Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Piyal De Silva, WWV & Bar, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP is a former senior Sri Lankan naval officer. He was the Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy from 2019 to 2020.Rear Admiral Piyal de Silva appointed 23rd Navy Commander
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Education

Educated at Dharmasoka College, in Ambalangoda he joined the navy in 1984.

Naval career

De Silva joined the Sri Lanka Navy as an Officer Cadet in the 12th intake in 1984 undergoing basic training at the

Naval and Maritime Academy Naval and Maritime Academy (NMA), Trincomalee, is the naval academy of the Sri Lanka Navy, and is located within SLN Dockyard, Trincomalee. It received university status in 2001 under the leadership of Commodore SR Samaratunga. History The Sri ...

. On completion of his basic training at the Naval and Maritime Academy, he was commissioned as a Sub Lieutenant in February 1986. During his early career he specialized as an explosive ordnance disposal diver going on to command the elite Special Boat Squadron and the Diving Unit of the Navy. An officer of the executive branch he held sea commands as Captain of several warships. He later gained a Master of Business Administration in Human Resource Management, a Master of Defence and Strategic Studies and graduated from the PLA National Defence University. He was promoted to the rank of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

in 2012 and held appointments such as Flag Officer Commanding Naval Fleet, Commander Eastern, Southern, North-western and Northern Naval areas. President Maithripala Sirisena appointed De Silva the

Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Navy Chief of Staff of the Navy has been the title of the second in command of the Sri Lanka Navy. The post is held by a regular officer of the rank of Rear Admiral and is the second most senior position in the navy. Chief of Staff is charged with ...

with effect from 2 July 2018. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Deputy Chief of Staff and Director General Operations. On 31 December 2018, he was appointed by President Sirisena as Commander of the Navy and promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral effective from 1 January 2019. He retired from the navy on 14 July 2020 and was promoted to the rank of

. His decorations include Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya twice, Rana Wickrama Padakkama, Rana Sura Padakkama for gallantry;

Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya The Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya (VSV, Distinguished Service Decoration) ( Sinhala: විශිෂ්ට සේවා විභූෂණය ''viṣiṣta sēvā vibhūṣaṇaya'') is awarded to senior officers of the Military of Sri Lanka in reco ...

and Uttama Seva Padakkama for meritorious service. File:Weera wickrama vibhushanaya.svg File:Rana wickrama medal.svg File:Rana sura medal.svg File:Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya medal bar.svg File:Uttama Seva ribbon bar.svg File:Sri Lanka Navy 50th Anniversary Medal ribbon bar.svg File:Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal ribbon bar.svg File:50th Independence Anniversary Commemoration Medal.svg File:Eastern Humanitarian Operations Medal ribbon bar.svg File:Northern Humanitarian Operations Medal ribbon bar.svg File:North and East Operations Medal ribbon bar.svg File:Purna Bhumi Padakkama ribbon bar.svg File:Riviresa Campaign Services Medal ribbon bar.svg

Sporting career

De Silva was adjudged the Best Sportsman of the Sri Lanka Navy on two occasions and represented the Sri Lankan national basketball team at South Asian and Asian Basketball Tournaments.

Family

De Silva is married to Arundathi Jayaneththi and they have two sons.

References

External links

Navy Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Silva, Piyal Commanders of the Navy (Sri Lanka) Living people Sinhalese military personnel Sri Lankan admirals Year of birth missing (living people) Sri Lankan underwater divers Special Boat Squadron (Sri Lanka) officers