Lieutenant Colonel J.A.L Jayasinghe PWV, WWV, RWP, RSP (29 April 1976 - 26 November 2008) was a

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

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; ...

, who was posthumously awarded the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya (PWV) the highest award for combat bravery in Sri Lanka. He was killed in November 2008, while leading a seven-man special forces team on a

covert operation A covert operation or undercover operation is a military or police operation involving a covert agent or troops acting under an assumed cover to conceal the identity of the party responsible. US law Under US law, the Central Intelligence A ...

30 km behind enemy lines into territory held by the

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eela ...

(LTTE).

Education and family

Jayasinghe was educated at Avissawella President's College (Previously Nava Kanishta Vidyalaya) and Lumbini College Colombo 05. He was also a member of the school's Rugby team. He married Kaushalya Rodrigo in January 2008, at the time of his death in November 2008 she was five months pregnant.

Military career

Jayasinghe enlisted to the Regular Force of the

on 22 January 1997, as a cadet officer. He received training at the Bangladesh Military Academy, where he followed Course 3 offered by the college. On completion of his training, Jayasinghe was commissioned as a second lieutenant to the 6th Regiment 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 ...

. He was later selected to undergo

Special Forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

training. After following Special Forces Training Course–24, which he successfully completed, he received Special Forces

credential A credential is a piece of any document that details a qualification, competence, or authority issued to an individual by a third party with a relevant or ''de facto'' authority or assumed competence to do so. Examples of credentials include aca ...

s following which He was then assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Regiment. In addition to basic training, Jayasignhe had undergone several specialized training courses, both locally and overseas. These include the successful completion of training courses offered by

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China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

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and

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. He had also received training in military training centers of the Sri Lanka Army in Minneriya, Ganemulla, Uva Kudaoya and

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 ...

areas. Jayasinghe was promoted to

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 ...

, and later, to the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

within a time period of ten years. He had functioned as a platoon commander,

company commander A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a captain. Most companies are made up of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and struc ...

and also a

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 ...

during this time. Jayasinghe was a specialist in long range reconnaissance patrol operations, and had helped achieve many victories for the Sri Lanka Army during the Sri Lankan Civil War. This includes participating in the neutralisation of Vaithilingam Sornalingam, alias Colonel Shankar, a senior commander of the LTTE, its intelligence leader Charles (killed in January 2008), and Sea Tiger Deputy Leader Kangai Amaran in June 2001.

Death

Jayasinghe was killed in November 2008, during a

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

mission in LTTE held territory. Leading an Seven-man Special Forces team, he had infiltrated thirty kilometers behind enemy lines into the Oddusuddan area in LTTE enemy territory and conducted an attack. After completing the first attack, the team had been moving on to a second target when they were spotted by LTTE cadres. Jayasinghe was wounded in the ensuing confrontation, and his team withdrew to a safer location with their wounded team leader. They were spotted again by the LTTE, and in the second confrontation Jayasinghe was killed, while another member of the Seven man team was wounded. A rescue operation was later carried out to rescue the Special Forces team, with the assistance of

Mi-24 The Mil Mi-24 (; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity transport helicopter, troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and was introduced ...

helicopter gunships of the

Sri Lanka Air Force The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF; ; ) is the air force, air arm and the youngest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. It was founded in 1951 as the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF) with the assistance of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The SLAF played a major r ...

. All seven members of the team were extracted, along with Jayasinghe's body. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. His funeral was held in Ukwatta, his home town, on 1 December 2008 with full military honours.

Decorations

A recipient of the Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya (twice),

Rana Wickrama Padakkama The Rana Wickrama Padakkama (RWP, Combat Gallantry Medal) (Sinhala language, Sinhala: රණ වික්‍රම පදක්කම) is awarded to Sri Lankan military service personnel serving in both the regular- and volunteer forces as a rew ...

, Rana Sura Padakkama gallantry medals he had also received the

Desha Putra Sammanaya The Desha Putra Sammanaya ( Sinhala: දේශ පුත්‍ර සම්මානය ''dēśa putra sammānaya''; Son of the Nation Award) is a military decoration awarded as a wound medal to servicepersons of the Military of Sri Lanka, equ ...

, North and East Operations Medal, Purna Bhumi Padakkama, Sri Lanka Army 50th Anniversary Medal and 50th Independence Anniversary Commemoration Medal. He was posthumously awarded the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya on 19 May 2012 during the country's victory day parade by the president of Sri Lanka.

Eastern Humanitarian Operations Medal ribbon bar

Northern Humanitarian Operations Medal ribbon bar

North and East Operations Medal ribbon bar

50th Independence Anniversary Commemoration Medal

Sri Lanka Army 50th Anniversary Medal ribbon bar

His badges include: Special Forces Tab, Air Mobile Tab, Commando Tab, Parachute Badge, Tracker Badge, LRRP Badge, Commando Badge and the Air Mobile Badge.

References

External links