Wasantha Karannagoda

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Wasantha Karannagoda
Sri Lanka
Allegiance	Sri Lanka
Service/branch	Sri Lanka Navy
Rank	Vice Admiral
Commands held	Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy
Battles/wars	Sri Lankan Civil War
Awards	Rana Sura Padakkama, Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya, Uttama Seva Padakkama

Vice Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda RSP, VSV,USP, MBA, MSc, ndc, psc, DISS, MRIN, MNI, SLN since 1 September 2005, is the Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy of Sri Lanka, the most senior serving officer in the Sri Lanka Navy. Before serving as the Commander of the Navy he has commanded four Operational Naval Commands on seven occasions. He has the distinction of being the only officer to be considered to the highest seat of the Commander of the Navy straight from a Naval Area Command.^[1]

After assuming command of the Navy, He changed the modus operandi of Navy operations by increasing deep sea operations against LTTE arms smuggling. This ensured the success of Naval operations against the LTTE with the destruction of over eight LTTE ships within the past one year.

He possesses Masters in Business Administration as well as in Defence Studies. He is also a member of the Royal Institute of Navigation and the Nautical Institute of the United Kingdom. Vice Admiral Karannagoda is an outstanding product of Ananda College Colombo.

During his naval carrier he has held many signore commands included four Operational Naval Commands on seven occasions – Northern, Eastern and Western Commands twice each and North Central once, for a total period spanning six years, first ever Director General (Operations) at Naval Headquarters, Director Naval Projects and Plans, Director Naval Personnel and Training, Commandant of the Naval & Maritime Academy, Deputy Area Commander (West), Deputy Area Commander (North) and Deputy Area Commander (East).

As a specialized Navigator, he has severed many years at sea and his sea career culminated in 1992 on board SLNS Wickrama with the relinquishing of command and duties as the Commander of the 7th Surveillance Command Squadron.

During his years in the navy he has been awarded the Rana Sura Padakkama medal for gallantry, the Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya, the Uttama Seva Padakkama distinguished service medals and several other service and campaign medals which includes Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal, North and East Operations Medal, Purna Bhumi Padakkama, Riviresa Campaign Services Medal, Republic of Sri Lanka Armed Services Medal, Sri Lanka Navy 50th Anniversary Medal, , President's Inauguration Medal and the 50th Independence Anniversary Commemoration Medal.

He is an alumni of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Hawaii, the Near East-South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University in Washington D.C., the Royal Naval Staff College in the United Kingdom, National Defence College of Pakistan.