Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admi ...

Jayalath Weerakkody, RWP, VSV, USP 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 ...

air officer who served as commander of the Air Force from 1999 to 2002. He served as Sri Lankan High Commissioner to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Early life and education

Educated at Dharmashoka College, Ambalangoda, where he excelled in sports and swimming.

SLAF career

Weerakkody joined the Sri Lanka Air Force as an officer cadet in the general duties pilot branch in the officer cadet intake 1 of the Air Force Academy, China Bay on 12 January 1972. Serving as a squadron pilot, he became a qualified flying instructor. He went on to command the No. 4 Squadron SLAF, No. 2 Squadron SLAF and SLAF Colombo. Weerakkody served as the Senior Air Staff Officer, Base Commander SLAF Anuradhapura, Northern Zonal Commander, Director Operations and Chief of Staff. He followed the Junior Commanders Course at the

Air Force Administrative College Air Force Administrative College (AFAC), located at Coimbatore, is one of the oldest training institutes of the Indian Air Force (IAF). Courses offered College conducts following courses for in service officers: * Basic Air Typing Staff Course ...

, attended the

Air Command and Staff College The Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) is located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama and is the United States Air Force's intermediate-level Professional Military Education (PME) school. It is a subordinate command of the Air Uni ...

and the National Defence College, New Delhi. He was appointed commander of the Air Force on 6 March 1998 and was promoted to the rank of Air Marshal. During his tenure, the SLAF acquired MiG-27

ground-attack aircraft An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pres ...

and upgraded its fleet of trainers by acquiring Nanchang CJ-6s and

K-8 Karakorum The Hongdu JL-8 (Nanchang JL-8), also known as the Karakorum-8 or K-8 for short, is a two-seat intermediate jet trainer and a light attack aircraft designed in the People's Republic of China by China Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation ...

s. He retired on 15 July 2002 and was appointed Sri Lankan High Commissioner to

. In 2007 he was promoted to the rank of

along with nine other former service chiefs. His awards included thrice being awarded the Rana Wickrama Padakkama for gallantry and the service medals

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 the

Uttama Seva Padakkama The Uttama Seva Padakkama (USP, Eminent Service Medal) ( Sinhala: උත්තම සේවා පදක්කම ''uṭṭama sēvā padakkama'') is presented to all ranks of the regular forces of the Sri Lankan military for: Award process Th ...

References

Sri Lanka Air Force - Air Marshal J Weerakkody

, - Commanders of the Sri Lanka Air Force Sri Lankan Air Chief Marshals Sinhalese military personnel Sri Lankan aviators High Commissioners of Sri Lanka to Pakistan Living people Air Command and Staff College alumni Sri Lanka Air Force Academy graduates Alumni of Dharmasoka College Year of birth missing (living people) National Defence College, India alumni {{SriLanka-mil-bio-stub

Early life and education

SLAF career

See also

References