Goonetileke was promoted to the honorary rank of
Marshal of the Air Force by President
Maithripala Sirisena on 19 September 2019 for his service as the Commander of the Air Force during the final stage of the Sri Lankan Civil War. It is the highest rank in the
Sri Lanka Air Force. Marshal of the Air Force is ranked immediately above
Air Chief Marshal, and has been awarded only once, to Roshan Goonetileke as an honorary rank. It is equivalent to
Field Marshal in the
Army and
Admiral of the Fleet in the
Navy. The insignia is four light blue bands (each on a slightly wider black band) over a light blue band on a black broad band. He is the first and to-date the only person to hold the rank and third person to be appointed to a
Five star rank in Sri Lanka. On promotion to the newly created rank, he was a restored to active service. The appointment coincided with the promotion of
Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda to the newly created rank of
Admiral of the Fleet. Both promotions had been heavily lobbied for following the promotion of the
General Sarath Fonseka to the newly created rank of
Field Marshal in 2015. ==Governor of the Western Province==