The Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force (SLAVF) is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of 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 ...

. The SLAVF is separate from the Regular Force (known as the ''regular army'') which consists of personal who are professional soldiers and its Regular Reserve, which comprises personal who have a mobilization obligation following their service in the regular army. The SLAVF consists of the volunteer force and the volunteer reserve; administration and recruitment of reserve personal is carried out by the Volunteer Force Headquarters in Shalawa,

Kosgama Kosgama is a small town in Colombo District, Sri Lanka. Located 46 km from Colombo, on the A4 (Colombo - Avissawella) highway, it is also served by the Kelani Valley Railway Line. The town is administered by the Seethawaka Avissawella, ( si, ...

which is headed by the

Commandant of the Volunteer Force Commandant Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force (SLAVF) has been the title of the head of the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force. The post is held by a regular officer of the rank of major general and is the fourth senior position in the army. Commandant is i ...

. It has a current strength of about 55,000 personnel. The SLAVF was known as the Ceylon Volunteer Force from 1949 to 1972 and the Sri Lanka Volunteer Force from 1972 to 1985. All regiments and corps of the army have volunteer battalions/regiments attached with the exception of the Commando Regiment,

Special Forces Regiment Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Speci ...

, and the

Sri Lanka Corps of Military Police The Sri Lanka Corps of Military Police (SLCMP) is the branch of the Sri Lanka Army responsible for the policing of service personnel and providing a military police presence on service property, operations and exercises. It is made up of three re ...

which only consists of regular units, while the Sri Lanka Rifle Corps, the

Sri Lanka Army Pioneer Corps The Sri Lanka Army Pioneer Corps (SLAPC) is a (reserve) regiment of the Sri Lanka Army. Established as manpower reserve to be utilized in times of strikes and union action to maintain the functionality of essential services and other state functio ...

, and the

Sri Lanka National Guard The Sri Lanka National Guard (SLNG) is the largest regiment in the Sri Lanka Army. It is a volunteer regiment currently made up of 20 battalions coming under the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force. History The number of battalions was gradually ...

consists only of volunteer units. The SLAVF traces its origins to the ''Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers'' which was formed in 1881 as a

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

and evolved into the Ceylon Defense Force. With the formation of the Ceylon Army under the Army Act of 1949, the Ceylon Volunteer Force was established to function as the

reserve force A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

of the newly formed Ceylon Army. It consisted of non-career officers and soldiers, who were only mobilized during national emergencies. These personal were attached to local units that trained on weekends and under took a two week long annual training camp held traditionally in

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 ...

. With Sri Lanka becoming a republic in 1972, it was renamed as the Sri Lanka Volunteer Force. In 1985, following the ''Manpower Mobilization and Auxiliary Forces Act, No. 40 of 1985'', it was renamed as the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force. Since the start of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 1983, the force has been in a continues state of mobilization and has functioned as a supplement force to booster the regular army, by means of short service tenures and reduced recruitment restrictions based on age and qualifications. The SLAVF officers and soldiers are paid at a similar rate, while engaged on military activities, as their regular counterparts. Since 2014, recruitment of civil professionals to the volunteer reserve had re-started with the army reverting to a peace time role.

History

The SLAVF was founded in 1861 when the Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers were created.

Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers

The second phase in the employment of non-British military personnel commenced in 1861 after an ordinance authorized the creation of Volunteer Corps. This move addressed the disbanding of the Ceylon Rifle Regiment in 1874. The Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers was originally administered as a single unit. However over the years various sections of the volunteers grew large enough to become independent. The different units that emerged from the Volunteer Force were: *

Ceylon Artillery Volunteers 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 ...

Ceylon Mounted Infantry 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 ...

(CMI) *

Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps The Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps was a regiment of the Ceylon Defence Force, which existed between 1900 and 1949. It was a volunteer (reserve) regiment based in Kandy, made up of only Europeans that were tea and rubber planters of the hills of S ...

(CPRC) *

Ceylon Volunteer Medical Corps The Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps (SLMC) ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා යුද හමුදා වෛද්‍ය බලකාය ''Shri Lanka Yuddha Hamuda Vayidya Balakaya'') is a specialist corps in the Sri Lanka Army which speciali ...

Cadet Battalion Ceylon Light Infantry The National Cadet Corps (NCC) is a youth organisation in Sri Lanka, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence, which operates in schools, and normally includes Army, Navy and Air Force sections. The corp is open for secondary school students on volun ...

Ceylon Engineers 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 ...

Ceylon Supply & Transport Corps The Sri Lanka Army Service Corps (SLASC) is a Combat Support corps of the Sri Lanka Army. The role of the corps is to carry supplies to the soldier where he is, and run an efficient organization for the provision of transport, fuel, oil and lubri ...

Ceylon Defence Force

In 1910 the name of the military was changed to the

Ceylon Defence Force The Ceylon Defence Force (CDF) was established in 1910 by the Ceylonese legislation ''Ceylon Defence Force Ordinance'', which reformed the Ceylon Volunteer Force (CVF) that existed previously as the military reserve in the British Crown colony ...

(CDF). It continued to grow throughout the early 20th century. The CDF saw active service when a contingent of the Ceylon Mounted Infantry (CMI) in 1900, and a contingent of Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps (CPRC) in 1902, took part in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Their services were recognized by presentation, in 1902, of colors to the CMI, and a presentation in 1904, of a Banner to the CPRC. In 1922, the CDF was honored by the presentation of the King's and Regimental colors to the Ceylon Light Infantry (CLI). During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, many volunteers from the Defence Force traveled to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, and many were killed in action. One of them mentioned by

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

was

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Jacotine of the CLI, who was the last man left alive in his unit at the Battle of Lys, and who fought for 20 minutes before he was killed. In 1939, the CDF was mobilized and an enormous expansion took place that required raising new units such as the Post and Telegraph Signals, the Ceylon Railway Engineer Corps, the Ceylon Electrical and Mechanical Engineer Corps, the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the Ceylon Corps of Military Police, the

Ceylon Signals Corps The Sri Lanka Signals Corps (SLSC) ( Sinhalese: ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංඥා බලකාය ''Shri Lanka Sana Balakaya'') is a combat support corps of the Sri Lanka Army, responsible for providing military communications, informat ...

and the

Colombo Town Guard Colombo Town Guard was a regiment attached to the Ceylon Defence Force which was the predecessor to the Sri Lanka Army prior to 1949 when the Ceylon Army was formed. It was a volunteer (Military reserve force, reserve) regiment was based in Colo ...

Unit, which had been previously disbanded, but was re-formed to meet military requirements. During the Second World War Britain assumed direct control over the Armed Forces of Ceylon.

Ceylon Volunteer Force

Following the formation of the Army in 1949, the CDF became the nucleus of the

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

and all-volunteer units of the CDF—which was the majority—became the Ceylon Volunteer Force (CVF). Many Second World War veterans were serving in the CVF at the time and in the post-Independence years, the CVF played an important role while a new regular army was forming. During this time the CVF was mobilized repeatedly to counter riots and strikes.

1962 attempted military coup

In 1962, senior officers CVF were implicated in a failed attempted coup. The government arrested and prosecuted the Commandant, Deputy Commandant, four volunteer battalion commanding officers, and junior officers including the staff officer, CVF HQ. Following the attempted coup, the two regular and three volunteer battalions suspected to be involved were disbanded along with the CVF headquarters. The functions of the CVF headquarters were transferred to the Army headquarters. Till 1962, volunteer regiments and battalion recruited officers and other ranks directly through sponsorships or applications. Which allowed for battalions to recruit from a particular geographical area such as the Kandy-based 2nd(v) Battalion, Sinha Regiment. This process was discontinued the Army headquarters undertaking recruitment and training centrally and allocations based on vacancies in each unit. Weekend training and annual training camps were reduced. Volunteer personal were further subjected to scrutinization in the internal security reviews in 1970.

Counter-insurgency operations

In 1971, there was a general mobilization with the start of the 1971 Insurrection undertaking counter-insurgency operations. With the start of the Sri Lankan Civil War, the volunteer force expanded along with the regular force and since 1993 remained mobilized throughout the war and after. The volunteer force proved to be a means of recruiting officers and other ranks that could not be otherwise be recruited into the regular force, due to age and qualification restrictions. Volunteer units played a vital role in Sri Lankan civil war in battles such as the

Weli Oya Weli Oya, ( ta, மணலாறு, translit=Maṇalāṟu) is a Sinhalese colony area in Mullaithivu District, Sri Lanka formerly known as Manal Aru. Weli Oya has been affected by the Sri Lankan civil war and government colonization programs. ...

Kokavil Kokavil ( ta, கொக்காவில் si, කොකාවිල්) is a village in Mullaitivu District, Sri Lanka, also called ''Kokkavil''. It is situated along the A-9 road. History Massacre on Yal Devi Troops were located parall ...

Mandaitivu Mandaitivu ( ta, மண்டைதீவு, translit=Maṇṭaitīvu; si, මන්ඩතිව් ''Manḍativ'') is an island off the coast of the Jaffna Peninsula in northern Sri Lanka, located approximately south of the city of Jaffna. Th ...

and in the 1987–1989 JVP insurrection sustaining many casualties.

Cadet Corps

Since the formation of the first cadet platoon with students of the

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 ...

which was attached to the Ceylon Light Infantry, the Cadet Battalion came under the

. From 1949 the Ceylon Cadet Corps with its cadet battalions came under the Volunteer Force until 1988 when the

National Cadet Corps National Cadet Corps may refer to: *Bangladesh National Cadet Corps * National Cadet Corps (Ghana) *National Cadet Corps (India) * National Cadet Corps (Pakistan) *National Cadet Corps (Singapore) *National Cadet Corps (Sri Lanka) The Nation ...

was formed as a separate entity under the provisions of the Mobilization and Supplementary Forces Act, No. 40 of 1985.

Vision

The Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force is to be a versatile and efficient organization through training while being a reliable outfit and ready to assist and support the Regular Force during any eventuality locally or internationally

Units

The SLAVF consists of about 50,000 volunteer combat officers and other ranks attached to various units and regiments of the Sri Lanka Army. Sri Lanka Armoured Corps *7th (v) Sri Lanka Armoured Corps

Sri Lanka Artillery The Sri Lanka Artillery (SLA) is the artillery arm of the Sri Lanka Army. It is made up of ten regular regiments and two volunteer regiments. The SLA is headquartered at Panagoda Cantonment, Panagoda. The emblem of the SLA is modeled after that ...

*5th (v) Sri Lanka Artillery Regiment *12th (v) Sri Lanka Artillery Regiment

Sri Lanka Engineers The Sri Lanka Engineers (SLE) is a combat support arm of the Sri Lanka Army which provides military engineering. It is made up of ten regular regiments and one volunteer regiment. Headquartered at Panagoda Cantonment, it is headed by the Centre ...

*4th (v) Sri Lanka Engineers Regiment *15th (v) Sri Lanka Engineers Regiment Sri Lanka Signals Corps *2nd (v) Sri Lanka Signals Corps Regiment

Sri Lanka Light Infantry The Sri Lanka Light Infantry (SLLI) is the oldest regiment in the Sri Lanka Army and the oldest infantry regiment in the army. It is made up of ten regular battalions and five volunteer battalions, and is headquartered at the Panagoda Cantonment ...

*2nd (v) Sri Lanka Light Infantry *5th (v) Sri Lanka Light Infantry *9th (v) Sri Lanka Light Infantry *14th (v) Sri Lanka Light Infantry *16th (v) Sri Lanka Light Infantry *17th (v) Sri Lanka Light Infantry

Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment The Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment (SLSR) ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා සිංහ රෙජිමේන්තුව ''Śrī Laṃkā Sinha Rejimēnthuva'') is an infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army; it is the second oldest infantry ...

*2nd (v) Battalion, Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment *3rd (v) Battalion, Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment *5th (v) Battalion, Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment *11th (v) Battalion, Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment *15th (v) Battalion, Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment *17th (v) Battalion, Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment

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

*2nd (v) Gemunu Watch *3rd (v) Gemunu Watch *10th (v) Gemunu Watch *14th (v) Gemunu Watch *15th (v) Gemunu Watch *16th (v) Gemunu Watch

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 ...

*2nd (v) Gajaba Regiment *5th (v) Gajaba Regiment *7th (v) Gajaba Regiment *11th (v) Gajaba Regiment *15th (v) Gajaba Regiment *17th (v) Gajaba Regiment

Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment The Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Sri Lankan Army. Formed on 22 March 1988, it is named after Vijayabahu I of Polonnaruwa (King Vijayabahu, 1055 to 1110 AD). The regiment consists of 17 regular battalions, 9 volun ...

*2nd (v) Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment *3rd (v) Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment *10th (v) Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment *12th (v) Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment *17th (v) Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment *20th (v) Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment

Mechanized Infantry Regiment The Mechanized Infantry Regiment (MIR) is a mechanized infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army. It is made up of four regular battalions and a volunteer battalion. Establish in 2007 by Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka its battalions are equipped with Type ...

*5th (v) Mechanized Infantry Regiment

Military Intelligence Corps The Military Intelligence Corps is the intelligence branch of the United States Army. The primary mission of military intelligence in the United States Army is to provide timely, relevant, accurate, and synchronized intelligence and electronic ...

*3rd (v) Military Intelligence Corps *6th (v) Military Intelligence Corps

Engineer Services Regiment The Corps of Engineer Services (CES) a regiment of the Sri Lanka Army. The role of the Corps of Engineer Services is to design, construct and maintain all buildings, roads and associated facilities such as electricity, water supply and drainage sy ...

*4th (v) Engineer Service Regiment *6th (v) Engineer Service Regiment *7th (v) Engineer Service Regiment *8th (v) Engineer Service Regiment *9th (v) Engineer Service Regiment *10th (v) Engineer Service Regiment *12th (v) Engineer Service Regiment *14th (v) Engineer Service Regiment *15th (v) Engineer Service Regiment Sri Lanka Army Service Corps *2nd (v) Sri Lanka Army Service Corps *9th (v) Sri Lanka Army Service Corps

Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps The Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps (SLMC) ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා යුද හමුදා වෛද්‍ය බලකාය ''Shri Lanka Yuddha Hamuda Vayidya Balakaya'') is a specialist corps in the Sri Lanka Army which speciali ...

*2nd (v) Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps Sri Lanka Army Ordnance Corps *4th (v) Ordnance Battalion

Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (SLEME) ( ''Shri Lanka Viduli Ha Yanthrika Injineru Rejimentuwa'') is a Combat Support corps of the Sri Lanka Army. It is made up of six regular regiments and one volunteer (reserve) regiment. R ...

*2nd (v) Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Sri Lanka Army General Service Corps *2nd (v) Sri Lanka Army General Service Corps *5th (v) Sri Lanka Army General Service Corps *6th (v) Sri Lanka Army General Service Corps Sri Lanka Army Women's Corps *2nd (v) Sri Lanka Army Women's Corps *3rd (v) Sri Lanka Army Women's Corps *4th (v) Sri Lanka Army Women's Corps *5th (v) Sri Lanka Army Women's Corps

*1st Bn Sri Lanka Army Pioneer Corps *2nd Bn Sri Lanka Army Pioneer Corps Sri Lanka Rifle Corps *1st Bn Sri Lanka Rifle Corps *2nd Bn Sri Lanka Rifle Corps

*1st Sri Lanka National Guard *2nd Sri Lanka National Guard *3rd Sri Lanka National Guard *4th Sri Lanka National Guard *5th Sri Lanka National Guard *6th Sri Lanka National Guard *7th Sri Lanka National Guard *8th Sri Lanka National Guard *9th Sri Lanka National Guard *10th Sri Lanka National Guard *11th Sri Lanka National Guard *12th Sri Lanka National Guard *13th Sri Lanka National Guard *14th Sri Lanka National Guard *15th Sri Lanka National Guard *16th Sri Lanka National Guard *17th Sri Lanka National Guard *18th Sri Lanka National Guard *19th Sri Lanka National Guard *Sri Lanka National Guard (RFT)

Volunteer Force Training School The Volunteer Force Training School Diyatalawa (VFTS Diyatalawa) is the primary training facility for the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force. Traditionally, training of the Ceylon Defence Force took place at Diyatalawa Garrison with the annual traini ...

Former units

* Ceylon Railway Engineer Corps *

Post and Telegraph Signals Ceylon Post and Telegraph Signals Corps was a departmental corps of the Ceylon Defense Force from 1943 to 1945 and of the Ceylon Volunteer Force 1955 to 1956. It was formed in February 1946, from the Post and Telegraph Signals Unit of the Ceylo ...

* Ruhunu Regiment *

Rajarata Rifles The Rajarata Rifles was a former rifle regiment of the Sri Lanka Army. It was one of only three geographically based regiments in the Sri Lanka army. The cap badge of the Raja Rata Rifles show the figure of a ''Bherunda Pakshiya'' (Double-headed ...

* National Service Regiment *2nd (V) Antiaircraft Regiment,

Ceylon Artillery The Sri Lanka Artillery (SLA) is the artillery arm of the Sri Lanka Army. It is made up of ten regular regiments and two volunteer regiments. The SLA is headquartered at Panagoda Cantonment, Panagoda. The emblem of the SLA is modeled after that ...

*2nd (V) Field/Plant Regiment,

Training

SLAVF focuses on basic training for

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

s and other ranks, which is shorter in duration to the counterparts in the regular force and followed up with annual refresher training camps. Potential officers are mostly recruited between the ages of 18 and 26 years (regular force its 18 and 22 years) as officers cadets, who follow the Volunteer Commissioning Course (Volunteer Officer Cadet Intake) at the Sri Lanka Military Academy. The

(VFTS) conducts shorted commissioning courses for direct entry and commissioning from other ranks selected as probationary officer. With the exception of commissioning from other ranks, all potential volunteer officers need to be processionals, employed as executive grades in public/private sector or have an private income of Rs.500,000 per year. Recruit training for other ranks takes place at regimental training battalions and units. VFTS conducts advance training programs such as staff and command courses for junior and senior volunteer officers.

Awards and decorations

Karyakshama Seva Vibhushanaya __NOTOC__ The Karyakshama Seva Vibhushanaya (KSV, Efficient Service Order) ( Sinhala: කාර්යක්ෂම සේවා විභූෂණය ''kāryakṣama sēvā vibhūṣaṇaya'') is a service medal awarded by the Military of Sri La ...

- Since 1972 for Commissioned Officers. *

Karyakshama Seva Padakkama __NOTOC__ The Karyakshama Seva Padakkama (KSP, Efficient Service Medal) ( Sinhala: කාර්යක්ෂම සේවා පදක්කම ''kāryakṣama sēvā padakkama'') is a service medal awarded by the Military of Sri Lanka to all ser ...

- Since 1972 for other ranks. * Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force Centenary Medal - Awarded on the 100th Anniversary of the Volunteer Force * Efficiency Decoration (Ceylon) - 1930 to 1972 for Commissioned Officers. * Efficiency Medal (Ceylon) - 1930 to 1972 for other ranks.

General of the Volunteer Force of the Army

Three former members of the volunteer force have been awarded the

honorary rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a m ...

of a

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

of the Volunteer Force of the Army. * General

Sir John Kotelawala General Sir John Lionel Kotelawala ( si, ශ්‍රිමත් ජෝන් ලයනල් කොතලාවල; 4 April 1897 – 2 October 1980) was a Sri Lankan statesman, who served as the 3rd Prime Minister of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) fro ...

— Former Prime Minister of Ceylon and Minister of Defense and External Affairs. * General

Ranjan Wijeratne General Ranjan Wijeratne (4 April 1931 – 2 March 1991) was a Sri Lankan planter and politician. He served in the Premadasa cabinet as Minister of Foreign Affairs and then Minister of Plantation Industries, while holding the office of State ...

— Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of State for Defence. * General

Anuruddha Ratwatte General Anuruddha Leuke Ratwatte (14 July 1938 – 24 November 2011), frequently referred to as Anuruddha Ratwatte, was a Sri Lankan soldier and politician. He was a Cabinet Minister and Deputy Minister of Defence. Early life Born in Kandy ...

— Former Minister of Power and Energy and Deputy Minister for Defence

Notable members

* Captain

Saliya Upul Aladeniya Captain Samarakoon Wasala Mudiyanselage Saliya Upul Aladeniya, PWV, SLRS (in Sinhalese: කපිතාන් සාලිය උපුල් අලදෙනිය; 1 March 1963 – 11 June 1990) was a Sri Lankan soldier and the second recip ...

- recipient of the

Parama Weera Vibhushanaya __NOTOC__ The Parama Weera Vibhushanaya (PWV) (Sinhala language, Sinhala: පරම වීර වීභූෂණය ''parama vīra vibhūṣaṇaya''; Tamil language, Tamil: பரம வீர விபுஷனைய) is Sri Lanka's highest Mil ...

Karu Jayasuriya Deshabandu Karu Jayasuriya, MP ( si, කරු ජයසුරිය, ta, கரு ஜயசூரிய; born 29 September 1940) is a Sri Lankan politician. He was the Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Previously he was Mayor of Colo ...

- Former Speaker of Parliament and Minister *

Nissanka Wijeyeratne Deshamanya Nissanka Parakrama Wijeyeratne ( si, නිශ්ශංක පරාක්‍රම විජයරත්න) (14 June 1924 – 7 January 2007), known as ''Nissanka Wijeyeratne'', was a Sri Lankan politician, civil servant, dipl ...

— Former Minister * C. P. J. Seneviratne — Former Minister *

Ravi Jayewardene Captain Ravindra "Ravi" Vimal Jayewardene (22 April 1936 – 2 April 2017) was a Sri Lankan aviator and sports shooter. He was the son of President J. R. Jayewardene and served as the National Security Adviser in his father's administration. ...

- Former

National Security Adviser A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...

* Brigadier

Christopher Allan Hector Perera Jayawardena Brigadier Christopher Allan Hector Perera Jayawardena (1898-1986) was a Demographics of Sri Lanka, Ceylonese forest conservator, military officer and socialite. He was a Senior Assistant Conservator of Forests, Equerry to Queen Elizabeth II, Aide- ...

- Senior Assistant Conservator of Forests and Aide-de-camp to the Governor-General * Colonel

F. C. de Saram Colonel Frederick Cecil "Derek" de Saram, OBE, ED (5 September 1912 – 11 April 1983) was a Sri Lankan lawyer, a Ceylon cricket captain, and an officer of the Ceylon Army. He led the attempted military coup of 1962. Early life and educ ...

- Deputy Commandant of the Volunteer Force, an accused members of the attempted military coup * Major

Victor Gunasekara Major Victor Joseph Harold Gunasekera, CCS (1921 — 1993) was a former Ceylonese civil servant. The former Controller of Imports Exports, Government Agent of Kegalle and Secretary to the Board of Control for Cricket. A reservist, he was a Majo ...

- Former Controller of Imports Exports, Government Agent of Kegalle and Secretary to the Board of Control for Cricket. * Major

Duncan White Major Deshamanya Duncan M. White MBE, ED (1 March 1918 – 3 July 1998) was a Sri Lankan sportsman. He was the first Ceylonese athlete to win an Olympic medal, winning silver in the 400-metre hurdles at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, Eng ...

- First Ceylonese Olympic Silver Medalist * Susanthika Jayasinghe - Sri Lankan Olympic Silver Medalist * Major

Dinesh Chandimal Lokuge Dinesh Chandimal ( si, ලොකුගේ දිනේෂ් චන්දිමාල්; born 18 November 1989) is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer who captained the Sri Lanka national cricket team. A handy and agile right-handed ba ...

- former captain of the

Sri Lanka national cricket team The Sri Lanka men's national cricket team, ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජාතික ක්‍රිකට් කණ්ඩායම, ta, இலங்கை தேசிய கிரிக்கெட் அணி) nicknamed The Lions ...

* Major

Thisara Perera Narangoda Liyanaarachchige Thisara Chirantha Perera ( si, තිසර පෙරේරා; born 3 April 1989), popularly as Thisara Perera, is a former Sri Lankan international cricketer who played all formats for the national team. He also cap ...

- former captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team * Captain

Bob Harvie Robert James Anthony Harvie "Bob" Harvie was a popular announcer of Radio Ceylon. Harvie's voice was inextricably linked to cricket commentaries from the island of Ceylon. He has led the English cricket commentary team from Radio Ceylon and subs ...

- radio personality * Lieutenant Colonel J.H.V. de Alwis — Commanding Officer, 2nd Volunteer Engineers,

, an accused members of the attempted military coup * Lieutenant Colonel B.R. Jesudasan — Commanding Officer, 2nd Volunteer Signals,

, an accused members of the attempted military coup. * Lieutenant Colonel Noel Mathyesz - Commanding Officer, Ceylon Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, an accused members of the attempted military coup in 1962. * Captain J.A.R. Felix — Staff Officer, Ceylon Volunteer Force Headquarters, an accused members of the attempted military coup in 1962.

References

External links

Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force

Sri Lanka National Guard
{{Military of Sri Lanka *

1861 establishments in Ceylon Military units and formations of the Sri Lanka Army Commands of the Sri Lanka Army Reserve forces of Sri Lanka