First Lankan to earn US Navy SEAL Trident, passes away

2026-01-29 - 02:24

Lieutenant Koyan Chamitha of the Sri Lanka Navy’s elite Special Boat Squadron (SBS), who was the first Sri Lankan to complete the U.S. Navy SEAL basic training and earn the coveted SEAL Trident, had passed away in the early hours of yesterday (Jan. 28). He was discovered dead at the Welisara Wardroom and believed to have passed away while asleep. Although it is assumed that he had died of a heart attack, the official cause of death has not yet been confirmed. Lieutenant Chamitha (24), a resident of Gampaha and the only child in the family, was an old boy of Bandaranaike College, Gampaha. After completing his basic training at the Naval and Maritime Academy in Trincomalee, the officer advanced to train in the Navy’s elite Special Boat Squadron (SBS), where his journey toward special operations excellence began. In January 2025, he was attached to the Naval Special Warfare Basic Training Command for SEAL basic training. Last year, he made history by becoming the first Sri Lankan to complete the rigorous SEAL basic training conducted by the Naval Special Warfare Basic Training Command of the U.S. Navy.