Office of the Chief of Defence Staff
Encyclopedia
The Office of the Chief of Defence Staff (OCDS) is the Sri Lanka Armed Forces
operational level headquarters of the Chief of the Defence Staff
(CDS), responsible for coordinating joint armed force's operations. However the respective service commands have much autonomy for their deployments. It was formally known as the Joint Operations Headquarters (JOH). The JOH was created in 1999 replacing the civilian Joint Operations Bureau which had existed briefly in 1999. The origins of the JOH could be traced back to the Joint Operations Command (JOC) established in 1985 due to the need of co-ordination of operations among the tri-services and the police with the escalation of the Sri Lankan Civil War
. The head of the JOC is the Chief of the Defence Staff
(CDS), currently General Sarath Fonseka
. The duties of the CDS was extended by the Chief of Defence Staff Act No. 35 of 2009. JOH is located in Colombo
.
Sri Lanka Armed Forces
The Sri Lanka Armed Forces is the overall unified military of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka encompassing the Sri Lanka Army, the Sri Lanka Navy, the Sri Lanka Air Force which comes under preview of the Ministry of Defence...
operational level headquarters of the Chief of the Defence Staff
Chief of the Defence Staff (Sri Lanka)
The Chief of the Defence Staff is the highest ranking military officer in the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. The Chairman outranks all respective heads of each service branch but does not have operational command authority over them or their service branches, however overseas inter service corporations...
(CDS), responsible for coordinating joint armed force's operations. However the respective service commands have much autonomy for their deployments. It was formally known as the Joint Operations Headquarters (JOH). The JOH was created in 1999 replacing the civilian Joint Operations Bureau which had existed briefly in 1999. The origins of the JOH could be traced back to the Joint Operations Command (JOC) established in 1985 due to the need of co-ordination of operations among the tri-services and the police with the escalation of the Sri Lankan Civil War
Sri Lankan civil war
The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...
. The head of the JOC is the Chief of the Defence Staff
Chief of the Defence Staff (Sri Lanka)
The Chief of the Defence Staff is the highest ranking military officer in the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. The Chairman outranks all respective heads of each service branch but does not have operational command authority over them or their service branches, however overseas inter service corporations...
(CDS), currently General Sarath Fonseka
Sarath Fonseka
Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka, known as Sarath Fonseka is a former commander and General of the Sri Lanka Army and a former candidate for President of Sri Lanka. As Commander of the Army, he played an instrumental role in ending the 26 year Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009, defeating the...
. The duties of the CDS was extended by the Chief of Defence Staff Act No. 35 of 2009. JOH is located in Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
.