 He holds an MPhil in Defence and Strategic Studies from the University of Madras and a Msc in War Studies and Defence Management from the National Defence University, Pakistan.He enlisted in the Sri Lanka Navy as an Officer Cadet in its 11th Intake on 15 November 1982, undergoing basic training at the Naval and Maritime Academy, Trincomalee, where he was adjudged the best cadet and selected for an international midshipmen course at the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, which he attended between 1984 and 1985.He is an anti submarine warfare specialist (having trained at INS Venduruthy), and did his Naval Staff Course in 1999 at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington, India.