Rear Admiral Kanchana Banagoda has been appointed as the Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Navy.
He has been appointed to the post by President and Chief of the Armed Forces – Ranil Wickremesinghe, with effect from 16th August 2024.
The Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera formally handed over the letter of appointment in this regard to Rear Admiral Banagoda at the Navy Headquarters on 26th August 2024 and expressed his best wishes.
An old boy of S. Thomas’ College, Bandarawela, Rear Admiral Kanchana Banagoda, joined the Sri Lanka Navy in 1989 as an Officer Cadet of 19th intake, in the Executive branch. On successful completion of his basic training from the Naval and Maritime Academy, Trincomalee, he was commissioned as a Sub Lieutenant in 1991. The senior officer completed his Sub Lieutenant Technical Course at the Naval and Maritime Academy in 1993 and specialized in Anti-Submarine Warfare from Indian Naval Ship Venduruthy in 2000. Advancing steadily in his professional journey, the senior officer reached the rank of Rear Admiral on 04th May 2022.
He completed the Staff Course at the Defence Services Command and Staff College, Bangladesh in 2009 and earned a Master of Business Administration degree in Human Resource Management from the Open University of Sri Lanka in 2015. Furthermore, he obtained a Master’s Degree in Maritime Policy from the University of Wollongong, Australia, in 2019 and attended the National Defence Course in National Security and Strategic Studies at the National Defence University, Colombo in 2021.
He was honored with the Rana Sura Padakkama for bravery and the Uttama Seva Padakkama for his dedicated service.