Air Vice Marshal Padman De Costa has been appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Air Force, with effect from August 18.
The letter of appointment was handed over by the Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Bandu Edirisinghe, at Air Force Headquarters.
Career
De Costa joined the Sri Lanka Air Force on August 17, 1993, as an Officer Cadet of the 26th Intake, and was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in the Administrative Branch on April 17, 1995 — a career now spanning 33 years.
He has held a series of senior appointments, serving as Staff Officer Administration to three successive Commanders of the Air Force, Secretary to the Chief of Defence Staff, Deputy Provost Marshal, and Acting Director Provost at Air Force Headquarters.
He also served as Senior Directing Staff (Air Force) at the National Defence College of Sri Lanka and as Military Liaison Officer at the Ministry of Defence.
Sporting record
Outside his service career, De Costa represented the SLAF Men’s Volleyball Team, which won the National “A” Division Volleyball Championship and finished runners-up at the National Super League Volleyball Championship.
He currently serves as President of the Volleyball and Beach Volleyball Committee of the International Military Sports Council (CISM), the body that organises military sport worldwide.
Context
The appointment comes as the tri-forces undergo a period of structural review. The President has proposed consolidating military research under a single national defence research and development centre, and official figures released this month showed more than 34,000 personnel have left the tri-forces over the past five years.
The appointment was reported by Ada Derana; no other verified newsroom had carried it at the time of writing.
