Sri Lanka Military Academy The Sri Lanka Military Academy ( SLMA ) , commonly known simply as Diyatalawa , is the Sri Lanka Army ' s officer initial training centre located in the garrison town of Diyatalawa in the central highlands of Sri Lanka . SLMA is much like Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for it is not a university , unlike some other national military academies such as West Point in the United States , National Defence Academy ( India ) or the Australian Defence Force Academy . General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University is the university - type defence academy in Sri Lanka , which sends its cadets to SLMA for their final year . History . When the Ceylon Army was raised in 1949 , the need arose to recruit and train officers and soldiers of the newly formed army . The Army Recruit Training Depot ( ARTD ) was therefore formed in Diyatalawa on 6 February 1950 for the purpose of training recruits . The first batch of 114 recruits passed out from the ARTD on 2 June 1950 . The ARTD was later named as the Army Training Centre ( ATC ) . But facilities did not exist to train officers , and therefore Officer Cadet s were sent to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst ( RMA ) in the United Kingdom . The first batch of ten Officer Cadets were enlisted to the Army on the 10 of October 1949 and were dispatched to RMA Sandhurst . Subsequently Officer Cadets were trained at the Indian Military Academy and the National Defence Academy ( India ) , and to a lesser extent the Pakistan Military Academy and Bangladesh Military Academy . Overseas training was not sufficient to meet the growing needs . Therefore , arrangements were then made to train Officer Cadets locally . The first intake of Officer Cadets who were earmarked to be trained at the Army Training Centre , Diyatalawa , were enlisted on 16 April 1968 . Since then Officer Cadets were locally trained and commissioned . With the expansion and the growing need to train large numbers of recruits , recruit training was assigned to the respective regiments . In 1988 due to the expansion of the Army and the need for more Young Officers the ATC was given the responsibility of training only Officer Cadets . With this , the Army Training Centre was re - designated as the Sri Lanka Military Academy with effect from 20 August 1992 , and since then it has been totally utilized for training of Officer Cadets . At any one time , five to six hundred Officer Cadets are trained at this institution . Organisation . In overall command of the SLMA is the Commandant of the Academy , usually an officer of Brigadier rank . SLMA has several Commissioning Courses each year . Each new intake numbers approximately 150 cadets , each of whom joins a company . The commissioning course is split up into three terms , each lasting fourteen weeks , and on each course cadets are put into one of four companies . There can be as many as several companies within the SLMA at any one time , each commanded by a Major and named after a famous battle in Sri Lankan history . Colours . The President ' s and ATC colours presented to the ATC in 1972 , were laid to rest with the change of name to Sri Lanka Military Academy . The Colours were renamed as SLMA Colours and presented by Her Excellency Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga , the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka , on 21 June 1997 , at Diyatalawa . Traditions . Upon completion of their training , the SLMA hosts the " Commissioning ceremony " attended by the Commander of the Army , senior army officers , defence attaches of diplomatic establishments and parents . It starts off with the " Passing - Out Parade " made up of the graduating intakes of cadets , during which the cadets receive the President ’ s Commission along with the Sword of Honour and Trophies , awarded to the cadets first in order of merit . This is followed by the " Pipping ceremony " where parents of new Officers and Lady Officers adorned their uniform and epaulets with the respective insignia . The event is finished with the " Commissioning Dinner " . Training . The Sri Lanka Military Academy , Diyatalawa trains Officer Cadets for both Regular and Volunteer Forces of the Sri Lanka Army . It also has undertaken to train an Officer Cadets from the Maldives and Bangladesh since 1992 . Apart from that to educate and train mid career Officers in basic command and staff techniques at the level of Grade III / II appointments , ( Officers in the ranks of Lieutenant / Captain / Major ) , SLMA has established the Officers Study Centre ( OSC ) which conducts the Junior Command Course ( JCC ) and the Junior Staff Course ( JSC ) . Cadet training have elevated to the standards of Bachelor ' s Degrees in Military Studies which will be awarded by the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka . Intakes . There are several intakes for cadet officers annually . These are under the following category . Courses . The Commissioning Course lasts two and half years , during this period , cadets are trained in leadership , tactics , weapons training , military law , military accounting systems and academic studies such as General Science , Management and General Studies . An intensive course in the English language is conducted during the first six months of training to enhance the English knowledge of the Officer Cadets . Completion of a research work is partial fulfillment for the Degree other than the Military and Academic Components . Intakes have been named from 1 and today up to Intake 69 are being trained . The other main courses carried out at SLMA are ; List of Commandants of the Academy . The following officers served as commandants of the college : List of Commandants / Commanding Officers of the ATC . The following officers served as commandants of the college : Fox Hill Super Cross . Fox Hill Super Cross is a cross country championship held annually at the Diyatalawa Super cross circuit at Fox Hill which is organized by Sri Lanka Military Academy . It is one of the premier motor racing events in the country .