Denis Perera

Perera was selected as one of first ten candidates to join the Ceylon Army on its formation as Cadet Officers. Joining the newly formed Ceylon army on his nineteenth birthday, he received his basic officer training at Mons Officer Cadet School and thereafter at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and was commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the First Field Engineers on 2 August 1951. Thereafter served for some time with a unit of the British Army of the Rhine. On his return he was stationed at the Diyatalawa garrison, taking part in the formation of the new engineering squadron and later moved to the newly built Panagoda Cantonment in 1953, where the Ceylon Engineers was formed in 1957. During this time he had been promoted to Lieutenant on 2 February 1953 and Captain on 2 February 1956; having served as an engineering troop and squadron commander. He thereafter served as Staff Captain (Administration) at Army Headquarters. In 1957 he attended the Royal School of Military Engineering and on his return he was on his return he was appointed Officer Commanding, Ceylon School of Military Engineering. On 1 October 1960, he was promoted to the rank of Major and in 1961 he attended the British Army Staff College, Camberley.[3]

During his career he had been attached to several Sri Lankan High Commissions and had been the Military Attaché of the Sri Lankan High Commission in London for three years and thereafter served as second in command of the 1st Field Engineer Regiment, Ceylon Engineers. He initiated the indigenous officer training program at the Army Training Centre in 1968. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on 1 October 1969, he was the Commandant of the Army Training Centre from 1969 to 1972 during the 1971 Insurrection and served as Commander, Southern Command. Thereafter having attended the National Defence College, New Delhi, he served as Commander, Northern Command; Director Plans and Director Operations and Training at Army Headquarters before being appointed Chief of Staff, having been promoted Colonel on 31 January 1973. In 1976 he served as the chief coordinator for all foreign delegations during the Non Aligned Nations Summit and was promoted Brigadier on 5 August 1977.[3]

Promoted to Major General on 14 October 1977, he was appointed Commander of the Sri Lankan Army, as the youngest officer to be promoted to the post at age of 46 and first engineering officer. He would hold this post till 31 October 1981 when he retired from the army having been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General on his last day of service. In 2007 he was awarded with the rank of full general.[4]

During his tenure as the army commander, he played a pivotal role in establishing the Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy (KDA) after receiving Kandawala from Sir John Kotelawala to establish a defence University. For establishing the KDA, he was made a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute of the United Kingdom and the Institute of Management of Sri Lanka. KDA awarded him a Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) and he was made its second Chancellor on 9 November 1995 and served till 30 December 2010.[5] He created the path for Sri Lankan women to join the army as ordinary soldiers by conceiving the idea of the Sri Lanka Army Women's Corps.[2][3]

General Perera was the first officer to be awarded the Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya (VSV) for over 25 years of distinguished service in the army in 1980 after military honours were reconstituted in Sri Lanka,[8] his other medals include the Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal, Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal, Sri Lanka Army 25th Anniversary Medal, Republic of Sri Lanka Armed Services Medal, the President's Inauguration Medal and the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force Centenary Medal.[3]

• In 2007 the Government of Sri Lanka promoted him to the honorary rank of General.
• Chancellor of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University.
• He was awarded the title Deshamanya from the Government of Sri Lanka in 2000.
• Order of National Security Merit from the Government of South Korea
• Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya – 1981
• Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute
• Fellow of the Institute of Management – Sri Lanka.