Gagan Bulathsinghala
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Gagan Bulathsinghala | |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 September 1961 Colombo |
| Allegiance | Sri Lanka |
| Branch |  Sri Lanka Air Force |
| Years of service | 1981 - 2016 |
| Rank | Air Chief Marshal |
| Unit | No. 4 Squadron SLAF |
| Commands | Commander of the Air Force Chief of Staff |
| Battles / wars | Sri Lankan Civil War |
| Awards |  Rana Wickrama Padakkama Rana Sura Padakkama Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya Uttama Seva Padakkama |
| Other work | Ambassador to Afghanistan |
Air Chief Marshal Gagan Bulathsinghala (also known as Gagan Pulasthi Bulathsinghala) RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, MPhil (Def & Strat), MSc (Def Stud) in Mgt, FIM(SL) National Defence College, India, psc is a retired air officer and a former commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force.[1] He has also held the position of Chief of the Air Staff and after his retirement on 12 September 2016, was appointed the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Afghanistan, a position he holds currently.[2]
Gagan was born in Colombo on 12 September 1961. His father was Bulathsinghalage Percy Marcus Perera, who was a lawyer and a former flight lieutenant in the Royal Ceylon Air Force. His mother was Dona Beatrice Perera. He received his entire education from Nalanda College, Colombo. While at school he did many extracurricular activities such as cadeting, ruby and being a member of many school societies. He was involved in publishing the college's monthly newspaper, Nalanda. Some of his contemporaries at Nalanda are Major General Ubaya Madawela, Major General Janaka Walgama, Major General Ajith Wikramasingha, the consultant neurologist Udaya Ranawaka and the Sri Lankan former test cricketer Sanath Kaluperuma.[3]
Air Marshal Bulathsinghala is a graduate of Air Command and Staff College at Air University in Alabama, USA, and the National Defence College in New Delhi, India. He also has postgraduate degrees of Master of Philosophy in defence and strategic studies from University of Madras in India and a Master of Science in defence studies management from General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University in Sri Lanka. He is a Fellow of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii and the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies in the USA.
He was presented with the Nalanda Keerthi Sri award by his alma mater, Nalanda College, Colombo, in 2015.[4]