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by Farah Macan Markar

When one thinks about Sri Lanka's Forces,the first picture that springs to mind is of men...men in combat suits armed for battle.Well think again. In this year's convocation of 'Intake 16', at the Kothalawala Defence Academy (KDA) a woman, actually a young girl beat 84 others, of which 78 were men, to reach the top. Just 24 years old, Jeevani Indunil Abeygunawardena won eight awards. This is the highest number of awards obtained by an individual be it man or woman at the KDA.

Flying Officer Jeevani Abeygunawardena

Over a cup of tea, Jeevani, now Flying Officer, recalls how she first joined the academy." As a little girl, I always wanted to be a scientist. It was while doing my A/Levels that I first heard of the KDA. There was this advertisement informing that you could do engineering if you joined. I decided to give it a go. In October 1998 I enlisted". Having joined the academy, Jeevani received a letter from the Peradeniya University two weeks later. However Jeevani's mind was set. She liked it here and decided to stay.

Having enlisted in the academy Jeevani together with the other students underwent a three month comprehensive training in English. They also had a lot of military training. After the first year, being able to choose their own subjects, Jeevani went for aeronautical engineering. In the second year, students had to undergo more academic training, before being commissioned. In the third year Jeevani was selected to join the Air Force, although only as a student officer. With the completion of her training, she did a six month course at China Bay.

An old girl of Good Shepherd Convent and Girls' High School,Kandy, Jeevani did swimming and Karate. Her father who is a sales manager and mother who is a teacher, were not happy at first when she told them she wanted to join the forces. However Jeevani says with a sparkle in her eye, "They are very happy now".

So what does she intend to do in the future? "Well, I've joined the 14th squadron which sees to the k-8, the latest jet aircraft. However I'm under probation and have got a lot more to learn".

cadets 1059 numbring have passed out from the KDA to all three forces, out of which 79 have died, or reported missing in action.

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