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New Navy Chief is Rear Admiral Colombage
View(s):Rear Admiral Jayanath Colombage was appointed this week by President Rajapaksa as the new Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy. Until his appointment as the 18th Navy chief, he served as the Commander Eastern Naval Area in Trincomalee.
Vice Admiral Colombage joined the Sri Lanka Navy as an Officer Cadet in 1978 and completed basic training at the renowned Naval and Maritime Academy in Trincomalee. He was then selected to attend the prestigious International Midshipmen Course in the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in the United Kingdom.
The new Navy Commander assuming duties at an auspicious time at Navy Headquarters on Thursday in the presence of family members and Navy officers. Pic by Indika Handuwala
He is a distinguished alumni of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington in India, the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, Hawaii in the United States of America and the Royal College of Defence Studies in the United Kingdom.
He is also an Associate of the Nautical Institute of the United Kingdom and currently the President of the Sri Lanka Chapter. Also, he holds Diplomas in Security Studies, Conflict Resolution, International Affairs and Information Technology.
He has been conferred with two Masters Degrees – Master of Science in Defence Studies and Master of Arts in International Studies. Presently, Vice Admiral Colombage is reading for his Doctorate in Philosophy.
As an expert on Maritime Security he has commanded four Operational Naval Commands – Eastern, Northern, Western and North Central for a period spanning four years.
He also served twice as the Director General Operations at Naval Headquarters. Prior to that, he served as the Director General Services as well as Director Naval Training and Personnel. He also had served in the appointments of Deputy Area Commander (North Central), Deputy Area Commander (South) and Deputy Area Commander (East).
With a naval career of 34 years, Vice Admiral Colombage has commanded numerous ships of the Sri Lanka Navy including the Fast Missile Vessels, Fast Gun Boats, Fast Attack Craft and Amphibious ships and has been awarded the Surface Warfare Badge. He is a weapons specialist who has undergone extensive training with the Indian Navy and in the People’s Republic of China.
He is a recipient of the Rana Sura Padakkama for gallantry. Among the other medals awarded are the Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya, the Utthama Seva Padakkama, North Humanitarian Operation Medal, the North and East Operations Medal, the Purna Bhumi Padakkama, the Vadamarachchi Operation Medal and the Riviresa Campaign Service Medal and a number of other medals.
Vice Admiral Colombage hails from Katunayake. He is a product of St. Sylvester’s College, Kandy. His wife is Srima and his daughter Indeewari.
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