The Fearless Naval Officer Who Revolutionized Naval Warfare through Unyielding Fortitude

By Nilakshan Perera

My acquaintance with Manoaj Jayasuriya started in 1975 when I joined Ananda. On the first day at Ananda after 1.20 p.m., the bell rang, and I didn't know how to get to a bus to go to Panadura. When I looked around after passing the main gate, I spotted Manoaj as he was there in the same class and I asked him how to get to Panadura, he politely asked me to join him as he was going to Moratuwa, and we both came to Bambalapitiya and got into a Panadura bus. From that day onwards we were friends in the same class. Who would have thought that classmates of Grades 7, would be batchmates at the Kotelawala Defence Academy (KDA) Intake 3 in 1982? 14 of us joined KDA on the 3rd of August 1982 (Please refer to my article “Escapades of Budding Heroes of KDA Intake 3”)

Manoaj Jayasuriya was always soft-spoken and a person of few words who some may even refer to as a bookworm as he was an avid reader. However, when he spoke, we all listened as it always meant a lot to us as batch-mates, as we really valued and respected his ideas.  His valid and timely advice made all of us rally around him for his qualities and leadership traits. Manoj always carried a book with him and never lifted his head when he was glued to a book.

Manoaj graduated from the University of Colombo with an Honors degree in Physical Science. He was also awarded University Rugby Colours for his outstanding sportsmanship.

Majja (as he was popularly known to his friends, batch-mates, and fellow Naval officers) always abhorred injustice and never hesitated to speak up on behalf of others. This may have been why he was deprived of being appointed as the Cadet Under Officer from Intake 3 and why he was not awarded the Sword of Honor which is awarded to the best cadet. However, he won the prize for the Cadet placed first in Order of Merit, the prize for the Military subjects, and the prize for the Best Cadet posted to the Navy during the Passing Out parade on 29th July 1986. The Chief Guest at this occasion was Lalith Athulathmudali, Minister of National Security and Deputy Minister of Defence.

Majja’s ambition was to join the Navy, and he joined with Dimuthu Gunawardane (retired with the rank of Rear Admiral on 20th April 2017), Damian Fernando (retired with the rank of  Rear Admiral on 1st of Feb 2017) & Late Lt Comd Preethi Vidanapathirana MIA on 19th Nov 1997 during a fierce sea battle off the coast of Mullaitivu. (Please refer to my article “Remember me in a silent distant land” which appeared on 17th Oct 2001).

Only very few can leave a legacy behind, however much they are capable or outstanding they may be, but I am very proud to say that Majja was among the very few in the Sri Lankan Naval fraternity as per my understanding. As a person who preferred solitude and silence, he chose not blindly to believe his predecessors, and sought alternate methods when approaching a problem. His unorthodox ways of thinking did not go down well with some traditional senior naval officers. He always had a point to ponder against many traditional textbooks on naval affairs. However, he was not an outstanding person whilst under his superiors’ direct command or control.

This was the time a traditional navy was fighting a separatist war against a nontraditional outfit. The belief was that a superior force could nullify any insignificant nontraditional force. It was at a very high price that superiors realized their mistakes and misinterpretation of the enemy. Even the introduction of Israel-built Dvoras to the navy was successful only as long as LTTE sea tigers were evading and running away from SL Navy boats. Around this time, Majja, this, smart and enthusiastic young officer, took over command of one of the Israeli-built high-speed boats. Charismatically he never adhered to the ways of conventional warfare, and he practiced and introduced asymmetric warfare concepts to fight against LTTE sea tigers and had his way around every aspect of naval warfare. Unlike nowadays, there was no real-time picture or battlefield information available to superiors ashore. This young officer designed and defined an all-new method of small-boat warfare. Initially, nobody listened to him and was never ready to accept his explanations on how an irregular small boat fighting force could be defeated. But his continuous success against the failures of others prompted his superiors to hand over the job to him as no other had any experience of what Majja did out at sea with his dozen sailors. Whoever sailed with Majja, especially during battles, turned out to be an exceptional warrior. In any naval craft, each member of the crew is assigned a specialized task. But, in Majja's Dvora any member can work at any position as they were trained in multiple tasks, sometimes All of them were ready for attack with great enthusiasm with high morale, Majja’s presence in the theatre was undoubtedly a morale booster to all. He was a fortress always positioning himself as a role model.

This smart young Lt Commander earned the respect of his subordinates automatically. When an Enemy cluster appeared in the sea and SL Navy Dvora was assigned to counterattack it, they too have been checking with their intelligence who would come to counterattack, if it is Six zero Manoj, they have withdrawn several occasions knowing the outcome and reactions. That's how the enemy also respected our Majja's heroism.

Majja was unorthodox and he was instrumental in the Xenon searchlight method to blind the enemy at night and destroy them unexpectedly. Xenon searchlight uses Xenon gas and gives a very powerful beam of light. Before that, Navy searchlights had poor visibility and were not of much use. In naval war principles, the concentration of firepower is very important, so the more firepower you can bring on and concentrate on your chosen target, the more you will see positive results. Under Majja’s leadership, he believed that you must select one enemy target and attack with all possible focused firepower to quickly destroy the enemy. Xenon light was used to show the crew the selected target. It was forbidden to shoot others. Another advantage of this tactic was that while your crew could see the target and the enemy in that target was blinded. With such tactics Majja ensured that the enemy became a statistic well before he himself became one For this special operation, they needed a disciplined and dedicated crew and trusted leadership to command them because at sea effective range is not more than 25 meters to 300 meters, and nothing beyond unless you had stabilized guns.

Nevertheless, no one could stop him, and he too had never listened to anyone other than a few who believed and understood his thinking.

He commanded many FACs and perfected the art of naval battle. He made the FAC one of the most potent weapons and later became the Squadron Commander of a Fast Attack Craft flotilla (he commanded FAC Fortilla in the years 1996-97 and again from 2000 to 2001). Majja is so far the only officer who has succeeded in developing a fighting formula for a fast attack craft squadron purely by radicalizing it the way he did. His clever and intelligent fighting capabilities were amply displayed off 01 nautical mile East of Mullaitivu on 17th Aug 1996. During a chase, he drove his Dvora P460 over an LTTE boat killing all sea tigers on board in a way that his propellers were not affected. If that enemy boat had explosives Majja would not be here today. The enemy boat was a bus-type of camouflaged boat with 2 Gun mountings and 3x40Hp outboard motors. It was carrying 30 sea tigers, 28 of whom were killed, including the Vadamarachchi LTTE leader, and 2 captured.

After this incident and a series of past acts of bravery, the then commander of the Navy Vice Admiral HCAC Tissera ndc wrote to the Secretary of Defence, Mr Chandrananda de Silva and the President Mrs Chandrilka Banaranayake Kumarathunge commending him for his bravery. Majja was the first Sri Lankan Naval officer to be promoted on Field/Sea to the rank of Commander with effect from 11th Feb 1997 purely for bravery. These encounters have certainly boosted the morale of the SLN and were a major setback for the Sea Tigers in their attempt to dominate the seas off their proclaimed Eelam. Majja consistently demonstrated leadership with his strong personality and had confidence and belief in what he did and inspired others around him. He is an honest, intelligent and true gentleman officer who never unduly boasted of what he did and shunned publicity in any media or press. He preferred to be behind the scenes so much that I had a hard task to find a photograph of him in naval insignia, as he never believes in photographs. Many can speak volumes about this extraordinarily fearless officer’s courage and commitment.

For Majja’s elite, gallant and meticulous conduct in battle, he had been decorated with Rana Wickrama Padakkama (RWP) and Rana Soora Padakkama (RSP) fourteen (14) times by the President of Sri Lanka, At present he remains the most decorated officer in the Sri Lanka Navy or any of the forces of the country, for his fearlessness, patriotism, professionalism and consistent bravery.

Majja had been sailing for several years in Dvora P460 with many successful achievements. Utmost for his bravery in this particular Dvora, he was respectfully called “Six zero Manoj”, as the pennant number of the craft was P460 (papa four six zero) though we all knew him as Cdr Manoj Jayasuriya, “Six zero Manoj" would bring a very clear picture of his Dvora with all symbols and decorations displayed on her, all of which boosted the morale of the crew. No sailor would not think twice to step into this highly decorated P460. Even today all these acts of bravery are documented and stored in P460 Dvora. Presently P460 is anchored at the New Command Naval Armament Department (NCNAD) pier, at Eastern Naval Command and used as an Operational craft.

He was not only involved in the sea battles, but he twice functioned as Troop Commander at KDU as well as the Naval Maritime Academy, where he demonstrated his outstanding abilities for moulding the cadets into great officers with commitment and integrity, I am proud to say that one of his student officers is the present Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera, the first Sevice Commander produced by KDA/ KDU.

Majja is one of the most decorated, respected, and gallant officers who will never leave his team betrayed under any circumstance. He was an asset and a dedicated officer, but he made an early exit from the Navy on the 1st of Aug 2003, otherwise, this unique officer would have made all of us proud until his last day in the Navy. Commander (N) Manoaj Jayasuriya’s RWP, RSP, PMP, MBA, B.Sc. (Hons) Dip in Psy (UK) Asymmetric warfare should be researched and documented, for the benefit of Naval officers. His expeditious action according to the situation and maintaining a cool temperament are the key points. I felt that Manoaj should have been recognized for his tremendous selfless services to the nation. He should be recognized and awarded the KDU Alumina Hall of Fame, not because of his academics but for his bravery in the face of the enemy.

Majja is married to his long-standing sweetheart Mayuri Arunthavanadan, She was a highly studious student, who obtained 8 Distinction for her OLs from Majja's mother, Mrs Chandra Perera's class at Visakha Vidyalaya. She still remembers all members of Intrake 3 birthdays and anniversaries, not missing any to wish us. In 1992 they were blessed with a son Manjitha.

After leaving the Navy, he joined Access Engineering and presently Manoj is the General Manager of Access Engineering PLC, Director of Access Motors and Executive Director of Sathosa Motors PLC.

Immensely proud of you as my classmate and batchmate, thank you Majja for your committed selfless services, you have left a legacy in the Naval fraternity.