moscow, Master General Ordnance and Commander Security Forces Headquarters - Jaffna. He was the Colonel Commandant of the

. He retired from the army in December 2017. General Udawatta has received the Rana Sura Padakkama (RSP), 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 Riviresa Campaign Services Medal, 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 ...

and the

North and East Operations Medal The North and East Operations Medal ( Sinhala: උතුරු නැගෙනහිර සංග්‍රාමික පදක්කම ''uthuru nægenahira sangrāmika padakkama'') was a decoration presented to servicepersons of the Military o ...

. Relationship with the media Although he did not maintain close relationships with the media during his military career, in 2019 Major General Jagath Dias who was his superior officer during the humanitarian operation has credited him as one of the unsung heroes in the war against LTTE Terrorism during Talk with Chathura tv programme.

References

External links

Strength behind 59 Division
{{DEFAULTSORT:Udawatta, Nandana Sri Lankan major generals Year of birth missing (living people) Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Living people Sri Lanka Military Academy graduates Sinhalese military personnel Sri Lanka Armoured Corps officers