New Navy chief of staff

President Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed Rear Admiral Damayantha Dharmasiriwardena as the Chief of Staff of the Navy with effect from November 1. Rear Admiral Dharmasiriwardena joined the Navy in August 1978 and completed training at the Naval and Maritime Academy, Trincomalee, before attending the Sub Lieutenant Technical Course in India.

He is an Alumni of National Defence College, India and North East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, USA. He holds MPhil in Defence and Strategic Studies and has followed a course in International Defence Management in USA.

He is a specialist in Anti - Submarine Warfare and a Member of Nautical Institute in London.

Prior to his appointment, he had been serving as the Director General (Services) of the Navy.