Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force The Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force ( SLAVF ) is the principal and Volunteer reserve force component of the Sri Lanka Army . It is a collective name for the reserve units and the Sri Lanka National Guard of the Sri Lankan Army . The SLAVF is made up of part - time Officers and soldiers paid at a similar rate , while engaged on military activities , as their Regular equivalents . This is in contrast to the Regular Army Reserve , which currently comprises people who have a mobilization obligation for a number of years after their former full - time service in the regular army has been completed . Overall administration and recruitment of reserve personal is carried out by the Volunteer Force Headquarters in Battaramulla , headed by the Commandant of the Volunteer Force , this is usually a Major General . The current commandant is Major General J . J . P . S . T . Liyanage . Volunteer officers undergo basic training at the Sri Lanka Military Academy and the other ranks at the Volunteer Force Training School ( VFTS ) . History . The history of the SLAVF goes back to 1861 when the Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers where created . Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers . The second phase in the employment of non - British personnel commenced in 1861 after the enactment of an ordinance designed to authorize the creation of Volunteer Corps in the island . It was designated the Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers ( CLIV ) . This move compensated for the disbandment of the Ceylon Rifle Regiment in 1874 . The Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers was originally administered as a single unit . However over the years various sections of the volunteers grew large enough to become independent from their parent unit . The different units that emerged from the Volunteer Force were the , Ceylon Defence Force . In 1910 the name of the military was formerly changed to the Ceylon Defence Force ( CDF ) . It continued to grow throughout the early period of 20th century . The CDF saw active service when a contingent of the Ceylon Mounted Infantry ( CMI ) in 1900 , and a contingent of Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps ( CPRC ) in 1902 , took part in the Second Boer War in South Africa . Their services were recognized by presentation , in 1902 , of a color to the CMI , and a presentation in 1904 , of a Banner to the CPRC . In 1922 , the CDF was honored by the presentation of the King ' s and Regimental colors to the Ceylon Light Infantry ( CLI ) . During the First World War , many volunteers from the Defence Force traveled to England and joined the British Army , and many of them were killed in action . One of them mentioned by Arthur Conan Doyle was Private Jacotine of the CLI , who was the last man left alive in his unit at the Battle of Lys , and who continued to fight for 20 minutes before he was killed . In 1939 , the CDF was mobilized and an enormous expansion took place which required the raising of new units such as the Post and Telegraph Signals , the Ceylon Railway Engineer Corps , the Ceylon Electrical and Mechanical Engineer Corps , the Auxiliary Territorial Service , the Ceylon Corps of Military Police , the Ceylon Signals Corps and the Colombo Town Guard Unit , which had been previously disbanded , but was later re - formed to meet military requirements . During the Second World War Britain assumed direct control over the Armed Forces of Ceylon . Army Volunteer Force . Following the formation of the army in 1949 , the CDF became the nucleus of the Ceylon Army and all volunteer units of the CDF — which was the majority of the CDF — became the Ceylon Volunteer Force ( CVF ) . A large number of Second World War veterans were serving in the CVF at the time and in the post - Independence years the CVF played an important role while a new regular army was being formed . During this time the CVF was mobilized a number of times to counter riots and strikes that occurred , however , after several of its senior officers were implicated in the failed attempted coup in 1962 the post of Commandant of the Volunteer Force has since been filled by a combat officer of the regular army . In 1972 when Sri Lanka became a republic the name of the force was changed to Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force . The current strength of the SLAVF is about 50 , 000 volunteer combat officers and other ranks attached to various units and regiments of the Sri Lanka Army . The commandant of the SLAVF is normally the third most senior combat officer of the regular army holding , the rank of Major General . Cadet Corps . Since the formation of the first cadet platoon with students of the Royal College , Colombo which was attached to the Ceylon Light Infantry , the Cadet Battalion came under the Ceylon Defence Force . From 1949 the Ceylon Cadet Corps with its cadet battalions came under the Volunteer Force until 1988 when the National Cadet Corps was formed as a separate entity . Commandants . The following have commanded the SLAVF :