The president is yet to appoint a new chief-of-staff (CoS) for the Army since the retirement of Maj. Gen. Sanjaya Wanasinghe in the position on 12 October.
According to sources in the Army, this is the longest period in recent times of it doing without a CoS, the highest ranking position after the commander.
This has created a number of administrative issues in the Army, as it is also without a deputy CoS to aggravate the situation.
Maj. Gen. Priyantha Jayawardena, recalled from the position of eastern commander to the Army headquarters, serves as the acting CoS.
Maj. Gen. Priyantha Jayawardena
The sources said he is the officer who should be appointed the next CoS on account of his seniority.
He is due to retire on 12 December.
Maj. Gen. Indu Samarakoon
Maj. Gen. Indu Samarakoon of the Signals Corps is the third senior-most officer qualified to be the deputy CoS, but has not yet been given the posting.
The files of both officers have been sent to the Defence Ministry, which has yet to make any response.
It is reported that a name has already been recommended for the CoS position.
By Ruwan Weerakoon – defence correspondent
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
