Lieutenant Colonel TSB Sally relinquished Command of the 1st Battalion Ceylon Sinha Regiment on 14thJuly 1970. Thereafter, he held several appointments such as Assistant Adjutant Quartermaster General (AAQMG) Ceylon Volunteer Force, Acting Commander Southern Command, and Commander Western Command and eventually as the Chief of Staff, Army Headquarters with effect from 1st December 1977 to 1st March 1979 during which period he was on two occasions appointed as the acting Commander of the Army. He was the first Chief of Staff from the Sinha Regiment.
On 15th June 1970, Lieutenant Colonel DB Perera was appointed as the Commanding Officer of the Battalion. After the General Election in 1970 the Battalion was brought back to the Echelon Square in Colombo from Katukurunda, Kalutara. The farm was handed back to the Police. However, all buffaloes, poultry and piglets acquired during the stay at Katukurunde were brought to Colombo.
Politically, during the period 1970-1971 the country was in turmoil. The revolt launched by leaders of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) seriously affected the smooth functioning of the government. The revolutionists had planned to revolt on a date and a time decided by the JVP’spolitburo. However, a premature attack on a police station by the JVP resulted in alerting the military forces who then were able to prevent the JVP from carrying out their original plans.
President JR Jayewardene pinning a medal to Lieutenant Colonel DW Hapuaratchchi
With the onset of the insurrection, troops of the Battalion were deployed for counter insurgency operations in Vavuniya, Anuradhapura Kebithigollewa, Matale, Deniyaya and Colombo. Army Officers were appointed as District Coordinating Officers and Army detachments and companies took over duties in these areas. The Coordinating Officer of Matale Colonel JAD Soysa launched a cordon and search operation from Naula to Elahera. This operation was carried out by Lieutenant Bandu Jayasundara's platoon. During this operation a Rifleman; Rifleman Sisira Kumara was shot dead by an insurgent at Kongahawela, Naula thus, making him the first soldier from the Battalion to be recorded as Killed in Action.
On 30th November 1971, Lieutenant Colonel DB Perera relinquished Command and on 1st December 1971, Lieutenant Colonel SB Miyanadeniya was appointed as the Commanding Officer of the Battalion.
Lieutenant Colonel SB Miyanadeniya was a well-known national level athlete and as a Lieutenant he set a Sri Lanka record for the 100 yards race at the National Athletic Meet held on 28th November 1956. Under his command, sports activities in the Battalion flourished. Sportsmen, who won places at competitions, were awarded with Battalion Colours at a 'Colours Nite' organized for the first time by a Battalion.
At the time he took over Command, old buildings in the Echelon Square were in dilapidated condition. Lieutenant Colonel SB Miyenadeniya was able to find funds to renovate all these buildings, extending the life of these buildings. In addition, he with funds from the Army constructed new buildings for accommodation for soldiers at the Echelon Square. He relinquished his duties as the Commanding Officer on 15th April 1974 and Lieutenant Colonel PGSP Dahanayake psc took over the Command. As a junior officer he was the first officer from the Regiment to follow a Platoon Commanders Course at the School of Infantry in England. He retired in the rank of Brigadier having held many Senior Staff appointments in the Sri Lanka Army.
17 years after the birth of the Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel PGSP Dahanayake psc, was the first from those officers who had been directly commissioned to the Sinha Regiment after completing the Officer Cadet Course at the Army Training Centre, Diyatalawa, to be appointed as the Commanding Officer of the Battalion. Having graduated through the University of Peradeniya he was the first officer from the Battalion to follow the Staff College Course conducted by the Camberly Army Staff College in England.
It was an important occasion or the Regiment when troops of the Battalion were employed on special security duties during the Non-Aligned Conference held at the BMICH Colombo in August 1976. Troops of the Battalion provided security to leaders of the participating countries.
A company level jungle exercise was carried out at Sudukanda Minneriya, in mid 1977 where a soldier died of dehydration. This incident created unrest in the Battalion. Some unruly members of the Battalion, provoked by the incident caused some disturbance. False propaganda spread in every direction through the media. The situation escalated at the Echelon Square when some other ranks protested against their officers, in a display of poor discipline. To bring this situation under control, a former Commanding Officer of the Battalion and Director Operations at Army Headquarters at that time, Colonel SB Miyenadeniya was re-appointed as the Commanding Officer. Lieutenant Colonel DW Hapuarachchi who was stationed in Jaffna on TaFII duties was summoned to Colombo to assist Colonel Miyenadeniya. On the incident, the Army Headquarters convened a Court of Inquiry and based on decisions taken the Commanding Officer was attached to Army Headquarters after relinquishing his duties. Some other officers involved in this matter left the Army. The case filed in the military court could not proceed due to lack of evidence. Lieutenant Colonel PGSP Dahanayake relinquished Command on 3rd June 1976 while Lieutenant Colonel DW Hapuarachchi was appointed as the Commanding Officer of the Battalion.
In 1977 communal clashes that spread in most part of the country resulted in two companies of the Regiment being deployed in Kurunegala and Kandy while the remaining troops were deployed in Colombo, all troops detailed to perform internal security duties. The Battalion was regrouped at the Echelon Square once the situation returned to 'normal'.
