CDS Admiral Wijegunaratne retires

• Ends nearly 40 years of service
• Founder of Special Boat Squadron
• New CDS may not be appointed promptly

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Admiral Ravindra C. Wijegunaratne will retire today, completing more than 39 years of service. 

He held the post for two-and-a-half years, having been at the helm of the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) for another two-and-a-half years.

Admiral Wijegunaratne

 Wijegunaratne’s successor is yet to be named, with some in the defence establishment of the view that the post may not be filled immediately or would be held by an acting officer.    

Wijegunaratne joined the SLN at the age of 18 years as an officer cadet of the 9th Intake and trained in Naval and Maritime Academy, Trincomalee. 

He later joined the Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC) at Dartmouth, UK, where he was the recipient of the Best International Midshipman Award at the BRNC in 1982. He is specialised in anti-submarine warfare and is a qualified diver and paratrooper and a Special Forces operative. The CDS carries four medals for Gallantry including the Weerodhara Vibushanaya (WV) and is the founder of the Special Boats Squadron (SBS) of the Sri Lanka Navy. 

Wijegunaratne is widely known as an expert in asymmetric naval warfare and small boat operations. He earned his BSc (Hons) degree in War Studies from the Karachi University in Pakistan in 1996 and MPhil in Defence and Strategic Studies (First Class) from the University of Madras in India, in 2010.

During his tenure as the Commander of the SLN, he raised Sri Lanka’s first marine battalion. As a sportsman he has represented Navy in rugby and football among other sports. He is also an accomplished marksman and was the Chairman of the National Rifle Association (NRA).