General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Tissa Indraka Weeratunga, VSV (August 29, 1930 – November 2003) was a Sri Lankan senior army officer. He was a former Commander of the Sri Lankan Army (1981 – 1985) and first General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Joint Operations Headquarters (JOH) (at present referred Chief of the Defence Staff), he was later Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to Canada.

Early life and education

Born to Arthur Weeratunga, a planter from Matara and Henrietta Weeratunga ( née Gurusingha). He had one sister, Krishnajina Weeratunga who married Ana Seneviratne, a police officer who served as

Inspector General of Police An Inspector General of Police is a senior police officer in the police force or police service of several nations. The rank usually refers to the head of a large regional command within a police service, and in many countries refers to the most se ...

from 1978 to 1982. Tissa Weeratunga was educated at the Royal College, Colombo.GENERAL TI WEERATHUNGA VSV ndc jssc (Retd) REMEMBERED
/ref>

Military career

Early career

Weeratunga joined the newly formed Ceylon Army on 11 October 1949, in its first cadet officer intake and received his basic officer training at the

Mons Officer Cadet School Mons Officer Cadet School was a British military training establishment for officer cadets in Aldershot from 1942 to 1972, when it was closed and all officer training concentrated at Sandhurst. Until 1960, it was known as the Mons Officer Cade ...

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

and 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 ...

, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and posted to the Ceylon Light Infantry on 2 August 1951. He was appointed as adjutant of the Ruhunu Regiment on 4 July 1956; adjutant of the 1 Battalion, Ceylon Light Infantry on 22 October 1956 and

Staff Captain Staff captain is the English translation of a number of military ranks: Historical use of the rank Czechoslovakia In the Czechoslovak Army, until 1953, Staff Captain ( cs, štábní kapitán, sk, štábny kapitán) was a senior captain ran ...

Administration Branch at Army Headquarters on 25 July 1958. He was transferred to the Corps of Infantry on 8 December 1962 and posted later to 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 ...

on its formation. In December 1965, he was appointed

Brigade Major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section dire ...

of the 1st Brigade Group in

Panagoda Panagoda is a town in Western Province, Sri Lanka of Sri Lanka. It is 20 km away from Colombo. Situated there is the Panagoda Cantonment, the largest military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the m ...

. From 23 February 1966 to 1 November 1967 he served as the Military Liaison Officer in the

Ministry of External Affairs and Defence Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

. He had followed the Unit Commander’s Course in Australia and the

Joint Service Defence College The Joint Service Defence College (JSDC) was a training academy for British military personnel from 1983 to 1997. It has since been amalgamated into the Joint Services Command and Staff College. History The college was established as the Combined ...

Field command

On 1 September 1968, he was appointed the acting Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion of the Gemunu Watch. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on 1 October 1969 and confirmed as the Commanding Officer. Later he took command of the Ceylon Army General Service Corps and the Ceylon Army Pioneer Corps. With the outbreak of the 1971 Insurrection, he was appointed

Military Coordinating Officer A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

of the

Monaragala District Monaragala (, ) is a district in Uva Province of Sri Lanka. It is the second largest of the 25 districts in Sri Lanka, with an area of . Main Towns * Monaragala * Bibile * Buttala * Wellawaya * Kataragama * Siyambalanduva * medagama * Thanam ...

on 15 August 1971 and thereafter served as Military Coordinating Officer of the

Kurunegala District Kurunegala is a district in North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Consists of and consists 30 Divisional Secretariats, 1610 Grama Niladari Divisions and 4476 total Villages. It consists of 14 Electorate Divisions, 02 Municipal Council, 19 Urban ...

from 16 April 1972 to 7 May 1972. On 1 November 1972 he was appointed Commander, Task Force Anti Illicit Immigration (TAFII) in

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th mo ...

serving till 1 March 1976, having been promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

on 1 January 1974. On 1 March 1976, he was appointed Commander Western Command and later made Director Operations and Training at Army Headquarters on 15 September 1977. On 1 December 1977, he was promoted to 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 ...

and appointed Inspector of Training of the Army. He attended the

National Defence College, India The National Defence College, located in New Delhi, is the defence service training institute and highest seat of strategic learning for officers of the Defence Service and the Civil Services. This is a very prestigious course attended only b ...

and on his returned he served as Competent Authority for Sri Lanka Airports.

Higher command

On 18 March 1979, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army. Concurrently, Brigadier Weeratunga was then tasked by President

J. R. Jayawardene Junius Richard Jayewardene ( si, ජුනියස් රිචඩ් ජයවර්ධන, ta, ஜூனியஸ் ரிச்சட் ஜயவர்தனா; 17 September 1906 – 1 November 1996), commonly abbreviated in Sri Lanka as ...

to clamp down on the Tamil militancy that was taking root in

and was dispatched to Jaffna as Commander Security Forces - Jaffna, with extensive powers under the provisions of Prevention of Terrorism (Special Provisions) Act No: 48 of 1979. From 13 July 1979 to 31 December 1979, Brigadier Weeratunga lead extensive operations to route out the elements of Tamil militant groups forcing them to take refuge in India and reducing their terrorist activity. He was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

and made Commander of the Sri Lankan Army on 14 October 1981, and held the post till 2 November 1985. His tuner marked the start of the Sri Lankan Civil War with the LTTE ambush of the army patrol

Four Four Bravo Four Four Bravo was the call sign of a fifteen-man Sri Lankan Army patrol, deployed in the Jaffna Peninsula on July 23, 1983. The patrol was ambushed and thirteen of its members were killed by the LTTE. This incident sparked the Black July rio ...

in July 1983. He undertook several reforms in the army, including the formation of the

Gajaba Regiment The Gajaba Regiment (GR) is an elite infantry regiment of the Sri Lankan Army. Formed on 14 October 1983 at the Saliyapura Camp in Anuradhapura, it is named after the famous Sinhalese warrior King Gajabahu the First. It consists of 14 regula ...

and undertaking the rapid expansion of the army to cope with the civil war. He was promoted to the rank of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

and appointed as the first General Officer Commanding of the Joint Operation Command on 11 February 1985 to co-ordinate army, navy and air force

counter-terrorist Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...

operations in the north and east of Sri Lanka. He retired from the army on 29 August 1985 and was promoted to the rank of

on the same day. Brigadier

Cyril Ranatunga General S. Cyril Ranatunga, VSV (19 February 1930 – 16 June 2021) was a Sri Lanka Army officer. He served as Secretary of Defence, General Officer Commanding, Joint Operations Command and Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army during the 1980s ...

was brought out of retirement with the rank of Lieutenant General to succeed General Weeratunga.

Later life

After retiring the army he was appointed as Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Canada in October 1989 and served till 1990. He died at the age of 73 in November 2003 and was cremated with full Military Honours at General Cemetery Kanatte on November 9, 2003.Ex -Army chief’s funeral today
/ref>

Honors

His decorations include the

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 ...

(VSV), Republic of Sri Lanka Armed Services Medal,

Sri Lanka Army 25th Anniversary Medal The Sri Lanka Army 25th Anniversary Medal ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා යුද්ධ හමුදා 25වන සංවත්සර පදක්කම ''Śrī Laṃkā yuddha hamudā visipasvana sangwathsara padakkama'') was present ...

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 ...

, Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal,

President's Inauguration Medal __NOTOC__ The President's Inauguration Medal ( Sinhala: ජනාධිපති ධූරප්‍රාප්ත පදක්කම ''janādhipathi dhūraprāptha padakkama'') was a decoration of the Military of Sri Lanka, granted to all regula ...

and the

Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal The Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal was awarded to members of the Ceylon armed services who served within their specific service branch during periods in 1949-1951 when their service branch was established: *Ceylon Army (10 October 1949 ...