The 65th anniversary of the Sri Lanka Army falls today.

The 65th anniversary of the Sri Lanka Army falls today. The Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is responsible for land-based military and humanitarian operations. Established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, it was renamed when Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972. In 2010, the Army had approximately 200,000 regular personnel, between 20,000–40,000 reserve personnel and 18,000 National Guardsmen[3][4] and comprises 13 operational divisions, one air-mobile brigade, one commando brigade, one special forces brigade, one independent armored brigade, three mechanized infantry brigades and over 40 infantry brigades.

The professional head of the Sri Lanka Army is the Commander of the Army, currently Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake. The Commander-in-Chief of the Sri Lankan Military is the President of the country, who heads the National Security Council through the Ministry of Defense, which is the highest level of military command charged with formulating, executing defence policy and procurements for the armed forces.

The main ceremony to mark the 65th anniversary will be held today at the Defence Ministry premises under the patronage of the Army Commander.