1972 and was sent in 1975 to the British Army Staff College at Camberley to follow the command and staff course. Returning in 1976, he was posted to the Army Training Centre in Diyatalawa as an officer instructor and thereafter appointed as a staff officer at Army Headquarters. Following the government change in 1977, he was once again sent on compulsory leave but returned soon after to be posted to Jaffna as part of the Task Force Anti Illicit Immigration (TaFAII) which was ongoing since the early 1960s to counter illegal immigration from India. During his posting he was able to gain a good understanding of the Jaffna Peninsula during the on set of the Tamil militancy that led to the Sri Lankan Civil War. From March 1979, he served as principle staff officer to Brigadier Tissa Weeratunga, who was dispatched to Jaffna as Commander Security Forces - Jaffna, with extensive powers under the provisions of Prevention of Terrorism (Special Provisions) Act No: 48 of 1979. until December 1979. In 1980 he was a staff officer attached to Commander Security Forces - Jaffna. In April 1981, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and the following year he was transferred to Army Headquarters as the general staff officer (Grade 1) of G branch. Field command In June 1983, he took command of his parent regiment as commanding officer of the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment, Sri Lanka Armoured Corps. Based at Rock House Army Camp, he deployed his troops and armored vehicles in Colombo during the Black July riots in July 1983. In 1985, he was appointed military coordinating officer of the Vavuniya District and was promoted to the rank of colonel in September. In 1987 he was appointed military coordinating officer of the Trincomalee District, before transferring to the Joint Operations Command under the command of Lieutenant General Cyril Ranatunga. Operation Liberation "Operation Liberation", also known as the "Vadamarachchi Operation", was launched after months of planning on 26 May 1987. Brigadier Kobbekaduwa commanded the operation on the ground as the Brigade Commander of the 3 brigade group formed comprising two infantry brigades with supporting armored, artillery and air units of the Sri Lanka Air Force numbering 8000 personal. It was the largest formation deployed by the Sri Lankan Army at that point and the first conventional battle to take place in the civil war. The objective was to take