Devinda Kalupahana

Who is Devinda Kalupahana?

Major General Devinda Kalupahana, RSP, USP, psc, SLAC is a Sri Lankan general, who was the former GOC, 3 Division; GOC, 2 Division; Director Operations, General Staff and Commandant, Sri Lanka Military Academy.

Educated at Royal College, Colombo, Kalupahana joined the army in 1966 as a cadet officer, undergoing training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. While at Sandhurst, his cadet intake for the winter training exercise where sent to Cyprus when the Cypriot intercommunal violence broke out and the Sandhurst Cadets were deployed until they were relived by regular units In 1968, he was commissioned into the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment, Ceylon Armoured Corps as a Second Lieutenant.

After serving as a Troop Leader in the Ceylon Armoured Corps, he became an Officer Instructor at the Army Training Centre in Diyatalawa and returned several years later as Chief Instructor of its successor the Sri Lanka Military Academy. He had also served as a staff officer in the Northern Command Headquarters, Sri Lanka Army Headquarters and the Joint Operations Headquarters. He also served as the Commandant of the Combat Training School in Ampara.

Raising the 3rd Reconnaissance Regiment of the Sri Lanka Armoured Corps, he became its first Commanding Officer in 1988, by then a Lieutenant Colonel. He then became the Commandant of the Sri Lanka Military Academy and went on to take command in the Area Headquarters in Vavuniya.