He went on to serve 23 years mostly as a reservist (meaning a back up) since the Ceylon Defense Force was a army reservist of the British Army. In 1939 he became the commanding officer of the Ceylon Light Infantry and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1940. With the start of World War II, he became a member of the Ceylon's War Cabinet and was made a Colonel in 1942, the highest rank that a Ceylonese could achieve. Making himself a respectful man.