Gotabaya Rajapaksa
He saw active service in the early stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War with the elite Gajaba Regiment , taking part in several major offensives such as the Vadamarachi Operation , Operation Strike Hard and Operation Thrividha Balaya , as well as counter-insurgency operations during the 1987–1989 JVP insurrection . 
<triplet> Vadamarachi Operation <subj> Sri Lankan Civil War <obj> part of <triplet> Operation Thrividha Balaya <subj> Sri Lankan Civil War <obj> part of <triplet> 1987–1989 JVP insurrection <subj> 1987 <obj> point in time