Major General Dampath Fernando is a retired Sri Lankan army general. He was the 52nd Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army and a former

Colonel of the Regiment Colonel (Col) is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below Brigadier (United Kingdom), brigadier, and above Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom), lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not usually field commanders; typically ...

of the

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 be ...

Education and military career

On finishing his schooling at De Mazenod College

Kandana Kandana (, ) is a suburb of Gampaha in Western Province, Sri Lanka, north of the Colombo city centre. Due to the proximity to Negombo as well as the Bandaranaike International Airport, the suburb is a popular residential area. The neighboring sub ...

, Fernando enlisted in 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; ...

through its 18th Officer Cadet Intake on 27 April 1983. Completing basic training at

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 was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on 7 November 1984 and posted to the

. Operational commands he has held include: *Battalion Commander, 5 Gemunu Watch *Battalion Commander, 8 Gemunu Watch *Brigade Commander 533 Brigade *Brigade Commander, 512 Brigade *General Officer Commanding, 23 Division (at the rank of

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

, in which role he oversaw the disarmament of the

Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP; , ), formerly known as the "Karuna Group", is a political party in Sri Lanka. It was formed by Karuna Amman (Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan), a former leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, after he d ...

in 2009) *General Officer Commanding, 65 Division *General Officer Commanding, 54 Division He has also held a number of staff appointments, having been General Staff Officer II at the Directorate of Training, Army Headquarters, Brigade Major of 521 Brigade, Director Psychological Operations, Director Sports, Director General Operations & Systems at the office of the Chief of the Defence Staff, Officer Instructor at the

General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) ( Sinhala: ජෙනරාල් ශ්‍රිමත් ජෝන් කොතලාවල ආරක්ෂක විශ්ව විද්‍යාලය ''General Sir John Kotelawala'' ''Ar ...

(KDU), Commanding Officer at KDU and Commandant of the Army Training School in Maduruoya. Following the end of the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, Fernando was forced into retirement by Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse in a reshuffle of senior officers in the army, due to his associations with- and loyalty to-

Mahinda Rajapakse Mahinda Rajapaksa (; ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022; the ...

's presidential rival

Sarath Fonseka Field Marshal Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka (born 18 December 1950) is a Sri Lankan retired army officer. He was the eighteenth Commander of the Sri Lankan Army from 2005 to 2009, and under his command the Sri Lankan Army ended the 26- ...

, whom Fernando had served under for the length of

Eelam War IV Eelam War IV is the name given to the fourth and final phase of armed conflict between the Sri Lankan military and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Renewed hostilities began on the 26 July 2006, when Sri Lanka Air Force ...

. He was reinstated by newly elected President

Maithripala Sirisena Maithripala Yapa Sirisena (; ; born 3 September 1951) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the seventh president of Sri Lanka from 9 January 2015 to 18 November 2019. Sirisena is Sri Lanka's first president from the North Central Province, S ...

in February 2015 and appointed Commander, Security Force Headquarters- Mullaitivu (SFHQ-MLT). On 4 August 2017, Fernando was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff, and promoted to Chief of Staff on 27 March 2018 and served till January 2019 when he retired from the service.

Personal life

Fernando has represented Sri Lanka in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, and played

squash Squash most often refers to: * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita'' Squash may also refer to: Sports * Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...

for the Defence Services. He is a devout Roman Catholic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernando, Dampath Living people Gemunu Watch officers Alumni of De Mazenod College Year of birth missing (living people) Sri Lankan major generals Sinhalese military personnel Sri Lanka Military Academy graduates Sri Lankan Roman Catholics