To Survive as One Nation, One People, the memoirs of Air Chief Marshal Oliver Ranasinghe, the ninth Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), was successfully launched today (16 July) at The Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo.
The event was attended by Marshal of the Sri Lanka Air Force Roshan Goonetileke, current Commander of the Air Force Air Marshal Bandu Edirisinghe, former Commanders of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, alongside senior military officers and distinguished guests.
Rising through the ranks from a Sergeant Pilot to Commander of the Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Ranasinghe’s decorated three-decade career spanned some of the most challenging periods in the country’s recent history. Among his notable contributions was a daring overnight operation in 1985 during British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s state visit, where he personally co-piloted a mission to airlift 250 besieged troops from the Jaffna Fort. Furthermore, under his command in 1995, the SLAF became the first air force in South and South East Asia to deploy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for precision targeting.
In his book, Ranasinghe shares these historical accounts, lesser-known facts about SLAF operations, and his personal reflections on the present and future of the nation. The publisher described the memoirs as a poignant work that compels readers to ponder how Sri Lankans can survive and move forward as “one nation, one people.”
