The Sri Lanka Volunteer Naval Force (SLVNF) is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the

Sri Lanka Navy The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) (; ) is the navy, naval arm of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is classed as the country's most vital defence force due to its island geography. It is responsible for the maritime defence of the Sri Lankan nation and its ...

. The SLVNF, which consists of the volunteer force and the volunteer reserve is separate from the Regular Naval Force, which consists of the Regular Force consisting of professional naval officers and sailors, and its Regular Reserve, which comprises personal who have a mobilization obligation following their service in the regular force. It is headquartered at SLNS Lanka, Welisara, and is tasked with a support and complementary role to the navy, partly by serving as a pool of civilian talent and expertise otherwise lacking in (and not regularly required by) the regular naval force, and partly by acting as a reserve force during times of war. SLVNF, which was established under the Navy Act, No. 34 of 1950, as the Royal Ceylon Volunteer Naval Force (RCVNF) which was renamed as the Sri Lanka Volunteer Naval Force in 1972.

History

The Sri Lanka Volunteer Naval Force can trace its roots to the Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force (CNVF) of

British Ceylon British Ceylon (; ), officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931 and finally the Island of Cey ...

, and indeed predates its parent force, the Sri Lanka Navy, by several decades. With Ceylonese independence on the horizon, the Government of Ceylon selected a core cadre of 100 servicemen and officers from the CRNVR to form a more regular arm of its military, in the late 1940s. The Navy Act, No. 34 of 1950 established the CRNVR as the Royal Ceylon Volunteer Naval Force (RCVNF) on 9 January 1951, alongside the Royal Ceylon Navy to which the 100 servicemen were transferred. Officers and seamen of the CRNVR not on active service on this date formed the core of the RCVNF, with a strength of 12 officers and 121 men. To keep the port H.M.Cy.S. TISSA safe, Port Commission Officers were commissioned as a separate division of the VNF, with

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

M. Chandrasoma as Commanding Officer; this division was disbanded in 1956. The

Sri Lankan Constitution of 1972 The Sri Lankan Constitution of 1972 was a constitution of Sri Lanka, replaced by the 1978 constitution currently in force. It was Sri Lanka's first republican constitution, and its second since independence in 1948. The constitution changed t ...

saw the nation become a

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

; the

Dominion of Ceylon Ceylons:Sri Lanka Independence Act 1947, The Sri Lanka Independence Act 1947 uses the name "Ceylon" for the new dominion; nowhere does that Act use the term "Dominion of Ceylon", which although sometimes used was not the official name. was an ...

became the

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian peninsula by ...

. As with the other branches of the Ceylonese armed forces, the Royal Ceylon Volunteer Naval Force too underwent a rechristening, becoming the Sri Lanka Volunteer Naval Force (SLVNF). Since then, the SLVNF has been a key support mechanism to the

during its operations in the Eelam Wars.

Recruitment

Citizens with a professional civilian career, in the state- or private sector are eligible to volunteer as officers of the SLVNF, provided they meet educational and professional qualification requirements. Ordinary ratings are recruited to either the reserves or to the active Seamen branch, with leave from active duty being granted in 5-year blocks. Tradesmen in particular are encouraged to volunteer through the SLVNF's Volunteer Special Scheme, which seeks to act as a pool of civil- and tradesman talent/experience. All members of the SLVNF are entitled to

pensions A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a "defined benefit plan", wher ...

and other remunerations on the same scale as the regular force.

Awards and decorations

Prashansaniya Seva Vibhushanaya __NOTOC__ The Prashansaniya Seva Vibhushanaya (PSV, Commendable Service Order) ( Sinhala: ප්‍රසංශනීය සේවා විභූෂණය ''prasanṣanīya sēvā vibhūṣaṇaya'') is a military decoration awarded to officers ...

- 1972. Awarded to

commissioned officers 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 (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

Prashansaniya Seva Padakkama __NOTOC__ The Prashansaniya Seva Padakkama (PSP, Good Conduct Medal) ( Sinhala: ප්‍රසංශනීය සේවා පදක්කම ''prasanṣanīya sēvā padakkama'') is a medal awarded by the Military of Sri Lanka to all noncomis ...

- 1972. Awarded to all other ranks/rates

Notable members

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Palitha Fernando, PC, VNF -

Judge Advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that prov ...

of the Sri Lanka Navy *

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

G.E.S. de Silva, PSV, FCMA,

FCFA CFA franc (, ) is the name of two currencies used by 210 million people (as of 2023) in fourteen African countries: the West African CFA franc (where "CFA" stands for , i.e. "African Financial Community" in English), used in eight West African co ...

FCMI The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is a professional institution for management based in the United Kingdom. It was founded as the British Institute of Management (BIM) in 1947 or 1948, merged with the Institution of Industrial Managers (I ...

, VNF - Commanding Officer, VNF

References

External links