The Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the three armed services of Sri Lanka and is responsible for overseeing land-based military and humanitarian operations. Established as the Royal Ceylon Army in 1949, it was renamed when Sri Lanka became an independent republic in 1972. As of the year 2000, the Army had approximately 150,000 regular and reserve personnel and 18,000 National Guardsmen, who are organized into 26 regiments.
The Sri Lanka Army is operationally controlled by the Joint Operations Command, which was established in 1985, and comprises 13 divisions, one air-mobile brigade, one commando brigade, one special forces brigade, one independent armored brigade, three mechanized infantry brigades and 40 infantry brigades.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Sri Lanka Army is the President of the country. He provides operational direction to the Joint Operations Council and oversees other aspects of the Army through the Ministry of Defense, which is responsible for all security forces (armed forces and police). The professional head of the army is the Commander of the Army, at present Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka.
