Major General Channa Gunathilaka, RSP, USP, ndc, psc,

SLE Lupus, formally called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Common ...

(born 1963) was a senior officer of the

Sri Lanka Army The Sri Lanka Army (; ) is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. The army was officially established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, though the army traces its roots back in 1881 when Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers was created; ...

, who was the Deputy Chief of Staff of the

. He was the former Commandant of the

Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force The Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force (SLAVF) is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the Sri Lanka Army. The SLAVF is separate from the Regular Force (known as the ''regular army'') which consists of personal who are professional soldier ...

, Security Force Commander (Central), Military Secretary, Security Force Commander (Kilinochchi), GOC - 56th Infantry Division, GOC - Mannar.MAJOR GENERAL HCP GOONETILLEKE NEW COMMANDANT OF THE ‘VOLUNTEER FORCE’ OF SRI LANKA
/ref> Educated at

St. Benedict's College, Colombo St. Benedict's College ( Sinhala: සාන්ත බෙනඩික් විදුහල, Tamil: புனித ஆசீர்வாதப்பர் கல்லூரி) is a Catholic school located in the Kotahena area of Colombo, Sri L ...

and at the

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo also known as; Royal Colombo, Colombo Royal College or Colombo Royal) is a Single-sex education, boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started by Joseph Marsh (priest), Joseph Mar ...

, Gunathilaka went on to join the Sri Lanka Army in August 1981. Undergoing basic training at the

Sri Lanka Military Academy The Sri Lanka Military Academy () (SLMA or SLMA Diyatalawa), commonly known simply as Diyatalawa, is the oldest military academy in Sri Lanka, and trains commissioned officers for the Sri Lanka Army. It is located in the garrison town of Diyatal ...

Diyatalawa Diyatalawa (), (), meaning ) 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 destination for local holiday makers. It is home ...

, he won the “Sword of Honour” as the Best All Round Officer Cadet in his batch and was commissioned into the

Sri Lanka Engineers The Corp of 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 ...

as a Second Lieutenant. He is a graduate of the Defence Services Command And Staff College, Mirpur and the

National Defence University, Pakistan The National Defence University (NDU), formerly introduced as Army War Course (1963–70), the National Defence College (1970–2007), is the military university of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan focused on military education and training fo ...

where he gained a master's degree in Defence and Strategic Studies. Serving with the Sri Lanka Engineers throughout the Sri Lankan Civil War, he went on to serve as the

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of the 7th Field Engineer Regiment and

Brigade Commander A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

of the 551 Infantry Brigade and the 533 Infantry Brigade. He also served as the

General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

of the

Mannar District Mannar District ( ''Maṉṉār Māvaṭṭam''; ) is one of the 25 Districts of Sri Lanka, districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a Governm ...

and the 56th Infantry Division. He was also the Commander of the Security Forces Headquarters – Kilinochchi and Security Forces Headquarters – Central. At Army Headquarters he served as the Military Secretary of the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

and Director General Doctrine and Training as well as Director General, General Staff at the

Office of the Chief of Defence Staff The Office of the Chief of Defence Staff (OCDS) was the Sri Lanka Armed Forces operational level headquarters of the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), which was responsible for coordinating joint armed force's operations. However the respectiv ...

. General Gunathilaka has been awarded the

Rana Sura Padakkama Rana Sura Padakkama (RSP, Combat Excellence Medal) ( Sinhala: රණ ශූර පදක්කම ''rana śūra padakkama'') is awarded to servicepersons of all ranks of the regular and volunteer forces of the Military of Sri Lanka for individual ...

Uttama Seva Padakkama The Uttama Seva Padakkama (USP, Meritorious 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 proc ...

, and the

Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal __NOTOC__ The Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා සන්නද්ධ සේවා දීර්ඝ සේවා පදක්කම ''Śrī Laṃkā ārakśaka sēvā dhīrgha sēvā padakkama'') i ...

among other medals. In 2000, under a government initiative, he was instrumental in forming the Youth Corps. In 2014 he was awarded the “HR Leadership Award” at the Asia Pacific Human Resource Management Congress Awards in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunathilaka, C Sri Lankan major generals Sinhalese military personnel Sinhalese people Sri Lankan engineers Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Living people Sri Lanka Military Academy graduates 1963 births