Lt. General Vikum Liyanage assumes duties as the new Army Commander

Lieutenant General H.L.V.M Liyanage assumed duties as the 24th Commander of the Army today during a formal ceremony at the Army Headquarters. 

Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage, prior to his new appointment was serving as the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army. 

Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage as an Officer Cadet joined the Regular Force of the Sri Lanka Army on 27 October 1986 in the Regular Intake - 26 and followed basic military training at the Sri Lanka Military Academy at Diyatalawa and subsequently at Pakistan Military Academy. Upon successful completion of Officer Cadet training, he was commissioned in the rank of Second Lieutenant and was posted to the Gajaba Regiment.

Army Media said during his 35 years of military career, he has held a number of significant command, staff and instructional appointments, including Platoon Commander, Company Commander and Adjutant of 4th Gajaba Regiment. In the Eastern theatre of operations, Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage performed a commendable role contributing to the eradication of terrorism from the region. He was also the Intelligence Officer of 21 and 55 Infantry Divisions, Second in Command of 14th Gajaba Regiment, Adjutant of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Staff Officer II (Admin) at Regimental Centre of the Gajaba Regiment, Second in Command of 10th Gajaba Regiment, Staff Officer II at Directorate of Staff Duties, Commanding Officer of 8th Gajaba Regiment.

Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage has successfully followed a number of local courses, including the Internal Security/ Counter-Revolution Warfare Course at Army Training School (Maduru Oya), Method of Instructions Course at Sri Lanka Military Academy, Forward Observation Officer Course at School of Artillery (Minneriya), Battalion Support Weapon Course at Infantry Training Centre (Minneriya), Platoon Commanders’ Refresher Course at Army Training School (Maduru Oya), Company Commanders’ Refresher Course at Army Headquarters, Unit Security Officers’ Course at Military Intelligence Corps, Management & Leadership Development Course at General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Basic Mediation Skills & Process (UNHCR) course at 21 Division and Multinational Platoon Exercise-3 at Kukuleganga.

Army Commander Liyanage holds a Masters’ degree in Strategic and Resilience Studies from Lemhannas University, Indonesia and a degree on ‘Global Security in Indo-Pacific Region’ from Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies in Hawai. 

Pix courtesy Army Media

Pix by Indika Handuwala