Sri Lanka Military Academy

When the Ceylon Army was raised in 1949, the need arose to recruit and train officers and soldiers of the newly formed army. The Army Recruit Training Depot (ARTD) was therefore formed in Diyatalawa on 6 February 1950 for the purpose of training recruits. The first batch of 114 recruits passed out from the ARTD on 2 June 1950. The ARTD was later named as the Army Training Centre (ATC). But facilities did not exist to train officers, and therefore Officer Cadets were sent to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom. The first batch of ten Officer Cadets were enlisted to the Army on the 10 of October 1949 and were dispatched to RMA Sandhurst.[4]

Subsequently, Officer Cadets were trained at the Indian Military Academy, the National Defence Academy (India), and also to the Pakistan Military Academy in the 1960s. Due to the cost of training officers overseas, the Ceylon Army initiated officer training at the Army Training Centre in 1968 with the formation of the Officer Cadet School. The first intake of Officer Cadets who were earmarked to be trained at the Army Training Centre, Diyatalawa, were enlisted on 16 April 1968. Since then Officer Cadets were locally trained and commissioned. With the expansion and the growing need to train large numbers of recruits, recruit training was assigned to the respective regiments. In 1988 due to the expansion of the Army and the need for more young officers the ATC was given the responsibility of training only Officer Cadets. With this, the Army Training Centre was re-designated as the Sri Lanka Military Academy with effect from 15 January 1981, and since then it has been totally utilized for training of Officer Cadets. At any one time, five to six hundred Officer Cadets are trained at this institution. In 1999, cadet training have elevated to the standards of bachelor's degree in military studies which will be awarded by the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, which was shifted to the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University in 2011.[5]

SLMA started academic programs for mid-career Officers in basic command and staff techniques at the level of Grade III/II appointments, (Officers in the ranks of Lieutenant / Captain / Major), with the establishment the Officers Study Centre (OSC) in 1981 which conducted the Junior Command Course (JCC) and the Junior Staff Course (JSC). In 2012, these programs of the OSC were transferred to the newly established Officer Career Development Centre.

In overall command of the SLMA is the Commandant of the Academy, usually an officer of Major General Rank.

SLMA has several Commissioning Courses each year. Each new intake numbers approximately 150 cadets, each of whom joins a company. The commissioning course is split up into three terms, each lasting fourteen weeks, and on each course, cadets are put into one of four companies. There can be as many as several companies within the SLMA at any one time, each commanded by a Major and named after a famous battle in Sri Lankan history.

The SLMA orgernization is as follows:

• SLMA HQ
  • Officer cadet wing
    • Vijithapura Company (named after the Battle of Vijithapura)
    • Gannoruwa Company (named after the Battle of Gannoruwa)
    • Randeniwela Company (named after the Battle of Randeniwela)
    • Balana Company (named after the Battle of Balana)
  • Military training wing
  • Academic wing
  • Admin wing

The President's and ATC colours presented to the ATC in 1972, were laid to rest with the change of name to Sri Lanka Military Academy. The Colours were renamed as SLMA Colours and presented by Her Excellency Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, on 21 June 1997, at Diyatalawa.

Upon completion of their training, the SLMA hosts the Commissioning ceremony attended by the Commander of the Army, senior army officers, defence attaches of diplomatic establishments and parents. It starts off with the Passing-Out Parade made up of the graduating intakes of cadets, during which the cadets receive the President's Commission along with the Sword of Honour and Trophies, awarded to the cadets first in order of merit. This is followed by the Pipping ceremony where parents of new Officers and Lady Officers adorned their uniform and epaulets with the respective insignia. The event is finished with the Commissioning Dinner.[6]

The Sri Lanka Military Academy, Diyatalawa trains Officer Cadets for both Regular and Volunteer Forces of the Sri Lanka Army. It also has undertaken to train Officer Cadets from the Maldives and Bangladesh since 1992.

Commandants of the ATC

The following officers served as commandants of the Army Training Center: This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

• Lieutenant Colonel Denis Perera (1969-1972)
• Colonel Jayantha de S. Jayaratne (1981-1983)
• Colonel C.H. Fernando (1985-1986)
• Colonel Devinda Kalupahana (1989-1991)

Commandants of the SLMA

The following officers served as commandants of the college:[7] This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

• Colonel S.M.Asoka Jayawardena First Commandant 15 Jan 1981 -15 Dec 1981.
• Brigadier Niranjan Ranasinghe ( 2000-2002 )
• Brigadier Jagath Jayasuriya (2002-2004)
• Brigadier Percy Fernando (1998-2000)
• Brigadier Mendaka Samarasinghe (2004-2006)
• Brigadier Janaka Walgama (2006-2008)
• Brigadier Kumudu Perera (2008-2009)
• Brigadier Ruwan Kulatunga (2009-2012)
• Brigadier Indunil Ranasinghe (2012-2014)
• Major General Dushyantha Rajaguru (2014-2016); the first general to command the institution[8]
• Brigadier HHASPK Senarathna (2017-2019)
• Brigadier S K Eshwaran (2019-2020)
• Major General AKGKU Gnanaratne (2020-2021)

Fox Hill Super Cross is a cross country championship held annually at the Diyatalawa Super cross circuit at Fox Hill which is organized by Sri Lanka Military Academy. It is one of the premier motor racing events in the country.[10]

• General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University
• Naval and Maritime Academy
• Air Force Academy, China Bay
• Sri Lanka Army

• Sri Lanka Military Academy
• Sri Lanka Army
• Best among the bravest ,SundayTimes