Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya

Main article: Military awards and decorations of Sri Lanka

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Award

Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya

Type| Distinguished Service Medal
Awarded for| Distinguished service over a continuous 25-year service period
Description| Suspended from a plain suspension bar
Presented by| Sri Lanka
Eligibility| Senior officers of the regular forces of the tri-services
Post-nominals| VSV
Clasps| None
Status| Currently awarded
Established| 1981

Ribbon bar

Precedence
Next (higher)| Rana Sura Padakkama
Next (lower)| Uttama Seva Padakkama

The Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya (VSV, Distinguished Service Order) (Sinhala: විශිෂ්ට සේවා විභූෂණය viṣiṣta sēvā vibhūṣaṇaya) is awarded to senior officers of the Military of Sri Lanka in recognition of:

> ...exceptional, distinguished and loyal service provided they count not less than twenty-five years of service and possess an unblemished record of moral and military conduct...

> — [1]

## Award process

[edit]

Service commanders are responsible for evaluation of suitable candidates for conferment of the award, and make formal recommendations based on several requirements:

* a rank above Lieutenant Colonel (Army), Commander (Navy) or Wing Commander (Air Force)
* an uninterrupted service period of 25 years or more at the time of consideration
* a personal record clear of entries

Upon successful review, the decoration is usually awarded during the National Day parade (or at a special investiture ceremony) by the President.[2] Recipients are entitled to the use of the post-nominal letters "VSV".[1]

## History

[edit]

With the establishment of the Ceylon Army in 1949 and the Royal Ceylon Navy in 1950, senior officers were recommended by the Governor General for Imperial honors, a practice that continued from the Ceylon Defence Force. These would normally be appointments in the Order of the British Empire in the classes of member or officer in the military division for military and naval officers. Queen Elizabeth II on visit to Ceylon in April 1954, she made personal appointments to the Royal Victorian Order for several military and naval officers. This practice was stopped in 1956 by Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike who suspended Imperial honors. Although long service medals and commemorative medals continued to be awarded, no gallantry or distinguished service medals were awarded until the new military honors were introduced by President J. R. Jayewardene on 1 September 1981, which introduced the Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya for senior military commanders for "exceptional, distinguished and loyal service" rendered over a period of over 25 years.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Medals". Sri Lanka ARMy. ARMy.lk. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
2. ^ "Decorations & Medals". Sri Lanka Air Force. airforce.lk. Retrieved 30 September 2017.

## External links

[edit]

* Sri Lanka Army
* Sri Lanka Navy
* Sri Lanka Air Force
* Ministry of Defence : Sri Lanka

* v
* t
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Military awards and decorations of Sri Lanka

Current|

| Gallantry Medals|

* Parama Weera Vibhushanaya
* Weerodara Vibhushanaya
* Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya
* Rana Wickrama Padakkama
* Rana Sura Padakkama

|

Sri Lanka Orders|

* Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya
* Karyakshama Seva Vibhushanaya
* Prashansaniya Seva Vibhushanaya

Long Service and Good Conduct Medals|

* Uttama Seva Padakkama
* Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal
* Karyakshama Seva Padakkama
* Prashansaniya Seva Padakkama
* Videsha Seva Padakkama

Wound medals|

* Desha Putra Sammanaya
* Uththama Pooja Pranama Padakkama

Peacetime Service Medals|

* Sewabhimani Padakkama
* Sewa Padakkama

War service medals|

* Eastern Humanitarian Operations Medal
* Northern Humanitarian Operations Medal
* Purna Bhumi Padakkama
* North and East Operations Medal
* Vadamarachchi Operation Medal
* Riviresa Campaign Services Medal

Commemorative medals|

* Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal
* Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal
* Republic of Sri Lanka Armed Services Medal
* Sri Lanka Army 25th Anniversary Medal
* Sri Lanka Navy 25th Anniversary Medal
* Sri Lanka Air Force 25th Anniversary Medal
* Sri Lanka Army 50th Anniversary Medal
* Sri Lanka Navy 50th Anniversary Medal
* Sri Lanka Air Force 50th Anniversary Medal
* President's Inauguration Medal
* 50th Independence Anniversary Commemoration Medal
* Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force Centenary Medal
* 75th Independence Day Commemoration Medal

Obsolete|

* Efficiency Decoration (Ceylon)
* Efficiency Medal (Ceylon)
* Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal
* Queen's Medal for Champion Shots in the Military Forces

* Prizes, medals, and awards
* Civil awards
* Police awards and decorations

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